Evans told SI.com that the players are in no mood to concede ground in discussions over a new labour deal, with the work stoppage having dragged on for nearly two months. The NBA locked out players on July 1 after the league and its players failed to agree on how to share $4 billion in annual revenues. Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that NBA arena operators would lose more than US$1 billion in ticket revenue if the lockout wipes out the 2011-12 season.
NBA owners, citing losses of US$300 million for the 2010-11 season, are seeking significant reductions in player compensation. A hard salary cap, shorter contracts and a major shift in the split of basketball-related income (BRI) is being sought. The previous collective bargaining agreement saw players receive 57% of league BRI, equating to $2.176 billion from the total of $3.8 billion for the past season.
“The offers have been so pathetic that it's hard to even talk about it when we're informing the guys,” said Evans, who has been touring six cities across the United States to inform players of the latest updates in the lockout situation. “We're $7.6 billion apart (over the life of the proposed deal)...We're just getting ready for them to re-engage, set the time and the place, and we'll be there willing to try and hash this thing out.”
Evans added: “Our guys are willing to miss this season and more. We're willing to do what it's going to take because accepting a deal at the numbers that they're asking for will be worse than missing the season.” According to the NBPA vice-president, further talks are expected to take place next week, with some reports suggesting a meeting early in the week has been scheduled.
