Defining one of the goals of owners in ongoing collective bargaining talks, National Basketball Association commissioner David Stern said teams would like some type of relief from long-term contract obligations to unproductive players.
The NBA's seven-year labor agreement expires after the upcoming season, and the league and players' union have been holding preliminary talks on a new deal -- the first since the sides went through a costly lockout that wiped out a large portion of the 1998-1999 season.
PHOTO: AFP
Sounding a fairly optimistic tone, Stern said it was far too early in the process to even be speaking about the possibility of another lockout.
But he did give some insight into what's behind one of the owners' current proposals -- cutting the maximum length of contracts from seven years to four.
"Owners, on balance, want to come up with system that's a bit more profitable than the existing system and doesn't reward players who are no longer in the league -- or who shouldn't be in the league at higher prices," Stern said Thursday in a conference call with reporters.
"Players getting contracts and not playing in the league is taking money from players who are in the league and are playing heavily. That's what gets us into discussions of shorter contracts," Stern said.
Stern met with ownership's negotiating committee earlier this week during the league's Board of Governors meeting, giving a briefing on what parameters have been established thus far in talks with the union.
The union is seeking greater freedom of movement for players, along with an end to the escrow tax system under which 10 percent of players' paychecks are withheld, and the luxury tax system that penalizes owners with the highest payrolls.
Stern also said he has asked for a 20-year-old age limit, with incentives provided to players who defer their draft eligibility to stay in college. The union says it adamantly opposes raising the current age limit of 18.
"There are lots of proposals and ideas going around. We remain committed to a process that guarantees the players a specific percentage of revenues," Stern said. "We're talking more about certain approaches as to redistributing money than we are about major efforts to clamp that money down."
The NBA's collective bargaining talks come as the National Hockey League is in a work stoppage, the owners having locked out the players and postponed the start of the 2004-2005 season.
NBA club owners are also seeking a reduction in the size of annual raises given in long-term contracts. Currently, players can receive 12.5 percent raises if they re-sign with their current team; 10 percent if they sign with a new team as a free agent.
Owners are also seeking a reduction in the starting salary for the midlevel exception, which allows teams over the salary cap to free agents.
But the most important item on the wish list, Stern made clear, was some mechanism to prevent teams from having to pay millions of dollars to players who stop being productive after signing long-term contracts.
The New York Knicks, for instance, paid US$6 million to Travis Knight -- along with an additional US$6 million in luxury tax -- despite cutting him prior to last season.
Also, Matt Maloney is being paid US$3.2 million by Houston this season despite having been out of the league for most of the past three seasons, and the Knicks are on the hook for US$1.2 million to John Amaechi despite having waived him just days after acquiring him from Houston last season.
New York is currently pondering a buyout of the three years and US$24 million it owes Shandon Anderson, and the Chicago Bulls are in similar straits trying to part ways with Eddie Robinson.
"The system may not have adequate rewards for veteran players and others who can make contributions," Stern said.
Union director Billy Hunter did not immediately respond to Stern's statements. He said during the summer that a lockout is possible if ownership didn't move significantly away from its initial demands.
LAKERS 97, WIZARDS 87
Kobe Bryant scored 19 points to help the Los Angeles Lakers close out their preseason Thursday with a 97-87 win over the Washington Wizards.
The Lakers trailed by a point with less than eight minutes remaining before finishing with a 25-14 run.
Larry Hughes led Washington with 15 points. Kwame Brown, the Wizards' leading rebounder last season, was out again with a broken right foot. He will see an orthopedist Friday.
Washington coach Eddie Jordan was ejected with 1:02 remaining in the third quarter after arguing Jarvis Hayes was fouled.
Lamar Odom had 16 points. Tierre Brown and Jumaine Jones had 12 each for the Lakers.
Cavaliers 99, Hawks 94
In Pittsburgh, LeBron James and Zydrunas Ilgauskas led a third-quarter comeback and Cleveland rallied from a 12-point deficit to beat Atlanta.
Ilgauskas had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and James and Jeff McInnis scored 16 each for the Cavaliers, who won their sixth in a row to improve to 6-1 going into their final preseason game Friday night at Toronto.
Al Harrington and Jason Collier scored 15 points each for the Hawks, but they still lost their seventh straight to finish with a 1-7 preseason record under first-year coach Mike Woodson.
Nets 96, 76ers 94
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Alonzo Mourning had 12 points and five rebounds in his first game since undergoing a kidney transplant in December to lead New Jersey over Philadelphia.
The remarkable 34-year-old center made 3 of 5 shots from the field and 6 of 10 from the free throw line in a 19-minute performance that was almost twice as long as coach Lawrence Frank wanted.
Richard Jefferson gave the Nets (4-4) the victory with a driving baseline dunk with less than a second to play to cap a 21-point, 12-rebound effort. Rodney Buford added 20 points, and Jason Collins had 15 for New Jersey.
Knicks 89, Jazz 83
In New York, Tim Thomas scored 19 of his 23 points in the third quarter to lead New York past Utah.
Thomas started the second half with a 3-pointer and made two more before coming out just before the fourth quarter. Trevor Ariza added 12 points and nine rebounds, and Stephon Marbury had eight points and seven rebounds for the Knicks, who won their last three preseason games.
Matt Harpring scored 17, and Carlos Boozer had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Jazz, who lost guard Carlos Arroyo after he sprained his ankle.
Grizzlies 99, Bucks 92
In Green Bay, Wisconsin, Stromile Swift scored 24 points and Memphis recovered after blowing an 18-point lead to beat Milwaukee.
Joe Smith gave the Bucks their first lead when he sank two free throws to make it 92-91 with 2:12 left in the teams' final exhibition game.
Those were Milwaukee's final points, however, as Memphis countered with Troy Bell's only basket, followed by Brian Cardinal's two free throws that gave the Grizzlies a 95-92 lead.
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