Troubled Union about to receive Influx of Money from Owners

Under pressure

On Wednesday, the officials from the NBA and the NBPA sat down behind closed doors, one week removed from their last meeting, to try to work out a deal to end the current labor dispute. The meeting lasted five and a half hours. Last week it lasted six. Again, relevant details by either side as to how the talks were progressing were not revealed, however, the two sides did agree to meet again Thursday. It will be only the fifth meeting between the two sides since the lockout began on July 1, but it will be the third time in the last 10 days.

Despite seemingly good signs on the surface there is a tension growing in the union. Billy Hunter, the executive director of the NBPA, has been coming under fire, Sam Amick writes, recently from agents who are angry that he did not move to decertify the union once the lockout began, like the NFLPA did, in order to create more leverage for the players in the negotiations. However, the influence of the agents does not stop there. During the lockout, agents have been pushing for more information concerning the labor negotiations so that they can relay news to the players they represent. More information could potentially give them a leg up when a new CBA is agreed upon in the future. Information is money to the agents, in all facets.

The power and influence that the agents have held over the union might not be as strong as it once was, however. Union vice president, Maurice Evans, laid into the agents in an August meeting, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! reported Wednesday. Evans berated Bill Duffy and the prodding that the agents were doing and voiced his support for Hunter and the way in which he was handling the players agenda during the lockout.

All of this amounts to a fractured NBPA with frustration beginning to take hold on almost every level. If the union were to decertify now, as the agents had pushed for from the start, it would weaken the union’s position and be a resounding vote of no confidence for Hunter. Yet, it may be the last available option if the owners do not seriously alter their hardline stance. For the owners, all they have to do is wait for the players’ money to start to dry up.

However, more than 350 checks made out to players are currently in the mail, Chris Sheridan has learned. A whopping total of $161 million is being paid to the players.

The money represents the 8 percent of each player’s salary that was withheld from their paychecks last season under the NBA’s escrow tax system, which was put in place to ensure that the players received no more than 57 percent of basketball related income in the 2010-11 season…

In addition, the league office sent an additional $26 million in funds to the union to satisfy its obligation to pay out 57 percent of BRI. (The union is hanging onto that $26 million until a vote is held to determine how it should be distributed).

That means a total of $187 million is going from the owners’ wallets into the players’ wallets at a time when the owners are counting on the prospect of missed paychecks to help force the union to make additional givebacks in collective bargaining talks…

So much for the owners hoping that the players would start panicking once they missed their first paychecks, which are scheduled to arrive on November 15. It looks like the players have a nice little rainy-day fund headed their way. Sheridan also writes that many of the players with long-term contracts, about 25 percent of them, are paid on a 12-month schedule. The owners are still playing some of the players despite of the lockout. This can only serve to undermine the owners’ and league’s staunch labor positions at the bargaining table.

Clearly, both sides have had their armor pierced. The union is fractured and the owners are paying the players millions not to work. Hopefully, this is a stepping stone for advancing the talks. Two meetings in two days appears to have each side headed in the right direction but with no information becoming public about the meetings it is impossible to say. The NBA and NBPA must find a common ground. If they do not then everyone loses.

Kirk Hinrich traded to Atlanta Hawks

East coast swap

It was widely assumed that the Washington Wizards were only interested in a youth movement on their roster. However, most widely assumed assumptions were sent packing on an eventful Wednesday before the trade deadline.

There had been plenty of rumblings about the Atlanta Hawks shopping Mike Bibby around the league as they looked to get younger at point guard while also ridding themselves of Bibby’s remaining contract. They somehow convinced the Wizards to take the aging guard.

Along with Bibby, the Hawks will send Jordan Crawford and Maurice Evans to Washington D.C.. The Wizards will send Kirk Hinrich and Hilton Armstrong to Atlanta.

The move to aquire Hinrich is a sign that the Hawks are quite aware of their precarious situation in the Eastern Conference standings. This is a team that is going no where fast. Their record is quite deciving as their wins have mostly come against the dregs of the league as they continue to lose to the teams who are considered mediocre or better.

Hopefully, for Atlanta’s sake, the trade to get Hinrich will breathe some life into these faltering birds. However, even if they do start to play better they have little chance of making a deep run in the Eastern Conference when the playoffs roll around.

Joe Johnson’s injured elbow puts strain on Hawks

Joe Johnson could miss up to six weeks.

Just when winning looked easy in Atlanta, Joe Johnson’s elbow could put a snag in the season.

The nine-year veteran will undergo surgery today for a “loose body” in his elbow and could be out four to six weeks.  The team announced the need for surgery on Wednesday after orthopedic Dr. James Andrews revealed the bad news.

Johnson was one of the top free agents of last season’s historic free agency.  The Hawks subsequently resigned him to a max deal for $124 million over the next six seasons.  Many claimed that the deal was too much and it’s starting to look like it may not pay off immediately for Atlanta.

He is averaging just over 17 points a game, which is down from the 21 that he, averaged last season.  However, it has been speculated that Johnson has been playing with the injury for some time now.  The shooter has shot only 23 of 61 from the field over the last five games including a seven-point performance against the Knicks last week.

Maurice Evans replaced Johnson in the starting lineup on Wednesday as the Hawks beat the Memphis Grizzlies 112-109.  Evans too has missed some of this season due to injury when he sat out eight games with an injured knee.  He really is known more for his defensive skills than scoring seeing as he is only putting up five points a game.

Head coach Larry Drew will also have to continue playing Marvin Williams who is already averaging 28 minutes a game.  He’s used to playing but may not be able to fill in completely.

The guard position itself isn’t very strong in Atlanta with Jamal Crawford not having the season he had last year.   The reigning Sixth Man is averaging only 14 points a game from 18 last season.  Some say he may be taking it easy this year since he will become a free agent this season and an injury wont help him sign big money.

Regardless, the Hawks could be in trouble.  Johnson is their best scorer and with only 100 points a game, their scoring wil dip even more.  In addition, the veteran’s leadership will be missed especially in a season with a brand new coach.

It’s hard to speculate what a four to six-week injury could do to a team especially when the top guy goes down.  The next few weeks will really show what the Hawks have as far as depth but also how they respond to change.

It’s a new season and a new contract but Johnson wont be making the impact that Atlanta paid for until late January.