NBA: Owners Want Salary Rollback to Include Existing Deals

Gilbert Arenas had no idea Washington Wizards management would sell him out this hard.

In many private conversations it was agreed that the Washington Wizards attempt to pirate away the remainder of Gilbert Arenas’ contract was a sign that owners want to lower NBA player’s maximum salaries across the board. Well, here’s the proof:

The NBA will put its marquee players on display in next weekend’s All-Star Game in Dallas, but the party-like atmosphere is sure to be chilled when the stars learn the details of the collective bargaining agreement offer presented at the end of January by commissioner David Stern to players’ union director Billy Hunter.

The proposal, a source familiar with talks said, includes rollbacks that could reduce maximum guaranteed salaries, both for veterans such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, as well as up-and-comers like Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose, to almost a third of what they would have been eligible for under the current agreement.

Perhaps the biggest shocker: The owners’ proposal includes a provision that would require any pre-existing deals to be revised to conform to the new deal’s limits.

Are the owners serious? Absolutely. and of course they are taking advantage of these “tough economic times” to make their case.

But nix existing deals to reflect the new limits?

This is surely going to be a public battle. The owners will bank on commissioner David Stern’s ability to control the media’s coverage of collective bargaining agreement talks. Thought the players have the moral high ground on this issue Stern’s goal will be – as usual – to make the players look self-centered and greedy, and out of touch with the nation’s economic conditions, and therefore insensitive to NBA fans. They will be blamed for everything from hikes in ticket prices, merchandise, and concessions to the ability for teams to remain in the cities in which they presently play.

NBA player’s rep Billy Hunter needs to get ahead of the discourse and present the player’s side immediately.

The first thing Hunter can use are Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban’s repeated statements about the health of the league. Cuban has been effusive in his praise of the condition of the NBA, using the All-Star Weekend spectacle and the 100,000 fans who have paid to watch this year’s NBA All-Star game at Dallas Stadium as proof that the NBA is even more popular than the NFL.

For the moment, though, everyone is taking a vow of silence so that a pall is not cast over the annual NBA lovefest:

Both the league and players association declined to comment on the source’s details of the proposal, as did union president Derek Fisher. “David and Billy have decided not to comment until we get to All-Star weekend and I’ll fall in line with those two gentlemen,” Fisher said Friday night.

Both Stern and Hunter are expected to address where negotiations stand on a new labor agreement sometime during the weekend.

Arenas never could have guessed his prank would be used as a subtext for overall NBA salary rollbacks.