the rest, only noise

Chapter 116 Bringing the dead back to life (746)

The player's reaction convinced the boss that the union was playing for real.

Moreover, they also believe that the players' willingness to strike is strong.

So, after a nearly two-week hiatus, the talks restarted, and a hopeless Larry Fleischer came up with his proposal.

This time he agreed to let the salary cap go into effect for the 1983-84 season.

Fleischer's proposal is comprehensive: Players would get 55 percent of the league's total revenue, teams would have to spend 1/23 of the league's revenue cap, no team could spend more or less, the NBA would guarantee 276 jobs, and a minimum team salary cap of at least $350 million would be guaranteed.

This is undoubtedly a sincere and valuable proposal.

The league immediately analyzed this, and their first consideration was the consequences of players choosing to strike.

Some people have proposed that if the strike occurs, this year's playoffs will be abandoned and the new season will start with a full bench next season.But there are also bosses who strongly oppose the strike, and at the same time, some bosses call for players from the minor leagues to be invited as backups.

The owners voted with a majority in favor of continuing the league, so the strike proposal was shelved.

They calculated an economic account. It is true that 2/3 of the teams are operating at a loss. Teams like the Pacers, Nuggets, and Spurs who joined the league from the ABA and paid huge franchise fees have not recovered yet.If the game is suspended on April 1170, the league's loss is $23 million.The playoffs will be even worse -- each of the 80 postseason games aired on CBS will cost the league nearly $2000.Between CBS, ESPN and American TV, the league stands to lose about $4100 million in television revenue alone if the playoffs are cancelled.If the league is shut down, the potential impact of the strike is about $[-] million.

For a faltering coalition, the financial toll is fatal.

The suspension was immediately overruled by the owners, who began to seriously consider Fleischer's proposal.

It's another intrigue, a boss-to-boss intrigue.The league has taken a big step forward. If Fleischer's proposal is accepted, each team must spend at least 1/23 of the league's total revenue each season.

Teams in big cities naturally couldn't accept it. Celtics owner Harry Mandrian raised a difficult point: "Jerry Buss signed a 25-year 2500 million contract with the Magician. Why should I bear part of it?"

David Stern quickly let the owners understand that the principle of revenue sharing is not to help big city teams, but to rescue those small city teams that cannot survive.If small teams can’t make money, they won’t dare to offer big contracts to players. If they can’t get big contracts, players will run away. In the long run, weak teams will become weaker and strong teams will become stronger. The NBA will be like MLB in the 70s, ruled by giants like the Yankees for a long time.

After clarifying this section, when 2/3 of the teams are operating at a loss, the owners of the big teams have to consider giving up profits.Because if every other team goes bankrupt, who else is going to play with them?

Negotiations have started apace, with owners, leagues and unions all believing they are close to a brand new deal.

During this period, there are still idiots trying to sabotage this progress, the best of which is the Spurs owner Angelo Drossos (Angelo Drossos)⑴.

Fortunately, the thread of the negotiations was controlled by smart people. O'Brien listened to Stern, and on the premise that Fleischer presented a feasible plan, both parties were interested in advancing the emergence of a new agreement.

On April 4st, Bob Lanier, the president of the Players Association, prepared two speeches, just like Wang Duoyu's second master.One is a speech about the success of the negotiation and a new agreement is reached; the other is a speech about the breakdown of the negotiation and the failure to reach an agreement, calling on the players to initiate a strike immediately.

The league also held a press conference today.

Larry O'Brien stood in front of the famous media in the United States and said: "Thank you for your patience. Thank you for coming. I think you will find that the news I am about to announce is worth your wait."

"I'm announcing that we have reached a new collective bargaining agreement with the NBPA. This agreement contains many unique aspects that will greatly help the league plan for a stable future while also ensuring continuity and security of player rights. It represents what I fully believe is an unprecedented new approach to running a professional sports league. If you ask me, do the owners get everything they want? I believe the answer is a firm and resounding 'yes'!"

If you've ever wondered how the NBA came back from the 70s, almost on its last legs until 1983, this is the answer.

The salary cap ensures that teams in financial trouble can survive.

The NBA avoided a lockout, and players would get 53 percent of league revenue in exchange for a salary cap that kicks in next season.The poor line is 360 million yuan, and then increases year by year as the league's revenue grows.Players and owners have since become revenue-sharing partners.The salary cap caps the ever-increasing salary, which to a certain extent limits the money-making ability of Bass, making the salary relatively fixed.It's equally beneficial for the players, with the existence of the poor man's line forcing every team to have to spend money.

There are also several key clauses that allow teams to exceed the salary cap when matching offers from other teams.Players retire, buyout players and half of the salary space of injured players can be used on other players.There is also the famous Bird clause, which allows teams to re-sign players beyond the salary cap.

The conclusion of the new agreement made fans and players quickly forget the crisis of the lockout.

Because it no longer exists.

When April [-] rolls around, the NBA still exists.

CBS was pleasantly surprised that the NBA was able to reach a new agreement, because they dealt with it more maturely than last year's NFL and the year before last, and they didn't use the lockout to solve the problem.

Since then, CBS has increased its emphasis on the NBA in broadcast arrangements.

The league has come to a new starting point, but the team that has been torn apart will not recover.

Like the Celtics, the relationship between Fitch and the players is completely screwed up.

Louie watched the star-studded team enter the playoffs with a 55-win record and couldn't count on any titles from them.

The situation is similar for other teams.

Only the Philadelphia 76ers were fully prepared, which is why Moses Malone yelled FO-FO-FO after the start of the semifinals.

He simply believes that they are the team of destiny this season and that no other team is better prepared than them.

Malone once brought a team as poor as the Rockets to the Finals, Dr. J failed three times in the NBA Finals, and the 76ers have sacrificed too much for the championship. All of them have reasons to win the championship.

This is highly similar to the 2020 Lakers.

They are indeed the team of destiny.

The Celtics narrowly defeated the far inferior Atlanta Hawks.

Then, face the Milwaukee Bucks, the powerhouse in the East.

The first game turned out to be a defeat.

As a bystander, Louis watched the whole team fight against Fitch from training to the game, while Maxwell fanned the flames from the sidelines. Coupled with the contradictions between new players and old players in terms of tactical status, playing time, and main substitute positioning, the chemical reaction of the whole team was messed up.

The first game was a fiasco, and the second game was exactly the same script.

There was no suspense in the game from the third quarter. In order to punish the players, Fitch did not replace the main players when the garbage time came, allowing them to be humiliated by their opponents on the court.

Boos from Bostonians in the garden came unexpectedly.

From this moment on, Louie knew that Bill Fitch's Celtics coaching days were counting down.

PS: Do you believe me when I said that the next chapter of Crunchy Louis will be the next one?

　Do you believe me when I said that the next chapter of Crumb Louis will be the next one?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)