Versatile Point Forward

Chapter 411 is finally over

The entire month of October was spent in the players union and the league's wrangling, and all active NBA players became more and more restless.After playing the AAU game, Ye Feng, Westbrook and Love returned to UCLA and continued to borrow the arena of their alma mater for training, but at the same time they were also inquiring about labor negotiations.

The attitudes of both employers and employees are very tough. More representatives from both sides attended the negotiations on November 11th, but it seems to be of no use. Stern proposed next Wednesday as the deadline. The players had better accept the current proposal of the employers. .If the labor side still does not accept the employer’s proposal on Wednesday, Stern threatened that the employer will put forward more stringent proposals such as a 5% BRI share for the laborer and a flexible salary cap to “sanction” the laborer.

At the same time, the tough Jewish businessman also issued an ultimatum. If there is no obvious progress, the regular season before Christmas will be cancelled.Some players and agents plan to sign a petition by Tuesday to revoke the union's license.However, this move first requires about 130 people to sign the petition, and then submit the petition to the National Labor Relations Board, which needs 45 days to verify and then dissolve the union through a player vote.

Although the recognized No.1 Kobe Bryant publicly expressed his hope to reach a new labor agreement framework to avoid the league entering a cold winter, the emergency internal meeting of the players union held on November 11 showed that Kobe's wish was difficult to achieve.A total of 9 players attended the meeting, representing 43 of the 30 teams.The trade union reported the management's proposal and the negotiation situation to the representatives, and finally concluded that the management's proposal was completely unacceptable.

11月15日，NBA官方正式通知联盟各支球队，取消12月前两周一共103场比赛，这是联盟第三次宣布取消两周的比赛。斯特恩在10月28日宣布取消了11月15日至11月30日的比赛，在10月10日宣布取消了常规赛前两周的比赛，在10月4日宣布取消了NBA季前赛。这也意味着2011-12赛季常规赛场次减少已成定局。

However, the seemingly deadlocked parties are gradually moving towards reconciliation through continuous contacts. On November 11, after 26 hours of negotiations between the NBA labor and management, a framework agreement has been reached.Because it takes at least one month of preparation time from the end of the lockout to the start of the new season, and the reason why labor and management urgently restart negotiations and reach an agreement at this time is likely to keep the much-anticipated Christmas game.

《纽约时报》的记者霍华德·贝克透露了本赛季更加详细的赛程消息。据贝克表示，新赛季将从12月25日正式开战，到2012年4月26日结束。NBA官网公布的赛期大致安排证实了这个消息，4月26日的常规赛截止日比原赛程延期10天，相当于各队在125天内打66场比赛。季后赛开始日期为4月28日。总决赛如果进行7场，最长将持续到6月26日。

In this new season, which has shrunk to 16 regular-season games, each team's schedule will become more compact, with each team playing an average of one game every 1.89 days.If the 6-day truce during the All-Star weekend is excluded, then each team plays one game every 1.8 days, which is almost the same as the average intensity of one game every 98 days in the 99-1.82 season.At the same time, each team will play 48 games with teams in the same large division, which is 4 games less than the normal season. There are only 30 games.This also means that not every team will have the opportunity to visit the home courts of the other 18 teams in the league in the new season.

At the same time, the new season will once again usher in a back-to-back (three consecutive days of games) schedule since the shortened season of 1998-1999. Each team will be scheduled for at least one such schedule, and the team with the most will have three. Experience such a nightmare trip.In the playoffs, the schedule will also become tighter, and at least one back-to-back game will be arranged in the semifinal stage, instead of almost all games played every other day in the past.

Ye Feng didn't feel much about this arrangement. After all, he was a strong player who averaged nearly 40 minutes per game in the finals. The intensity of the competition in the new season was only a little troublesome for him, and it was hard to affect his performance.As a relatively young team, the Blazers naturally don't care much, but such a shrinking season is a nightmare for teams with an average age of over 30 years old, which will greatly increase the probability of veterans being injured.Especially in the playoffs where every game is a key game, the addition of back-to-back games has made the aging team virtually lose the chance to breathe.

But in any case, it is a good thing that the new season can start, which means that the team can continue to start its own championship.Of course, this also requires the general manager of the team to make minor repairs to the lineup. After all, last season's championship did have an element of luck.Although both Roy and Oden have recovered from their injuries, it is impossible for McMillan to let them play for too long at the beginning, so the team's reinforcement is imperative.

But the start of the new season from the Christmas game is a huge blow to those NBA players who went to China to seek gold, including Mills, an important substitute for the Blazers at the No. [-] position.According to the regulations of the Chinese Basketball Association, they were not allowed to have an opt-out option in the contract when they signed with the CBA team, so even if the NBA is suspended and the new NBA season will kick off at Christmas, they cannot jump out of the contract and return to the United States.

Ye Feng didn't care about the others, but Mills, as a teammate of the Trail Blazers, couldn't join the team in the new season.Mills was also very frustrated. After receiving the news, he contacted the team as soon as possible. He also felt very helpless about this situation, but he promised to return to the team after obtaining the permission of CBAXJ Guanghui. NBA to participate in the game, the first choice is still the old club Trail Blazers.

The team management is noncommittal about this. First of all, Mills signed XJ, which means that he has nothing to do with the Trail Blazers. Secondly, no one knows whether he can return to the NBA in the regular season. Even if he returns to the team, it is not necessary. Re-sign him, although the Australian has become the core of their national team.In the business league of the NBA, business is business, and the Blazers have made up their minds to strengthen the No. [-] position...

(End of this chapter)