Amundson opts to remain with Warriors
June 30, 2011
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP)—Golden State Warriors forward Lou Amundson has toldthe team that he is exercising the player option on his contract for nextseason.
The Warriors also announced Thursday that they waived forward Jeff Adrien(notes).Both moves came before the start of the NBA lockout on Friday.
Golden State Warriors draft pi… AP – Jun 27, 4:15 pm EDT NBA Gallery
Amundson appeared in 46 games for the Warriors last season, averaging 4.3points and 4.0 rebounds. Overall during his five-year NBA career, he hasaveraged 4.1 points and 3.7 rebounds in 228 regular-season games with Utah,Philadelphia, Phoenix and Golden State.
Adrien appeared in 23 games over two stints with the Warriors last season,averaging 2.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.
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NBA decides to lock out players
June 30, 2011
NEW YORK (AP)—The NBA says it is locking out its players until a newcollective bargaining agreement can be reached.
The lockout will commence at 12:01 EDT on Friday, after the expiration ofthe current deal that owners say has cost them millions of dollars a year.
Billy Hunter, executive direct… AP – Jun 21, 5:49 pm EDT NBA Gallery
Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver says in a statement that the CBA ratified in2005 has “created a broken system that produced huge financial losses for ourteams.”
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Durant: Players will stand their ground
June 30, 2011
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)—Two-time scoring champion Kevin Durant(notes) says NBA playersare prepared to stand their ground, no matter how long the league locks themout.
Durant told The Associated Press on Thursday that the players “just wantthe owners to listen to us” and not make vast changes to the league’scollective bargaining agreement that was set to expire at midnight.
DALLAS, TX – MAY 25: Kevin Du… Getty Images – May 26, 12:30 am EDT NBA Gallery
Commissioner David Stern said he’d recommend to the labor relationscommittee that the players be locked out after negotiations with the NBAplayers’ association failed to produce a new CBA.
Durant tells AP the players believe the current CBA has been working welland “there’s no need to change it.”
Durant says “no matter how long the lockout’s going to take, we’re going tostand up. We’re not going to give in.”
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House exercises option to stay with Heat
June 30, 2011
MIAMI (AP)—Miami Heat reserve guard Eddie House(notes) has decided to exercisethe option clause in his contract, and he’ll be back with the team next season.
House’s decision was confirmed Thursday by the team. House, who could havebecome a free agent, is now under contract for $1.4 million for next year.
Eddie House (L) of the Miami H… Getty Images – Jun 12, 10:22 pm EDT NBA Gallery
The 11-year pro played in 56 games for the Eastern Conference champions lastseason, averaged 6.5 points per game and made 68 3-pointers.
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New Pistons owner lets CEO Ostfield go
June 30, 2011
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP)—Detroit Pistons CEO Alan Ostfield has been let goby the team’s new ownership.
Ostfield became president and CEO of both the Pistons and Palace Sports &Entertainment last year. The team was purchased about a month ago by PlatinumEquity chairman Tom Gores in a deal that included Palace Sports.
Platinum Equity partners Phil Norment and Bob Wentworth will share PS&Eleadership responsibilities on an interim basis. Norment says the change is partof “an overall realignment of the business side of the organization.”
Gores has left team president Joe Dumars, who heads the team’s basketballoperations, in place.
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Union: NBA lockout ‘will happen tonight’
June 30, 2011
NEW YORK (AP)—Union chief Billy Hunter said Thursday “it’s obvious thelockout will happen tonight” after players and owners failed to reach a newcollective bargaining agreement, potentially putting the 2011-12 season injeopardy.
Despite a three-hour meeting Thursday and a final proposal from the players— which NBA leaders said would have raised average player salaries to $7 millionin the sixth year of the deal—the sides could not close the enormous gulf thatremained in their positions.
“The gap is too great,” Hunter said.
Billy Hunter, executive direct… AP – Jun 21, 5:49 pm EDT NBA Gallery
The CBA expires at midnight, after which all league business is officiallyon hold, starting with the free agency period that would have opened Friday.
Commissioner David Stern said “with some sadness” he would recommend laterThursday to the labor relations committee that the first lockout since the1998-99 season be imposed.
“Needless to say we’re disappointed that this is where we find ourselves,”Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver said.
The last lockout reduced the 1998-99 season to just a 50-game schedule, theonly time the NBA missed games for a work stoppage. Hunter said it’s too earlyto be concerned about that.
“I hope it doesn’t come down to that,” he said. “Obviously, the clock isnow running with regard to whether or not there will or will be a loss of games,and so I’m hoping that over the next month or so that there will be sort of asoftening on their side and maybe we have to soften our position as well.”
The NBA’s summer league in Las Vegas already has been canceled, preseasongames in Europe were never scheduled, and players might have to decide if theywant to risk playing in this summer’s Olympic qualifying tournaments without theNBA’s help in securing insurance in case of injury.
Training camps usually open the last week of September and the regularseason about a month later.
“These kinds of things take on a life of their own, and I just don’t knowwhere their life is going to lead,” Stern said.
Hunter said he hopes the two sides will meet again in the next two weeks.
The players’ association seems unlikely, at least for now, to follow theNFLPA’s model by decertifying and taking the battle into the court system,instead choosing to continue negotiations. Hunter said last week he felt ownersbelieve the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis, which is debatingthe legality of the NFL’s lockout, will uphold employers’ rights to imposelockouts.
The NBA projected $300 million in losses this season and said it losthundreds of millions in every season of this CBA, ratified in 2005. Leagueofficials said 22 of the 30 teams would lose money.
But owners don’t just want to minimize their losses. They want to make aprofit, along with developing a system in which small-market teams could competewith the biggest spenders. The Lakers and Mavericks, who won the last three NBAtitles, are annually at the top of the list of highest payrolls.
So they took a hard-line stance from the start, with their initial proposalin 2010 calling for the institution of a hard salary cap system, along withmassive reductions in contract lengths and elimination in contract guarantees.Though the proposal was withdrawn after a contentious meeting with players atthe 2010 All-Star weekend, the league never moved from its wish list untilrecently.
Hunter said he believed it was hard for the players to ever move past thestart of the process.
The expected lockout comes exactly one year after one of the NBA’s mostanticipated days in recent years, when LeBron James(notes), Dwyane Wade(notes) and the rest ofthe celebrated class of 2010 became free agents. That free agency bonanza kickedoff a flurry of moves, with James, Wade and Chris Bosh(notes) teaming in Miami, AmareStoudemire(notes) heading to New York, and Carlos Boozer(notes) moving to Chicago.
It got the league started on a season where ratings, ticket and merchandisesales were up, weakening the owners’ case that the system was broken beyondrepair. But it also demonstrated why they wanted changes, with Stern sayingowners feel pressure to spend as much as possible to prove their commitment towinning to fans.
He agreed the league had a great year, but “not a profitable one.”
Stern wouldn’t say when negotiations would resume.
About 90 percent of NBA players get paid from Nov. 15 through April 30, sothey won’t be missing checks for a while. But Stern has warned that the offersonly get worse once a lockout starts, so the league could try to push throughelements of its original proposal when bargaining resumes. Hunter said, however,that was not expressed to him Thursday.
Like with the NFL lockout, NBA players won’t be the only ones affected.Employees of teams and the league also face a very uncertain future. Sternadmitted all options would be considered, including furloughs for his employees.
“The people who stand to have their livings impacted by a shutdown of ourindustry are going to have a negative view of both sides,” Stern said. “Ithink our fans will tend to have a negative view of why can’t you guys work thisthing out.”
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NBA players locked out, season in doubt
June 30, 2011
NEW YORK (AP)—Union chief Billy Hunter says “it’s obvious the lockoutwill happen tonight” after players and owners failed to reach a new collectivebargaining agreement, potentially putting the 2011-12 season in jeopardy.
Despite a three-hour meeting Thursday, the sides could not close theenormous gap that remained in their positions.
Billy Hunter, executive direct… AP – Jun 21, 5:49 pm EDT NBA Gallery
“The gap is too great,” Hunter said.
The CBA expires at midnight, after which all league business is officiallyon hold, starting with the free agency period that would have opened Friday.
Hunter said he hoped the two sides would meet again in the next two weeks.
Games eventually could be lost, too. The last lockout reduced the 1998-99season to just a 50-game schedule, the only time the NBA missed games for a workstoppage.
“We tried to avoid the lockout,” union executive committee member MattBonner(notes) said. “Unfortunately we couldn’t reach a deal.”
The NFL has already locked out its players, and the two sides have been indiscussions this week, trying to work toward a new deal.
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Cavs trade Hickson to Kings for Casspi
June 30, 2011
CLEVELAND (AP)—The Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday traded forward J.J.Hickson(notes) to the Sacramento Kings for forward Omri Casspi(notes) and a future first-roundpick.
Hickson’s days in Cleveland appeared numbered when the club drafted Texasforward Tristan Thompson(notes) with the No. 4 overall pick in last week’s NBA draft.Hickson has shown potential to be a star, but his on-court lapses frustratedCavaliers coach Byron Scott last season.
Texas' Tristan Thompson ta… AP – Jun 23, 8:47 pm EDT NBA Gallery
The 23-year-old Casspi averaged 8.6 points and 4.3 rebounds last season. TheCavs were in need of a small forward.
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Celtics make F Green qualifying offer
June 30, 2011
BOSTON (AP)—The Boston Celtics have made a qualifying offer to forwardJeff Green(notes), making him a restricted free agent.
Also Thursday, the team exercised its option on guard Avery Bradley(notes) for the2012-13 season. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.
MIAMI, FL – MAY 11: Jeff Gree… Getty Images – May 11, 8:42 pm EDT NBA Gallery
Green averaged 9.8 points and 3.3 rebounds with the Celtics last seasonafter coming to Boston in the trade that sent Kendrick Perkins(notes) to Oklahoma City.
Bradley averaged 1.7 points in 5.2 minutes per game as a rookie for theCeltics. He was Boston’s first-round draft pick, 19th overall.
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Meeting may determine if lockout begins
June 30, 2011
NEW YORK (AP)—Representatives for NBA players and owners have arrived fora meeting that could determine if there is a lockout.
The sides started their meeting about 12 hours before the expiration of thecollective bargaining agreement.
They remain far apart on nearly every important issue, and owners could lockout the players if a deal is not reached by the end of the day. Or they couldextend the deadline if progress has been made.
Both sides, however, indicated last week they may not have any moreconcessions to make, with players declining to offer a new proposal in the mostrecent session.
The league hasn’t had a work stoppage since the 1998-99 season was reducedto 50 games.
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