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 Billy Hunter, the union head of the NBA Players Association, is asking that all the owners in the NBA open their books as part of the upcoming collective bargaining negotiations.
“We would like as much information as we can get,” Hunter said in a telephone interview with Bloomberg News. “I would welcome them completely opening up their books.” In response, NBA league spokesman Tim Frank said in an email, “We will open the books of all teams as part of collective bargaining, just as we have done in our prior negotiations with the players.” But, there’s more to this little Hunter’s excursion than what is on the face of it. For one, the owners' books are audited each year, with full disclosure to the NBPA, as part of the NBA salary cap process. What Hunter is most likely looking for is a bit of book juggling, hence the “completely opening the books” comments. This would be directed at the likes of James Dolan who owns the Knicks and Madison Square Garden, the NHL Rangers, and MSG Network. With Dolan having multiple holdings outside of the Knicks, apparently Hunter feels there’s the possibility that information that is revealed within the auditing process for the cap isn’t enough to tell whether the players might be getting bamboozled. Hunter’s request comes on the heels of Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan/Chase addressing the league’s owners recently in New York. As David Stern said at the time, “It was a very broad discussion that did not focus on sports...We have a business that is affected by every aspect of the economy.” While there has been labor peace between the NBPA and management since the 1998-99 lockout, many are bracing for tough negotiations this time around. Stern, Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver and Hunter have held preliminary talks to outline a schedule for negotiations, which likely will begin after the playoffs. A key area of contention will be how revenes are allocated. Currently, the players receive 57 percent of league revenues, which Stern says is too high. Hunter wants to see more revenue sharing amongst the owners. Asked whether there are storm clouds on the horizon, Hunter said it’s “clearly too early” to consider a work stoppage, whether a lockout or strike. “A lot depends on how the economy will be two years from now,” he said.
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