Something since nothing has been posted for a while.
Billy Hunter used to prosecute Hell’s Angels members back in the day. Maybe he should’ve stuck to that, or moved onto see if he can finally get those Sons of Anarchy guys to shut down SAMCRO (kill Clay to start with?). What he certainly should not have been is the leader of the NBPA, because he’s done a sure as shit job of managing that. Right now, everybody hates him. Even Chris, who everybody hates. There’s talking of the union disbanding, more NBA players getting demoted to the NBDL, a massive slash in the percentage of BRI that goes to the players, and a system that’ll prevent teams from splurging on players. This has all happened under his watch, and worst of all for him, this is now considered a decent deal for the players.
You have to admire David Stern and his tactics, he’s dangling a 72-game season (only one missed pay cheque for the players instead of two) in front of the players, and it’s going to test their resolve to the utmost. If they don’t bite, he’s going to go back to 47% BRI and we’re back to square one, and this saga descends to its ugliest stage. Time is, of course, on the side of the owners. The players have a limited window to make their money, the owners don’t. That’s the question thing that every player is going to be asking themselves. Is it worth losing money in the relatively short career they have. Stern has proven in the past that he’s willing to let the season slip away (see the 50-game season from a decade ago), so when Stern says he’ll be cancelling more games, he’s not bluffing. He’s got a track record of following up on his threats.
It was evident from the start and it’s becoming even more clear now. Derek Fisher and Billy Hunter are out of their league when dealing with a man like Stern.
As for that resolve I talked about, the latest deal is likely to be rejected. Do you honestly think Stern is going to come back with a better deal for the players if they do that?
