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NBA: Will players fold on union?
By Ken Gimblin October 16, 2011 |
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SACRAMENTO--Questions flew during the last meeting with the NBA players and the Union on solidarity. Washington Wizards center JaVale McGee said there were some players in the mix ready to stop backing the union and accept whatever the owners had to offer and the players were "ready to fold." Players union Derek Fisher and McGee did agree that far more players are willing to stay with the union and stay together to fight for their benefits than those who are not, "my gut tells me that there's no way Commissioner Stern and the NBA would damage their business by making us miss a whole season." said Fisher. McGee said at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills that there are some players willing to crack and go back to work and take whatever the owners have to offer, "there's definitely some guys in there saying they're ready to fold, but the majority of guys are willing to stand strong," said McGee. Around 30 players attended the meeting the ball room at the Beverly Hilton and Stern who talked with a number of radio stations over the weekend said that the league is insistent on cutting the number of years signed by players, salaries cut, hard caps, and other benefits. Stern said a long term contract should run three years rather than five years and the players are not into any take aways. Stern also said that if a deal is not reached by this month the NBA will cancel games scheduled on Christmas day which is the league’s top money making day for televised games and ratings. "That's an arbitrary deadline just to throw out on Commissioner Stern's part. We don't see it that way, that's just arbitrary, with no other purpose than to sway player sentiment." said Fisher. Ken Gimblin is covering the NBA lockout and Kings basketball for Sportstalk Radio |
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