Boy, these players are SLOW learners........HEADING RIGHT OFF THE CLIFF, Take the 51%

Boy, these players are SLOW learners........HEADING RIGHT OFF THE CLIFF, Take the 51% If they publicly came out now and said "51% works" the owners would be virually forced to take it I think. Nope. They are playing with fire insisting on 52% or nothing. NOTHING IT IS!! Good luck guys. You are going under the bus, and I don't think anyone cares.

not me, that's for sure. The funniest part is, watching them show up in their semi-gangsta gear,,,,lookin all FRESH for the meetings. Hello -- McFly!! Public opinion could be more-so in your favor if you didn't look like you was goin to make it rain up in da club afta da meeting~ let us harken back to the words of the great Patrick Ewing from a former work-stoppage..."yea, we make a lot of money, but what people don't understand is we spend a lot too!" There'll be a brand new crop in five years or less. Good Riddance.

looks like they got their ultimatum. are they willing to lose the season over 51 vs 52%? they might be that stupid.

I think Billy Hunter is in "self-preservation" mode. He's going to force the players to force him to accept 51%. He doesn't want to be the reason that the players gave up 6% of BRI since the last CBA. The mid-level guys want to play now, the top-tier guys dont at anything less than 52.5%, and Billy doesn't want to look like he got steam-rolled by 30 guys who are 15 times smarter than he is. It's not a bad play on his part to position himself to be able to say to LeBron, Dwight, and Kobe, "I told you guys it was a bad deal, I told you guys not to accept it, but you guys (the majority of you anyway) made me....it wasn't my fault you got steamrolled!....please don't fire me and make me get a real job!"

These posts are hilarious. I love how so much of the public places all the blame and the onus on the players, much of it thinly veiled racism (not anyone above me in this thread). Nobody holds the owners accountable for ANYTHING. If the players can afford to give, then the owners definitely can, since they do, after all, scratch the paychecks. If the players have money, then the owners have A LOT OF MONEY, much moreso than the players. The players APPEAR to be taking a hard stance on the percentage, and setting up for decertification are negotiating tactics (with the possibility of actually doing them as is any credible negotiating tactic). Michael Jordan (I find this hilarious) and Dan Gilbert (just as hilarious, he'll bring down the whole season cause he can't get over losing Lebron) have been equally hard on the owners' side. The percentage split is merely a portion of the CBA they are all still negotiating. Salary cap, player flexibility as far as movement as a free agent, and a few other issues are all not settled, and all put together, they are as important as the revenue split. I wouldn't advise showing up for an NBA contract negotiation in Sean Johns, in fact, the players shouldn't even be involved directly in the negotiations for the union if you ask me. Hire some pros, and step to the side. They are pro basketball players, and amateur negotiators.

owners vs employees will always be a sticky subject. my take - there are not as many NBA fans as you think. the average joe (american) thinks both parties (in this case) have to much $$$$. one more aspect (rarely) considered - the fan no fan, no players, no owners - fans will simply not care - self preservation kicks in when the country is going backwards gamblers aren't considered fans - they are considered opportunist - wen you bet your first 11 you lost ur fan status

For the people that actually pay for tickets, the country is doing just fine. The lockout is hurting TV ratings, but the luxury boxes will still sell out once they start playing again. Basketball gets more out of the high-end season ticket holder than baseball or football. (Baseball has more home games, but luxury boxes are a smaller source of revenue in terms of percentage.) The losers are the bettors here. Lower TV ratings and "fan base" means fewer casual bettors to offset sharp money. We need steam chasers.