Versatile Point Forward

Chapter 407 Boring Summer

On June 6, U.S. time, the NBA’s labor and management sides negotiated for about two and a half hours in New York on the old version of the labor agreement that is about to end. In the end, the two parties officially confirmed that they could not reach an agreement.According to the regulations, the league will officially stop at 30:7 on July 1, US Eastern Time.

When the entire league did not react, the fifth lockout period in NBA history began.All teams implement the first step of the lockout rule, which is to enter the closing time. From July 7st to the successful negotiation, no more transactions can be made. The team can no longer supervise players and organize player training (to ensure that these players can be in training. All employees of NBA teams, including assistant coaches, trainers, etc., are prohibited by the league from having any contact with players.During the lockout period, both employers and employees can continue to negotiate until the negotiation is successful.But players will no longer have the help of the NBA to avoid injury risks when they represent their country in international competitions.

Ye Feng, who was still training in the rehabilitation center, couldn't laugh or cry after receiving the news: It seems that this summer is really all about training, but the management team is more boring than the players, right?After all, they can't do anything, so they probably can only choose to take a vacation.

In 1964, because the interests of the players were not protected and the status of the players union was not recognized, Heinsohn, then chairman of the players union, called on the players to strike during the All-Star Weekend to put pressure on the NBA.The player's strike behavior panicked then-NBA commissioner Walton Kennedy. He agreed to negotiate with the players union after the All-Star Game, which allowed the All-Star Game to be held smoothly.The two sides of labor and management then negotiated. The NBA recognized the status of the players union, and the players won the protection of their interests.

In 1976, the NBA merged with the ABA (American Basketball Association). At that time, the league stipulated that players who had not graduated from college could not enter the NBA. ABA player Spencer Haywood was officially deemed ineligible to play in the NBA due to dropping out of school, and Haywood's contract was invalidated.After the news came out, Paul Silas, then chairman of the players union, believed that this was an act of discrimination. On the one hand, the players union called on the players to demonstrate, and on the other hand, they took the NBA to court.The court ruled that Haywood had the right to play in the NBA, and the labor and management finally reached an agreement to allow players with poor family conditions to enter the NBA early.

In the labor negotiations in 1994, the employers demanded the adoption of a hard salary cap and restrictions on rookie contracts.In order to avoid shrinking the season, the labor and management temporarily compromised to allow the 94-95 season to proceed smoothly.After the end of the season, the NBA announced the closure of the stadium, and the labor and management reached a new labor agreement after another round of verbal confrontation.Both sides took a step back, the hard salary cap was not adopted, and the player contracts were restricted.

In March 1998, NBA labor and management conducted new negotiations on the labor agreement. The bosses hoped to adjust the league's salary cap system and the player's salary cap. However, the players union firmly opposed the boss's plan, and they hoped to increase those basic salaries. The player's salary level.Negotiations between the two sides eventually broke down, and the alliance began to shut down.The lockout lasted from July 3, 1998 to January 7, 1, which also resulted in each team playing only 1999 games in the 1-20 season.

But this time it seemed more serious than any previous one. As a temporary staff member of ESPN, Abby got a lot of first-hand information from her colleagues, and Ye Feng was a little dumbfounded when he heard it.The differences between the labor side and the management side mainly lie in four aspects: first, the management side requires the implementation of a hard salary cap, and hopes that the labor side can gradually reduce salaries on the basis of the existing contract; Increase the share of the management; third, the management believes that the upper limit of the player's large contract must be revised, and the high salary should be severely restricted, while the wages of the middle- and low-salary players will remain unchanged or even slightly increased; the fourth is that the labor side hopes to fix the player's dividend as the total income. 30%, and 10% of which will be distributed to retired players as pensions.

In fact, the biggest sacrifice in each lockout is the players, because they have no other means to protest.When their interests are violated, the only thing the players can do is to fight desperately, but this kind of resistance is extremely limited. May I ask which labor dispute in history has the players taken advantage of?In the eyes of the bosses who are extremely wealthy, the team in their hands is more like an expensive toy. Although they are reluctant to give up, they are not afraid to put it on the shelf.However, the players can't afford it, because they still have to rely on the income from playing to support their families. The suspension is a bad news for them.

Once the management is ready to fight a protracted war, the final situation that may result is a concession from the players. The reason is very simple. Except for a few superstars with an annual salary of tens of millions of dollars, most players cannot bear the suffering of no salary.Of course, the loss on the books of the employer is even greater. In the lockout 12 years ago, the direct economic loss of the alliance reached 15 billion US dollars.Because of this, the league certainly does not want to see the shrinking season happen again.

Of course Ye Feng didn't want to see his interests being harmed, but he couldn't intervene in this. He could only wait for the outcome of the labor negotiations.Although the league does not allow teams to organize training, players can still organize their own training or participate in some amateur leagues, which is beyond the control of the NBA.Ye Feng couldn't help but think of the phone call Westbrook made to him a few days ago. Of course, he wasn't invited to train with him, but he hoped that Ye Feng would recover from his injury as soon as possible and then play in the AAU league together.

Westbrook's idea is very good. He plans to organize an AAU team composed of active NBA players from UCLA. According to him, Love, Collison, Honeycutt and Afflalo have been invited. There are also Ariza and Barnes who have joined the NBA before them.He knew that Ye Feng's sprain recovery speed was astonishing, so he hoped that Ye Feng could join in and find his status in the AAU league together.

AAU, the American Amateur Athletic Union, is the national organization responsible for promoting amateur sports.In addition to those run by schools and colleges, sports administered by the federation include handball, racquetball, horseshoes, distance running, volleyball, karate, trampoline, wrestling, and adult basketball.Many NBA stars such as Kobe and James have played in the AAU league, and many players have also emerged because of this.

Ye Feng originally planned to stay in Portland to train well, but now that the lockout has started, it seems that the AAU league is also a good place to go, at least he can get in touch with other UCLA active players.

(End of this chapter)