NBA and Players Union Admit Being ‘Very Far Apart’ in CBA Talks

Having stated earlier this week that negotiations between the National Basketball Association (NBA) and its players union were “open and robust”, which was a good thing according to David Stern, the league’s commissioner has now admitted that the two parties remain “very far apart” after two days of negotiations on a new labor accord.

With just 3 weeks remaining on the current agreement, Stern stated: “We’re not where we started, but we’re not anywhere near where we need to be. We’re not any place close to a deal.”

The talks will now continue on June 14 in Miami if there is a Game 7 of the NBA finals between the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks, currently tied 2-2, or in New York if the series has concluded.

With the collective bargaining agreement set to expire on June 30, both Stern and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Derek Fisher, president of the National Basketball Players Association, used the phrase “very far apart” to characterize the state of the talks. Billy Hunter, the union’s executive director, called the two sides “miles apart.”

The talks this week included almost all of the NBA’s labor relations committee as well as the executive committee of the union. The two sides have discussed the split of basketball- related income between the players and owners, of which 57 per cent currently goes to the players, and issues such as what type of salary cap can work in a new labor accord.