Today’s meeting amongst NBA player reps might be a formality. When next we hear from Derek Fisher it could be to officially inform David Stern that his union isn’t going to accept the offer on the table. In that case Stern’s Wednesday deadline might be a moot point.
Next stop – Christmas without NBA hoops.
No matter what comes of the players meeting today something is abundantly clear. There is no consensus on either side of this labor strife.
Some players want to vote on the deal now. Others want to vote on decertifying.
Some owners want an answer on the offer now. Other owners are mad that Stern even put the offer on the table.
The long and the short of the situation is that things aren’t looking any better. More than likely the next move will be to call off more games while trying to figure out how to end this staring contest. Apparently neither side has any intention to blink. We’re seeing the worst case scenario coming to fruition.
Both sides took their sweet time to get to the table. Then they moved with little to no urgency once they were at the table. Now the deal that is on the table is said to be the last and best offer the owners will make.
What makes this current deadline so laughable is that the union always looked likely to reject the offer. Unless something happens amongst the player reps today then what exactly will be any different by this evening?
The owners are far from a united front. Some of them are rumored to be hoping the players will in deed reject the offer so they can attempt to grab even more of the hallowed basketball related revenue.
No matter how you slice it we’re looking at a bigger mess than the Knicks’ payroll under Isiah Thomas.