NBA sides to try again
James Dolan is the good guy and Michael Jordan is the bad guy.
Who would’ve thunk it? Who would’ve thunk Dolan loves the game more than MJ?
The latest installment of labor meetings is scheduled to begin today at 4 p.m. in Manhattan, with federal mediator George Cohen back in action. But despite the presence of President Obama’s appointee, there’s good reason to believe the session will end before tonight’s 8 p.m. kickoff of the college-football’s No. 1-vs-No. 2 super game — LSU at Alabama.
Union head Billy Hunter said he’s heard rumors the owners plan to offer less today than their most recent 50-50 revenue-split offer. One report said Jordan, the Bobcats owner, is leading the charge with a dozen hard-liners that 50-50 is too generous.
Hunter said, “I’m hearing they’re talking about going back below 47.’’
As The Post reported, Dolan, who is on the negotiating committee, is against Jordan’s stance, becoming an ally of the Players Association, wanting a deal now so his Knicks can play in his transformed Garden.
Meanwhile, Hunter is in no position to compromise now on the revenue split, under the cloud that 50 players secretly spoke this week with an antitrust lawyer about trying to decertify the union if things break down this weekend.
Those players, spurred by some marquee agents, are already ticked at Hunter for dropping from 57 percent in the last collective bargaining agreement to 52.5 percent. The Post reported yesterday, however, decertification is unlikely.
The decertification threat will be difficult since 30 percent of the players have to sign a petition before the National Labor Relations Board, then need a majority player vote. It’s doubtful they’d get either. Plus, the NLRB won’t entertain such a petition until it rules on the union’s complaint against the NBA that it has bargained in bad faith. With all the potential court delays, the season may evaporate.
Though decertification is a long shot because of the risk of killing the season, the message has been sent to Hunter to hold down the revenue fort today.
“The practice has become ‘OK, you’ve given us that, what else are you going to give?,’’’ Hunter said Thursday at his Harlem office. “It was not working. We were getting a lot of blowback from our players, saying we’re giving away the house. Shut it down. …We’re not overreaching. They’re overreaching. We’ve been too fair.
“Do you take a bad deal or do you say forget it? I don’t think there should ever be a circumstance where the owners make the same or more than the players.’’
Today’s gathering will be a large-group meeting, with additional owners on hand. Jordan hasn’t been to any of the previous meetings. He was fined $100,000 in September for saying during a visit to Australia, “We need a lot of financial support throughout the league as well as revenue sharing to keep this business afloat. … For us to be profitable in small markets, we have to be able to win ballgames and build a better basketball team.”
Ironically, during Board of Governors’ meetings, Dolan has pledged to fund much of the revenue sharing, but that’s not good enough for Jordan.
Union vice president Roger Mason said Thursday the Basketball Related Income split isn’t the lone issue, that system issues regarding the harder salary cap is a problem. Mason was referring to the penalties for teams who pay luxury tax, as the owners want to wipe out their ability to sign free agents to mid-level exceptions.
