Tag: NBA

Bowen on lockout: ‘It’s time to come together’

When last the NBA commissioner characterized the status of the league’s talks with the players union, David Stern called the gap separating the two sides “a gulf.”

From his cozy spot in retirement, former Spurs forward Bruce Bowen has a foot on each side of that gulf.

“I understand what it’s like to lose money; I’ve had a business that lost money,” Bowen said Friday, referring to his Yardley’s Spa and Salon, which shuttered earlier this year. “But I also understand, as a player, you only have a certain window to make money in the NBA. So I’ve been on both sides of it.”

However, when it comes to discussing the NBA lockout, which already has erased the preseason and two weeks of the regular season and, as of Monday, began involving a federal mediator, Bowen sounds less like a business owner or a player.

And more like a fan.

“It’s time,” Bowen said. “It’s time for both sides to come together. Both sides have to give. If they don’t give, nobody wins.”

Speaking after a news conference at The Dominion announcing him as a member of the latest five-person class of the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame, Bowen — a three-time NBA champion during his eight-season stint with the Spurs — lamented the loss of regular-season games for the second time in NBA history.

When it comes to articulating his biggest fear in the midst of the league’s latest impasse, Bowen begins sounding a little like a business owner again.

“My biggest fear is those season-ticket holders will find something better to do with their money,” Bowen said.

That’s not to say Bowen, an eight-time NBA All-Defensive team honoree who retired after the 2008-09 season, doesn’t still occasionally think like a player.

As a survivor of the last NBA work stoppage, which lopped 32 games from the start of the 1998-99 campaign, Bowen had a message for today’s players on hiatus.

Stay in shape.

“Once they start playing, there’s going to be a lot of injuries,” said Bowen, 40, now an NBA analyst for ESPN. “I saw it last time. Some guys, especially young guys, just don’t stay in shape. They don’t know what’s about to hit them.”

Bowen had little trouble staying in fighting shape during the 1998-99 stoppage. On the cusp of just the third season of what would become a 13-year career, Bowen was still fighting for a place in the NBA.

“I worked out every day,” Bowen said. “I had to show I belonged.”

These days, Bowen finds himself on the sidelines of the NBA’s newest labor dispute, rooting for both sides.

Manu in holding pattern about Virtas Bologna offer

Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said Wednesday he’s unwilling to commit to playing for Italian team Virtus Bologna during an extended NBA lockout – yet.

Ginobili practiced with the Argentinian college team Weber Estudiantes earlier on Wednesday. While there, he to Buenos Aires journalist German Beder in remarks that were .

Ginobili said he is intrigued by the offer, but still unwilling to commit with the team — whether or not Kobe Bryant joins them.

It would mark his return to Italy after playing in Bologna before joining the Spurs.

“I did not go to Italy in the last six years and it could be a nice thing to return there,” Ginobili said.  “But right now I need to rest. I cannot give them an answer today.”

Because of that lag, Ginobili said the Italian team should consider adding other players instead of him.

“If they want another player, they are free to look for a new one,” Ginobili said. “I am not ready to play.”

To prepare for an eventual season — either overseas or with the Spurs after the lockout — Ginobili is intently working with the Argentinian college team. 

“I am going to practice with Weber, I help them,” Ginobili said. “Nothing more so far.”

Those comments reiterated what Herb Rudoy, Ginobili’s agent, said on Tuesday when he “” reports that Ginobili would agree to a deal with Virtus Bologna if  Bryant did not sign with them.

It looks like Ginobili and Bryant are unwilling to commit to playing in Italy before Monday’s deadline imposed by the NBA owners’ bargaining committee. At that time, it is expected  to be known if the start of the 2011-12 NBA season will be postponed after the remainder of the league’s preseason games were shelved on Tuesday.

Kobe, KG show up for Tuesday’s bargaining session

Kobe Bryant made his first appearance Tuesday at the bargaining session as players and owners frantically attempt to end the NBA’s lockout.

Bryant was joined by Boston forward Kevin Garnett among the first-timers, according to a . Others players who were attending outside of the NBPA’s bargaining committe included Paul Pierce, Ben Gordon and Amar’e Stoudemire.

The apperance of Bryant, arguably the league’s most marketable star player, underscores the seriousness of the talks. About 10 NBA owners also attended Tuesday’s bargaining session in New York City.

The wider negotiating sessions have not been as effective for either side as the meetings involving smaller groups.

Both Bryant and Garnett have the reputation of being among the fiercest on-the-court competitors in the league.

But something tells me that their  celebrated determination that makes opposing players wilt in pressure situations probably won’t faze David Stern or Adam Silver when they are on the other side of the negotiating table.