NEW YORK — The NBA laid off 114 people over the last two days, planned cost-cutting moves that a league spokesman said Thursday are “not a direct result of the lockout.”
The laid-off employees represent about 11 percent of the league office workforce in New York, New Jersey and internationally.
Spokesman Mike Bass said the layoffs are “not a direct result of the lockout but rather a response to the same underlying issue; that is, the league’s expenses far outpace our revenues.”
“The roughly 11 percent reduction in headcount from the league office is part of larger cost-cutting measures to reduce our costs by $50 million across all areas,” Bass said.
The league said it lost $300 million this season after losing hundreds of millions in each previous year of the collective bargaining agreement that expired at the end of the day June 30.
The league has also cut administrative costs, travel and new technology. It consolidated offices in Europe and Asia, closing offices in Paris and Tokyo, and is shutting down the studio in Secaucus, N.J. where it holds the draft lottery.
Footnotes.
The Suns hired Elston Turner as a defensive specialist on coach Alvin Gentry’s staff. The 52-year-old Turner, who played eight seasons in the NBA with Dallas, Denver and Chicago, has spent the past six seasons as lead assistant to coach Rick Adelman.
• The Cavaliers named Wes Wilcox general manager of their new NBA Development League franchise in Canton, Ohio.
The Associated Press
