NBA talks to resume; threat to season is great

Associated Press

The NBA’s owners and players are preparing to climb into the ring once again in their ongoing labor fight, and the latest round is shaping up as the most divisive yet.

The players are fighting. The owners are fighting. And that’s just among themselves. Just wait until they return to the bargaining table with threats of union decertification and eroding offers from the owners poisoning what already was a toxic atmosphere.

Only one thing appears certain — the threat of losing the 2011-12 season has never been greater.

Two people with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Friday that the divide between the two sides could grow wider if serious progress isn’t made this weekend with federal mediator George Cohen, who’s rejoining the talks.

At issue from the beginning has been the division of about $4 billion in basketball-related income, along with a system makeover that commissioner David Stern insists must happen to fix what he considers a broken economic model.

Owners are determined to reshape the league by creating a system like the NFL or NHL, where spending is capped. But reforming the NHL’s financial structure wiped out the entire 2004-05 season. And the NFL is making money, not losing it.

The players have offered to reduce their share of revenue from 57 percent to 52.5 percent, a concession they feel is more than enough to cover their end of the league’s stated $300 million in annual losses. Owners have offered a 50-50 split, along with significant changes to the system that include a more punitive luxury tax on teams that exceed the salary cap and shorter contracts.

But that 50-50 split is unacceptable to the players.