NEW YORK — NBA players made it clear Tuesday: No deal.
No fear of commissioner David Stern’s ultimatum, either.
“The current offer on the table from the NBA is one that we cannot accept,” union president Derek Fisher said.
Instead, the players said they will ask for another meeting with owners before Stern’s deadline today — and they sound willing to agree to a 50-50 split of revenues under the right circumstances — in an attempt to save the season. Stern said that whether he agrees to meet “would be guided by the labor relations committee.”
The league’s current proposal calls for players to receive between 49 percent and 51 percent of basketball-related income, although union officials argue it would be nearly impossible to get above 50.2 percent.
“The players are clearly of the mind that it’s an unacceptable proposal,” union executive director Billy Hunter said. “But because of their commitment to the game and their desire to play, they’re saying to us that we want you to go back, see if you can go back, get a better deal.”
If players don’t take the deal by 3 p.m. today, the next offer will call for salary rollbacks, a 53-47 revenue split in the owners’ favor and essentially a hard salary cap.
Jeffrey Kessler, an attorney for the players, accused the owners of treating his clients like “plantation workers,” a comment that drew a furious response from Stern.
“Kessler’s agenda is always to inflame and not to make a deal,” Stern said, “even if it means injecting race and thereby insulting his own clients.”
Denver Post wire services
