Done Deal: NBA tentatively scheduled to start Christmas Day
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Done Deal: NBA tentatively scheduled to start Christmas Day
Addition: the Sixers will hold training camp at their practice facility, the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Training camp is tentatively scheduled to begin Dec. 9, pending ratification of the league's next collective bargaining agreement. Recent Sixers' training camps have been held at St. Joe's, but because of the timing, there are scheduling conflicts. The Sixers are currently in prep mode, trying to finish a long list of tasks (most important is finalizing the schedule) before the NBA launches on Christmas Day. Although there's nothing definitive yet about the Sixers' 66-game schedule for the 2011-12 season, the Sixers will begin the season on the road. They had been scheduled to play at the Sacramento Kings on Dec. 26. Because the NBA is opening both training camps and the free agency period on the same day -- Dec. 9 -- there is going to be a lot of advance work needing to be done. The Sixers have two restricted free agents, Thaddeus Young and Spencer Hawes, whose contract situations will need particular attention. It'll be an odd time, launching camps with incomplete rosters, but the NBA is on a tight timeline to accomplish everything before Christmas Day.
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Here's last night's post (actually, early Saturday morning's post):
The NBA is back.
The NBA and lawyers for the NBA players have reached a tentative agreement on the next collective bargaining agreement. The deal must still be ratified by the league's 450 players, which can come only after the union reforms, but a deal is in place and expected to pass a majority vote on both sides.
The lockout will not be lifted until the deal is ratified, which both sides said they were confident would happen.
The tentative agreement includes A-list issues like split of basketball revenue and a luxury tax system, but does not yet include B-list issues like drug testing and age limit.
NBA commissioner David Stern said the 2011-12 season is expected to start on Christmas Day with the already-scheduled triple-header. The NBA hopes to pack in a 66-game season, extending the end of the regular season by approximately 10 days to two weeks. Stern also said the NBA is aiming to open training camps on Dec. 9, which would also be the opening date of the free agency period. It's an odd arrangement -- opening camps and free agency at the same time -- but as deputy commissioner Adam Silver pointed out, the NBA is on a tight timeline to launch by Dec. 25.
In the mean time, both the NBA and the union would work on moving this broad, tenative agreement from the settlement stage to a detailed CBA. And then to ratification.
This agreement was reached in the early morning hours on Saturday, after approximately 15 hours of settlement talks from midday Friday until early-morning Saturday. Friday's session came on the heels of private sessions earlier in the week.
Stern said that this tentative agreement came after knocking heads again, but Stern said the difference was that both sides understood how important it was to the fans, as well as the arena employees (and other similarly affected employees), to get this deal done.
On Nov. 14, the NBPA rejected the NBA's then-latest offer and decided to dissolve the union. The trade association -- the former union -- immediately filed anti-trust lawsuits in both California and Minnesota. The players then consolidated the two lawsuits into one. Because the union dissolved, Friday's session was officially "settlement talks" and not a "collective bargaining session."
Both Stern and Billy Hunter declined to speak about the details of the agreement until they each speak to their respective sides. Stern said he would be "disappointed" if he didn't receive a unanimous vote from the NBA Board of Governors (committee of owners). Hunter and union president Derek Fisher both seemed confident this tentative deal would be pushed through by the players once the union was re-formed. Hunter said they already had a call scheduled with their lawyers for tomorrow (Saturday) morning.
Asked to comment broadly about the deal, Silver and San Antonio Spurs owner Peter Holt said that while the league didn't get the vast system changes it initially wanted (i.e. hard salary cap), they do believe this CBA will allow smaller-market teams to compete.
More tomorrow. Time for sleep.
--Kate
Each week, Kate will check in from the road and answer fan questions about the Sixers. Click here to ask Kate a question or e-mail her at kfagan@phillynews.com.
This day will live in infamy. The grinch stole Christmas!— prudential2- Interesting that the comments fall into three roughly equal groups:
1-Hoo ray!
2-Hoo cares?
3-Hoo falls for this propaganda?
#1 was me in the 60s, 70s & 80s, #2 was me in the 90s, #3 is me now that I realize it is all a show and certainly not legitimate competition.
— donmargolis - To all you jeolous haters; please don't watch! Who needs you? There's plenty of folks who still love the sport and anticipated its return. Say what you will, but these are the best athletes in the world. Maybe you all should dedicate yourself to your craft and maybe you'll be lucky enough to maximize your potential like these athletes did. You haters act as if these guys didn't work hard to get to this level. Cut it out! We all wish we were so blessed..— If i may add
- Working hard to get to the level...........yes, that's why watching big time college basketball is so exciting, the elite players are going hard, tying to attain that goal of reaching "the next level"....Unfortunately, the entertainment value at the "next level" is not matched by so many elite athletes, coddled with huge money in a long season...Has Tracey McGrady worked hard the past 4 years?...no, cracks jokes about his head coach during timeouts serving as a cancer to the rest of his squad...while making over 20 million dollars a year....A league where the GM can get credit for "dumping a contract" makes you shake your head a little... — bearsfriend
- It will be the Bulls or the Heat in the finals the next 5 years. Sorry Sixers fans. And get ready for 66 games with the worst broadcasting team in the business. Zumoff and Snow. If they let Snow go Zumoff will call his next color man partner like he was working with the guy for 10 years. What a phony.— Drew777
Where my money ?- Could not care less. These pro athletes certainly live in their own financial world apart from the real world in which the rest of us reside. And the franchise owners? ...the rich just get richer $$$$$— justanotherfan
- Who cares....I guess the lease payments on the Escalades started coming due.— kelprod2
- ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.— brio
- I believe the players found out that the fans really didn't care. There was no out pouring of interest at all like the NFL. The sports shows were not talking about the NBA and none of the fans were talking about the NBA and the players finally realized that the fans didn't care if they ever played another game. I find it hilarious that Wilmington said basketball had its highest ratings ever. That was great. It meant that instead of 300,000 homes watching the finals 400,000 homes watched the NBA finals. Truly out of all the sports played in the States the NBA is right up their with the NHL, and can't even beat out a Sunday Golf finals with Tiger Woods playing. If Corporate America or business didn't buy 80% of the tickets to the NBA games most NBA stadiums would be half full, if not less. Oh when the NBA can actually get its playoff games on the real National TV and not just TBS, give us a call.— golson@florida
- By the way we folks who don't care, didn't read the article at all. We just decided to say, we really don't care at all that this even was settled.— golson@florida
- Millionaires and billionaires putting their differences aside to provide over-hyper "entertainment" for 2 and a half hours. That sounds like a perfect Christmas to me. Another Christmas miracle.— AreaMan
- Boycott the NBA regardless. I was really hoping for a canceled season to send the league a message that the sports public won't miss them as much as their sense of self-importance makes them believe.— camtheman
- So they're back. What about the home team? They still need a two guard. Iggy will stil be firing up threes. Spencer Hawes is still the starting center. Their #1 draft pick was nothing special. 34-32(66 game schedule) or 32-34. 1st round playoff elimination. Same old. Same old.— syddan26
- Correct...they should have went for Kenneth Faried, who will be running and banging for the Denver Nuggets...or, they should have made a move for a zone buster like Jimmer Fredette..He would have sold seats, too. — bearsfriend
John Mitchell is in his second year covering the 76ers for the Inquirer after joining the paper in November 2011. He covered the Washington Wizards for the Washington Times from 1998 to 2008. He's also worked at the Philadelphia Tribune, the Wilmington News Journal, Courier-Post, Trenton Times and Elmira Star-Gazette.Born and raised in West Philadelphia - not too far from Will Smith - he graduated from Overbrook High School the same year the 76ers won their last championship. He's a proud graduate of Howard University and the proud father of two sons, Jared and Jordan.
ABOUT MARC NARDUCCI
Marc Narducci has served in a variety of roles with the Inquirer since beginning in 1983. He has covered the 76ers as a backup and a beat writer. In addition, Narducci has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the World Series and a lot in between. Narducci also has a true passion for South Jersey scholastic sports, which he has covered for many years.
