Listen up, NBA! CNN/SI
users
take shots at the labor
crisis
Posted: Mon July 20, 1998
Last week, CNN/SI called for your creative resolutions for
the NBA's ongoing labor woes. Here is a selection of some
of the hundreds of answers that you sent
in.
Click
hereto submit your own solution to the NBA's labor
dispute.
As a parent of a toddler, I will ensure that he does not
support the NBA by watching it on television or in person
or by purchasing any merchandise of any team. By going
down the path you are currently pursuing, you are insulting
the intelligence of
your fan base. While I have no answers to this situation, I do
see the consequences. They are grim at
best.
—Tony Voris, Etters,
Pa.
First you make the rookie contracts five years. You make
marijuana testing mandatory. You also don't get rid of the
"Larry
Bird exception," just limit it. No player may make more
than 35% or his team's total salary. This would make it
impossible for a Jordan contract of $30 million-plus,
unless the owner was willing to fork out $100 million in
player
salaries.
—Mark Hutchinson, Nevada City,
Calif.
The
NBA owners and commissioner
David
Stern should all stop crying because, with respect to the few
unfortunate owners who actually are losing money, the NBA
is a very prosperous organization. They should realize
that, without a doubt, the players are the ones bringing in
the money and should
be
rewarded.
—Tony Ligon, Los
Angeles
Three letters: ABA. While there's talk of a football league
coming into being to compete with the NFL, why wouldn't
CBS, Fox and/or the other networks that don't cover the NBA
put together a rival league over the summer to start play
next fall? That
way, we'll find out what market wages are for the players, and
there will be a strong incentive for the owners to go to
the bargaining table in a
hurry.
—Greg Fingas, Regina,
Sask.
I say let the players stay locked out. I don't care. What
do you do to a child who has been bad? You send him to his
room. Eventually he or she will come around if they want
their privileges back. You have these troublemakers like
Chris Webber, Allen Iverson, Dennis Rodman,
and Anthony
Mason—the nouveau riche who don't know how to behave. Let
them find a minimum-wage job somewhere. Ask Jordan how much
he thinks a college geography major is making on the open
market.
—Hillary Hopkins, Durham,
N.C.
I understand that the owners are looking to eliminate the
guaranteed contract and claim the right to waive players
with long-term contracts who are not performing at the
expected level. However the players do require some sort of
structural compensation
for such a change. The players in the NBA place their
bodies on the line every night. They risk career-ending
injuries to entertain fans like us. So why are we robbing
them of their guarantees for playing well and staying
healthy?
—Tienmann Chau, Los
Angeles
Give all the money to
Michael
Jordan, and let him decide how much to pay each player, coach,
GM, etc. After all, he runs the league
anyway.
—Brian Bewley,
Indianapolis
I think that the NBA should institute some sort of
apprentice system. That is, someone who wants to be a
highly compensated professional must have completed a
seven-year apprenticeship. These years can include up to
four years at an NCAA school and
the rest for a professional
team.
—Kristan Wick, Brisbane,
Australia
The solution would be to have all contracts be 75%
incentive laden. Establish a minimum base salary (say
$350,000). Then have multiple bonuses kick in for
production in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks,
shooting percentage, etc. Players can
negotiate which categories they would like to have weighted
most heavily, based on their
strengths.
—Bill Schmidt, Kenosha,
Wis.
When it all comes down to it, the issue of the lockout is
the unrestricted use of the "Larry Bird
exception." Why not just restrict it's use by making
the teams exercise the Larry Bird option on their players
before they sign any player from another
team or by a certain date like July 15? By doing so,
Antonio
McDyess couldn't wait until Phoenix signs up free agents like
Scottie
Pippen with their "regular" cap money and then force
the owners to use the Larry Bird exception to get a huge
payday.
—Josh Davidson, South Bend,
Ind.
Reward the players and management for winning games. Their
revenue should be directly affected by wins, not individual
statistics or the size of the
city.
—Ron Angerer, Jacksonville,
Fla.
Watch college ball. There are some really good freshmen
left over from the
draft.
—Joshua Cox, Forest City,
Iowa
Click
hereto submit your own solution to the NBA's labor
dispute.
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