If you want to blame players for the extended NBA lockout, fine. Go ahead. But just know that at least a few owners are responsible for pouring gasoline all over the latest talks, with one familiar face lighting the match that ruined it all.
Oct 21, 2011 - NBA lockout talks have now broken down three times in three weeks. The league and players' union broke their own modest record by meeting three straight days this week, but that stretched the good vibes too thin. It had only been a couple hours of talks on Thursday before NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver confirmed the news that negotiations were done, with no deal in hand.
Blame whoever you'd like. If you think that NBA players, coming off a season in which league revenue grew almost 5 percent despite the awful economy and a static, undersized national TV contract, are wrong to reject an offer than includes both a 12-percent paycut and massive changes to the salary cap system that will limit mid-rung players' ability to sign multi-year contracts, so be it. I am not going to convince you that the owners are railroading the very men who allow them to earn $4 billion in revenue.
But I am going to argue that the owners who set this round of talks aflame are being duplicitous, selfish bullies.
Paul Allen, owners of the Portland Trail Blazers, stepped into the negotiation room for the first time on Thursday. But he wasn't there to negotiate. He was there, according to the union officials who blasted the league Thursday evening, to ensure that the will of the broader NBA ownership group was held up. He was there to make sure the owners on the labor committee didn't negotiate below a 50-50 split. (Union president Derek Fisher said on Thursday that he asked Allen whether 50-50 was an ultimatum, and Allen wouldn't respond.)
Paul Allen is a very rich man. Before Mikhail Prokhorov rode in on his jet ski, Allen was the NBA's wealthiest owner, worth $13 billion according to Forbes. (Ben Golliver of SB Nation's Blazer's Edge has more on Allen's largess, including the news that he recently crashed his helicopter on an excursion to Antarctica.) And how he used his wealth! Portland is a tiny market by NBA standards, and despite a rabid fan base, it's a low-revenue team. Despite that, and despite not being a top-tier title contender in recent years, the Trail Blazers have the No. 8 payroll in the NBA since 2006 and pays luxury tax most seasons.
Paul Allen the NBA owner has never seen a problem he wasn't willing to throw money at. To scuttle away Zach Randolph, he took on Steve Francis' $20 million contract ... and paid the player off to go away. He has bought more draft picks than any team but the Dallas Mavericks, in many cases to stash players overseas for eternity. He has been one of the NBA's biggest vultures, preying on every crag in the rulebook to spend his way to a winning record.
And when it goes wrong, he blames someone else ... usually his general manager. (He fired Kevin Pritchard hours before the 2010 NBA Draft, and canned Rich Cho after just 11 months on the job. Unsurprisingly, candidates have not been throwing themselves at Portland this summer.)
Yes, Paul Allen is perfectly within his rights as the owner of an NBA team to seek a profitable system. But if Paul Allen has lost money on the Blazers over the past decade, it hasn't been because the system requires it. It's because he's opened his pocketbook at every turn to gain a competitive advantage over his less-wealthy counterparts. That he is now standing up for the broke small-market owners in the NBA is some kind of joke.
Peter Holt, the mostly anonymous owner of the San Antonio Spurs and leader of the league's labor committee, has reportedly told players at least once that they "needed to feel some more pain" before a deal was done. Holt also revealed during his press conference that he has lost money on the Spurs in each of the last two seasons.
Peter Holt bought the Spurs for $75 million in 1993. Forbes lists the team as worth $400 million today. Adjusting for inflation, Holt's initial investment in the team has nearly tripled in less than two decades. Two years ago, Holt used a cap loophole to trade for Richard Jefferson despite being over the salary cap. A year ago, the Spurs worked out a strange deal in which Jefferson left $15 million on the table, took his opt-out and signed a new four-year, $39 million contract.
And Peter Holt stands up behind that mic on Thursday and says that he just wants to be able to "make a few bucks." Holt has a team with three All-Stars (including one living legend). Two of those All-Stars, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, have in the past taken lower salaries to allow the Spurs to bring in additional players. The Spurs have been competitive for nearly the entirety of Holt's ownership. The people of San Antonio have built Holt an arena. The value of his franchise has tripled thanks in large part to that publicly-funded arena, some brilliant hires and the fortune of lucky bounces in the NBA Draft Lottery.
But Peter Holt's just a guy trying to make a few bucks ... and he's willing to cancel a season to do it.
The arsonist that deserves the most scorn, though, has to be Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers and noted font stylist. Fisher told the press that when the owners presented their de-facto ultimatum -- they wouldn't talk system issues unless the player agreed to move down to a 50-50 split -- it was Gilbert who told the Lakers point guard to "trust [Gilbert's] gut" that the system changes would be fair.
Dan Gilbert wanted the players to concede on the single biggest issue in the lockout negotiations ... and trust him that the rest would fall into place.
Dan Gilbert.
Dan Gilbert.
Forget about the LeBron James tirade and childishness. Forget about "bloggissists." Forget about his flip-flopping about the psychic value of team ownership.
Dan Gilbert's company, Quicken Loans, was one of the worst offenders in the housing bubble, offering scores of subprime loans to unqualified buyers, pumping up the real estate market until it burst, contributing to a collapse of the global financial markets and at least one bonafide U.S. recession. Gilbert wasn't alone -- plenty of banks got too loose in the name of profit and stupidity but mostly profit. But Quicken Loans was a big player in this game.
As such, Dan Gilbert doesn't get to tell anyone to "trust his gut" in a business deal. Dan Gilbert can't drop an ultimatum on someone, tell them to trust him and get away with it. Of all the delusion, the brand torching, the picking over carcasses that the NBA's vultures have done over the past four month, nothing tops this. Nothing tops Dan Gilbert asking players to trust him. How could you blame anyone from laughing in his face?
In the end, it is David Stern and Adam Silver who need to get Allen, Holt and Gilbert -- and the 26 other owners -- back in line, back on a path to solutions, not union-busting. That is, of course, unless Billy Hunter is right, and this was the end-game all along.
If so, God help us. Our world can only survive so much bulls--t, and these owners are adding to the tally every single day.
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I agree owner have some blame but
You say $4 billion that like that’s the profit! Even the players aknowledge that collectively the league has been losing money, it’s only the amount they dispute.
So last year by the Players calculation their members made $2.3 billion or whatever – And the owners/league lost $160 million. The league says the losses were more like $300- $350 million after laying off hundreds of regular working people around the league to economize.
The 450 players have graciously offered to allow the owners to break even by agreeing to go down to 54% of BRI, or about $170-180 million shuffled to the league’s side of the ledger.
That means that the Players would make $2.1 billion or so and the league can scrape by (IF they revenue share!) at even.
Are you really arguing that mid level role players, easily replaced, will starve or are being treated unfairly if thier life earnings are limited to $35 million instead of $70 million?
The Teams, the names on the front of the Jerseys that the local fans root for, sign up for next years season tix even though they don’t always know who’ll be on the team ALSO make the NBA possible.
"Victory goes to the player who makes the next-to-last mistake."
- Chessmaster Savielly Grigorievitch Tartakower
by lietothegirls on Oct 21, 2011 3:26 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Disingenuous
Because the owners won’t open their books, like Ziller has ceaselessly noted, it’s impossible to determine what is real.
The BRI divide also ignores the owners’ other revenue streams directly stemming from the team, as one poster from Bullets Forever put it ever so nicely:
Bullets Forever | Twitter
by Bullet Nation in Exile on Oct 22, 2011 12:27 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
And all this other stuff about some owners other business interests
and how well, badly etc.. thay have done on them – I have no idea how it’s relevant.
I’ll make my point again (I wish for the last time) that some hypothetical gain in franchise value, unrealized unless an owner should sell anyway, means that they should lose money every year. What if a family wants own the team forever?
Those yearly losses, that part is also something you fail to include in what an owner may have invested in the franchiseas parto of that profit in some hypothetical future sale.
"Victory goes to the player who makes the next-to-last mistake."
- Chessmaster Savielly Grigorievitch Tartakower
by lietothegirls on Oct 21, 2011 3:34 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Sadly, I’m beginning to think the NBA owners are interested in the NBA if they get their way. Otherwise, they’ll shut down the league until they do. Or until ESPN & TNT sue them for damages. One of the two.
Without major corporate pressure & pressure from your TV partners, the owners will keep acting the way they are doing. In one way, this could be interesting that one source of TV pressure, Comcast, sold their ownership to Joshua Cox and now could be free to crap on the NBA as they see fit for not living up to the contracts that teams have signed.
The players know that the owners have signed contracts and done everything they can to leverage them. Personally, I think the players are out for blood and want the owners to suffer a little at their feet. The lockout may end in the next week or year, but it’s going to have lasting negative effects for a long time. Which is too bad because the issue’s were really simple: Gross BRI% for the players and a reasonable thoughtful revenue sharing that addresses real market inequities.
But apparently, that’s too hard for the NBA owners to want to address and they are all about their own pocketbooks (after all). For that, and that’s the only reason I’m even by & large giving the players side a pass, is because the NBA ownership is filled with groups of uber wealthy men who are upset that they don’t control a pretty small sphere of the universe the way they do elsewhere in their lives. Fuck them, fuck their point of view, and they all deserve to rot in hell for eternity. None of them deserve the league of their dreams if they are doing what they are currently doing to achieve it. In some ways, I hope the NBA burns down around them because they’ve burned the amount of trust from the hardcore fans (who provide a needed base to a league that has it’s casual fans turn on them faster than a dime) just to make more money. More. Not money mind you. MORE. Nothing that the owners are doing in this lockout will show up for me at all as a fan. Not a single one thing. Nothing. And if you believe the owners will make your experience as a fan change, you’re in for an exceptionally sad reality check.
No mistakes in the tango, Donna. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
by pookeyguru on Oct 22, 2011 12:28 AM EDT reply actions
Everyone is. And that’s a good thing. Pursuing self-interest is what drives an economy.
"We're not talking about me and Darko in the same sentence." - Chris Webber vs KAHN!
by caseycheesecake on Oct 22, 2011 3:28 PM EDT up reply actions
Thanks Milton Friedman Jr.
No mistakes in the tango, Donna. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
by pookeyguru on Oct 22, 2011 8:12 PM EDT up reply actions
HEYO!
"We're not talking about me and Darko in the same sentence." - Chris Webber vs KAHN!
by caseycheesecake on Oct 24, 2011 12:55 AM EDT up reply actions
Can't blame Paul Allen for wanting to compete
and I don’t think he cares so much about the extra money he spends as much as trying to compete in a system where small market teams start in the hole. Profit sharing won’t fix that all the way. Small market teams need a reasonable chance of standing on their own.
Most small market teams don’t have the option of both being competitive and making money. Even with a perpetually sold out arena.
by poorwebguy on Oct 22, 2011 3:05 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I just can't wait for these owners to bitch and moan again...
after they get their way, and start losing players (not big-name superstars, but pretty much every other tier of player is going to get nice offers) to Europe or elsewhere. Although I guess shrinking the talent pool in North America is one way to increase parity…
Retire Bruce Bowen's #12!
by Tim C. on Oct 22, 2011 1:22 PM EDT reply actions
Let’s please stay away from criticizing people for spending their money the way they want.
"We're not talking about me and Darko in the same sentence." - Chris Webber vs KAHN!
by caseycheesecake on Oct 22, 2011 3:29 PM EDT reply actions
Why? Who cares? It's not like Paul Allen will ever notice.
Just because you envy billionaires doesn’t mean everyone does (or should).
No mistakes in the tango, Donna. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
by pookeyguru on Oct 22, 2011 8:13 PM EDT up reply actions
I don't know where you got "envy" from that post.
I’m more about freedom.
"We're not talking about me and Darko in the same sentence." - Chris Webber vs KAHN!
by caseycheesecake on Oct 24, 2011 12:54 AM EDT up reply actions
Yeah.
Billionaires lack freedom. My bad.
No mistakes in the tango, Donna. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
by pookeyguru on Oct 24, 2011 9:51 AM EDT up reply actions
Again...what?
The mindset that you can spend other people’s money better than they is dangerous and should be avoided.
"We're not talking about me and Darko in the same sentence." - Chris Webber vs KAHN!
by caseycheesecake on Oct 25, 2011 11:50 AM EDT up reply actions
Since we're talking basketball, not shoes, he should be criticized for using his wealth in this way, then complaining about losing money.
You're only a success for the moment that you complete a successful act. - Tex Winter
Tweetness
by SoCalGal on Oct 24, 2011 7:15 PM EDT up reply actions
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