Lockout!!!

[AlaskanAssassin]

Derek Fisher's Letter to NBA Players. Copied from SI.com

https://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/sam_amick/09/15/derek.fisher.letter/index.html?sct=hp_t2_a6&eref=sihp


LAS VEGAS -- Derek Fisher is determined to make the NBA players meeting productive instead of divisive.
With about 70 players expected to meet here on Thursday, the National Basketball Players' Association president sent an impassioned email to his colleagues. The letter, obtained by SI.com from a player and published in full below, criticizes agents who have been calling for the decertification of the union and asks players to remain supportive of its efforts.
It's the second deliberate and creative wrinkle Fisher has added to the meeting. As reported Wednesday night by SI.com, NFLPA head DeMaurice Smith will be speaking at the session after accepting an invitation from the Lakers' guard.
***
To Each & Every Player,
After the latest round of meetings, I thought it would be best to update you personally as to where the leadership of the National Basketball Players Association stands, where the negotiations stand where we are headed and the reasons why.
Without a doubt, someone will be leaking this. I know it. The moment you read this you will know it. So, I say all with the fullest transparency.
I was elected as your President. By you. For you. I take great pride and am honored to serve the over 400 members of our association. I and our Executive Committee take this job and this role seriously and will not agree to an unfair deal on behalf of you and our players. Period.
I'm not looking out just for the marquee guy, I'm looking out for the guy that dreams of being a professional basketball player and gets a minimum deal. I'm not just trying to protect the guy on a team in a huge market. I'm protecting the player that is in a small market with incredibly loyal fans.
I've made it clear, I want to play. You have each made it clear, you want to play. The fans have been unwavering, they want their basketball. The thousand of employees that work in the arenas, the ticket offices, the concession stands, they want a season. We all want to go back to work.
The league and the team owners have locked us out. This was not our choice. Our employers decided to stop allowing us to do our jobs.
My job since July 1st is to find a solution. To find an outcome that protects each of you and your livelihoods and continues to allow us to play the game we love so much and the fans love supporting.
Since before the lockout began, I have spent hours upon hours, days, months, years, working on preparing you, the fans and the media about the possibilities. Now as the lockout has set in, reality of the situation is here.
The most recent meetings in New York were effective. What you have been told by your agents, representatives and the media is probably speculative and inaccurate.
What actually happened in those meetings was discussion, brainstorming and a sharing of options by both sides. The turning point this past Tuesday was not a disagreement between the players and the owners. It was actually a fundamental divide between the owners internally. They could not agree with each other on specific points of the deal and therefore it caused conflict within the league and its owners.
So it is our hope that today, Thursday, at the owners meeting in Dallas that they work out their differences, come up with a revenue sharing plan that will protect their teams and are then ready to come together and sign off on the agreement we as a smaller group deemed reasonable.
Decertification seems to be a hot button issue today in the media. So I'd like to address it. I've read yesterday's stories and find the position of these agents interesting. I have made myself available to each and every agent. But not once have I heard from them. If they are so concerned about the direction of the union, then why have they not contacted me? Each and every one of them mentioned has been in meetings with me. I've answered their questions, I've been told they support you, their players and our Players Association. So if there is a genuine concern, a suggestion, a question, call me. Email me. Text me. I'm working tirelessly each and every day on behalf of the over 400 players that they represent. Working for nothing but the best interests of THEIR guys. I don't make a commission, I don't make a salary for serving as President. I have NO ulterior motives. None.
It is because they have not come to me once that I question their motives.
I work every day on these negotiations. I work so that each player from Blake Griffin to Tyler Hansbrough, Pau Gasol to De'Andre Jordan, Dwight Howard to Jrue Holiday, Taj Gibson to Danny Granger, Steve Nash to Luke Babbit and every single player get a fair and reasonable deal. Not just for this year, not just for next year but for years to come. So that the league that WE the players largely helped build, continues to grow and thrive.
So to address the agents that have decided to say their piece yesterday, I don't mind. Perhaps they are trying to make news. Perhaps they just want to show you, their clients, they are working hard. But what would be appreciated by the 400+ players would be the support of our agents and constructive ideas, suggestions and solutions that are in our best interests. Not the push for a drastic move that leaves their players without a union, without pensions, without health care. We just aren't there.
I will remain committed to finding resolution to this because I know how important this is. I ask you to remain united with me and your over 400 allies, friends, brothers and colleagues. We are a powerful group if we remain united and focused on the task at hand.
I urge every single one of you to call me, text me, email me with anything. An idea, a suggestion, a concern, a question. I represent you. I work for you.
So to each player, each fan, each agent, each media member who ends up reading this...I stand behind this message. It comes from me, a 15 year veteran of basketball, the game I dreamt of playing as a kid, the game I love so much. I'm a teammate, I'm a father, I'm a son, I'm a husband, I'm a brother, but right now, the role I must work so hard to honor is the one as PA President. And I ask each of you to stand with me, stand by me and urge the league and the owners to come together and allow the game of basketball to continue to grow and thrive. We're ready.
Sincerely,
Derek


Read more: https://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2.../derek.fisher.letter/index.html#ixzz1Y4LsykOT

 

[shadler]

Why are Jazz fans against the owners in all if this? I would be happy to wait a few years of no basketball if it meant a hard cap to level the playing field out there. If there was one thing I was sick of watching this year was all nba players making a joke of the game. Instead of basketball it was all about the big markets and the money. Now they have their stupid t-shirts to go with their pride. If they don't fix the problem now then you can pretty much kiss the Jazz chances of winning any title soon goodbye. People on here sit and talk about how the owners should cough of the money like it was candy just so we can have a season. If you are a Jazz fan you want a hard cap because frankly the Jazz are not in a market where people want to be and the they also don't have that kind of money to throw out. I want to see teams like the thunder and cavs get a title instead of watching the lakers and heat ever year. Shouldn't be about the big markets and owners who have more money. It should be about the game.

 

[LjJazzman]

Why are Jazz fans against the owners in all if this? I would be happy to wait a few years of no basketball if it meant a hard cap to level the playing field out there. If there was one thing I was sick of watching this year was all nba players making a joke of the game. Instead of basketball it was all about the big markets and the money. Now they have their stupid t-shirts to go with their pride. If they don't fix the problem now then you can pretty much kiss the Jazz chances of winning any title soon goodbye. People on here sit and talk about how the owners should cough of the money like it was candy just so we can have a season. If you are a Jazz fan you want a hard cap because frankly the Jazz are not in a market where people want to be and the they also don't have that kind of money to throw out. I want to see teams like the thunder and cavs get a title instead of watching the lakers and heat ever year. Shouldn't be about the big markets and owners who have more money. It should be about the game.

I agree 100%

 

[NUMBERICA]

A hard-cap actually hampers the ability of a small-market team to keep their players or attract others. Seriously think about it.

And I don't know if you've actually read the ****ing thread, but most people are quite GOP about this.

 

[Marty McFly]

A hard-cap actually hampers the ability of a small-market team to keep their players or attract others. Seriously think about it.

True, but we can't really do that very effectively as it is now. For me though, it's not so much about the Jazz getting shafted as it is the Lakers/Heat/Celtics/etc having it way too easy. If a hard cap makes it slightly harder to keep Gasol, Kobe, Odom and Bynum on the same team... or LeBron, Wade and Bosh... then the road for this CURRENT Jazz team (and the team of the last 5 years, RIP) would instantly be a lot easier, even if we still can't attract and keep stars.

Seriously though, all I hear about all day every day is millionaires arguing with millionaires over millions whether it's politics or sports or whatever. I just want to watch some quality basketball. Please.

 

[One Brow]

A soft cap with revenue distribution and some provisions for allowing teams to have an advantage in keeping players is the best chance the small-market teams have to be competive financially. You still need to run a team well, of course.

 

[shadler]

A hard-cap actually hampers the ability of a small-market team to keep their players or attract others. Seriously think about it.

And I don't know if you've actually read the ****ing thread, but most people are quite GOP about this.

How does that hurt the small market from keeping their players when every other team wont be able to keep their players? And who said I was talking about the thread but it seems to be you are against a hard cap? What you said makes no sense at all. Utah is ranked one of the last places where players want to play at. So how does that hurt the jazz? You don't see the kobes or lebrons just flying over here wanting to play for the Jazz anyway. A hard cap will hurt the big markets in a huge way to do anything. Look at how much the lakers and Boston had been paying for with their players they have. You take a few of those players away from those teams they would have never won the title. Also if you are the jazz you would still be seeing players like wes matthews on the team. You think Portland would have gave him a huge contract? So it helps the Jazz a lot more then you think.

 

[GVC]

Why are Jazz fans against the owners in all if this? I would be happy to wait a few years of no basketball if it meant a hard cap to level the playing field out there. If there was one thing I was sick of watching this year was all nba players making a joke of the game. Instead of basketball it was all about the big markets and the money. Now they have their stupid t-shirts to go with their pride. If they don't fix the problem now then you can pretty much kiss the Jazz chances of winning any title soon goodbye. People on here sit and talk about how the owners should cough of the money like it was candy just so we can have a season. If you are a Jazz fan you want a hard cap because frankly the Jazz are not in a market where people want to be and the they also don't have that kind of money to throw out. I want to see teams like the thunder and cavs get a title instead of watching the lakers and heat ever year. Shouldn't be about the big markets and owners who have more money. It should be about the game.

Some people (me, for example) are siding with the players because the owners demands are ridiculous relative to other American pro sports leagues. The owners want their current revenue sharing model PLUS a guarantee that ALL teams are in the black, regardless of how poorly they're run and what ridiculous backwater they're located in. Revenue sharing should be on the table. Players receiving less than 50% of revenues should be off the table. The players seem willing to compromise to get the NBA season started as soon as possible. The owners don't. It's a stupid game of chicken the NBA is playing, and unless the players cave entirely, everyone is going to lose BIG.

 

[GVC]

How does that hurt the small market from keeping their players when every other team wont be able to keep their players?

Consider what Miami did last offseason. LeBron and Chris Bosh took LESS money to play in Miami because endorsements and favorable income tax laws easily made up the difference. Star players are willing to play for less in better markets, and teams like the Jazz will still have to pay more to attract them. I'm not arguing that a hard cap wouldn't help, but it certainly won't level the playing field completely.

 

[margodydek]

I agree that the owners definitely need to budge, but for years NBA players have had it better than everyone. And when I say everyone I mean everyone. There wasn't a more well paid set of employees in the world than the NBA players. The owners want the players to give into all their demands and the players are probably hoping to meet them half way, but I think it should be more like players move 3/4 of the way and the owners at least move 1/4 of the way off of their current stance. I'll say it again, if I were the players I'd choose one demand (guaranteed contracts, longer contracts, soft-cap, whatever) and stick to that one, while giving into the rest.

 

[shadler]

Consider what Miami did last offseason. LeBron and Chris Bosh took LESS money to play in Miami because endorsements and favorable income tax laws easily made up the difference. Star players are willing to play for less in better markets, and teams like the Jazz will still have to pay more to attract them. I'm not arguing that a hard cap wouldn't help, but it certainly won't level the playing field completely.

I see what you are saying it it may be true to a point but teams are going to have to look at what they can do as well. Say there is a 60 million on a hard cap and you look at what the three bigs are going to make. The big three is going to make close to 65 million alone in 2015 and that leaves no room for any other player. Players might give up some of their money but they are not going to give up a lot of it. Not sure if I just read this right or not on the net but it looks like lebron is making more this year then he was last year with the cavs. I don't see how lebron, Bosh, or wade took a pay cut from what i look at what their salaries are. They all are going to make more then 20 million in 2014-16 and that is not less. If i had to bet is that all three of those players are making more now then they did last year. If you had a cap one of those players if not all would not give up that money to play with each other. Depends on what the max salary is as well.

 

[//r00t 4 Jazz]

I agree that the owners definitely need to budge, but for years NBA players have had it better than everyone. And when I say everyone I mean everyone. There wasn't a more well paid set of employees in the world than the NBA players. The owners want the players to give into all their demands and the players are probably hoping to meet them half way, but I think it should be more like players move 3/4 of the way and the owners at least move 1/4 of the way off of their current stance. I'll say it again, if I were the players I'd choose one demand (guaranteed contracts, longer contracts, soft-cap, whatever) and stick to that one, while giving into the rest.

I want to agree with you but I think MLB players are probably in a better situation.