CBA Part Two: The Players

So yesterday I outlined the NBA collective bargaining agreement from the standpoint of the owners.  Quick summary: no guaranteed contracts, hard salary cap, and a bigger share of the revenue at the end of the year.  If they managed to get all of that, the players would stand to lose millions of dollars.  You can bet that Billy Hunter, head of the player's union, and Derek Fisher, president of the players, will bring all their heavy artillery to the table.

The ace in the hole that the players hold is that in the event of the lockout, the players, particularly the stars, can jet across the sea and make their way to the European leagues.  Just as when Josh Childress made the jump and many European teams began to salivate at the thought of a Kobe or a Dirk coming over, the sharks smell blood in the water once again.  The star players should expect the European owners to open up their pocketbooks, even if only for one or two year contracts.  The role players may not have as much success finding work, but the league is more concerned with generating revenue from its stars, not players 3-12 on a roster.

The players want to maintain the status quo.  They see no issue with their contract situations, the salary cap, nor the revenue sharing.  And why should they?  They are the ones who risk their bodies on a daily basis, when one bad injury can devastate a career.  Why should their future be jeopardized?  The players also contest that since the owners are the ones responsible for accepting contracts, the burden of fiscal responsibility falls upon them.  Market forces may influence an owner's decision to sign a player to a new contract, but ultimately nobody forces them to sign it.

One change that the players will bargain for is the removal of the age restriction on the NBA draft.  Currently, players must have spent one full year out of high school before they are eligible for the draft.  The players want this to return to just having to be 18 to enter, while the owners and David Stern, the NBA commissioner seeks to raise the draft age to 20.  My speculation is that the players do not truly want the limit reduced, they just need to combat the owners trying to raise the age requirement again.

Unfortunately for the players, that is about the extent of their powers.  They will rely heavily on the likes of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, etc. to put pressure on owners by threatening to play in Europe in the event of the lockout.  However, this can only take them so far and I expect the players to lose heavily in the new CBA.

Tomorrow, exactly what I expect to happen in the CBA discussions along with what it means for the league moving forward in the next decade.