David Stern is putting an end to the back and forth bickering between the players and the owners. Stern's end, however, is not a negotiated deal, it's an ultimatum. The NBA Commissioner put an offer for a 51 percent basketball-related income that the players association must accept by Wednesday, or else the deal will be downgraded to 47 percent with a flex salary cap.
According to ESPN, attorney Jeffrey Kessler said that 51 percent was merely an "illusion" and that the deal was closer to 50.2 percent.
"Today was another sad day for our fans, for arena workers, our parking lot attendants, our vendors," Fisher said after eight more hours of negotiations. "We, for sure, unequivocally, made good faith efforts to try to get this deal done tonight. And we're at a loss for why we could not close it out."
Considering money is going to get taken off the top of the 51 percent for expenses and money for retired NBA players, this basically looks like nothing has changed. The players didn't want a 50-50 split before, and essentially that's what this proposed deal is offering. Players like Deron Williams and Jared Dudley are already tweeting about decertification, meaning the coffin might truly be closing on the NBA season. [via ESPN]
