Tag: Portland

Spurs weren’t a part of the hardest hardline owners

Spurs owner Peter Holt has been walking a tightrope as the primary NBA owner in the labor negotiations because of his role as the chairman of the league’s labor relations committee.

That role has led many to believe he would be David Stern’s biggest ally once a collective bargaining deal is taken to the other owners.

And it might explain why the Spurs who were most forceful about turning down a recent compromise that was championed by Stern.

The Indianapolis Business Journal, citing league sources, indicated the Spurs weren’t included among the owners who sent a letter to the labor relations committe who were strongly opposed to Stern’s offer of a 50-50 split in the basketball related income with the players. 

Owners for Indiana, Atlanta, Charlotte, Denver, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Portland and Sacramento said in the letter that they believe a 50-50 revenue split would have been a bad deal for the owners.

The players did not not approve the deal anyway, leading to an extension of the lockout earlier this week.

NBA owners, players try again

NEW YORK — owners and players are trying again to end the lockout before it can do further damage to an already-shortened schedule.

They resumed negotiations Saturday with federal mediator , who faced a difficult task in trying to help the sides close the financial gap that derailed talks again last week.

The two sides met for more than six hours.

Hall of Famer and Charlotte owner , plus Portland billionaire owner joined the bargaining, along with the usual owners’ labor relations committee. Both are believed to be hardliners who want to offer the players an economic deal even worse than the proposal they already have rejected.

Owners are determined not to give players anything more than a 50-50 split of basketball-related income. Players, who were guaranteed 57 percent under the old collective bargaining agreement, have proposed a reduction to 52.5 percent, leaving the sides about $100 million apart annually.

Commissioner warned after he cancelled all November games that future owners’ proposals could be made with their “extraordinary” losses from the missed games in mind.

A number of owners would favor that. A person briefed on the owners’ position Friday said there were many hardline owners who want a deal at 53-47 in their favor plus a hard cap.

Spurs 2011 games that have been canceled

The following Spurs games scheduled for November 2011 have been cancelled:

Wed 02 – VS. MILWAUKEE
Fri 04 – VS. DALLAS
Mon 07 – at Golden State
Wed 09 – at L.A. Lakers
Thu 10 – at Portland
Sat 12 – VS. NEW ORLEANS
Wed 16 – VS. CLIPPERS
Fri 18 – at Minnesota
Sat 19 – VS. KINGS
Mon 21 – VS. OKLAHOMA CITY
Wed 23 – VS. ORLANDO
Fri 25 – VS. CLEVELAND
Sat 26 – at Houston
Tue 29 – at New Jersey
Wed 30 – at Chicago

– HOME GAMES IN CAPS