Michele Roberts, executive director of the National Basketball Players Association is hopeful that a lockout of the NBA will be avoided, as the players’ union is working out a new labor deal with the league.
From Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe:
And now, NBPA executive director Michele Roberts said she’s “optimistic” about getting a new labor deal done before any chance for a lockout.
The NBPA and NBA each has the option to conclude their 10-year deal signed in 2011 following the 2016-17 season, adding urgency to the two sides negotiating a new contract. Roberts told the Globe in a telephone interview that the two sides are talking and making progress.
“I can’t [discuss the talks] because I promised [not to],” she said. “I’m not going to be too terribly substantive but I will say I do believe and [Commissioner] Adam [Silver], I hope he agrees, he and I continue to maintain a civil relationship. I actually like him. I think that he’s a pro.
“We’ve had discussions. Our teams have been in discussions for some months now and we have made progress and we’re inclined to continue along those lines. We have meetings this summer and we’re meeting next week and [consistently] after that. We’re trying to get a deal as quickly as we can, ideally before the start of the season.”
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Roberts said the discussions have been amicable and she remains hopeful of a deal before the Dec. 15 opt-out date.
“I’ve heard Adam proclaim his optimism,” she said. “I’ve proclaimed mine, so I would like to sooner rather than later be able to have a press conference where we both stand together and announce together that we have a deal and there will be no work stoppage. There will be no lockout.
“Having said that, I gotta be ready for anything. But I am optimistic.”
Yet, Roberts said that if a deal is not reached by Dec. 14, the NBPA is highly likely to opt out of the deal by the next day, which is the deadline to end the current deal after the 2016-17 season. In 2011, the two sides feuded until December, causing a lockout that sliced 16 games off the regular season and created a compressed schedule.
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“Nothing is certain but I cannot imagine that if we don’t have an agreement on Dec. 14 and the opt-out deadline is Dec. 15, 2016, if that’s where I find myself, I think it’s probably a safe bet that we would opt out,” Roberts said. “I think it’s probably a safe bet that the league would. We want a deal. We don’t want to play the opt-out game. We want a deal.’’
Both sides, and NBA fans everywhere, are crossing their fingers for a deal to be resolved. After all, everybody wants basketball to be played.
