NBA labor negotiations ended mainly due to pressure from president David Stern.
On December 23, Stern announced that if the two sides had not reached an agreement before January 7, 1999, he would recommend canceling the games this season. No more games, that's how tough it is.
On January 6, the day before Stern's ultimatum, Billy Hunter, the executive chairman of the players union, resumed negotiations with Stern and finally reached an agreement.
Billy Hunter has been tough on his stance during the lockout, but as the lockout gets longer and longer, divisions within the players become inevitable.
Some players who couldn't wait any longer began to express their anger publicly, including Olajuwon and O'Neal. Play-loving players like O'Neal couldn't play any more. You can imagine how uncomfortable it was for other players.
Some players asked the union to vote immediately on whether to accept Stern's latest proposal. At this critical juncture, Billy Hunter rushed to New York and held a night of secret talks with Stern, finally finalizing a new collective bargaining agreement.
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If Hunter hadn't made a prompt decision and asked someone like Ewing to stand up and say a few words, the entire NBA season might have been canceled directly. Hunter stepped forward in time and let Ewing stay cool and eat bananas, which can be regarded as a rescue.
this season.
Stern and the team owners won a great victory in this negotiation. On January 24, the labor and management parties signed a new labor agreement, ending the 204-day lockout.
The new collective bargaining agreement stipulates a salary cap for players, ranging from $9 million to $14 million, depending on how long the player has played. The NBA became the first sports league in the United States to limit player salary caps.
The Timberwolves boss cried in the bathroom. If he didn't renew Garnett's contract in advance, he would have paid $40 million less if he renewed it this season. Of course, there is a high probability that Garnett will leave immediately. The location for signing a maximum salary contract is good.
's team.
Also the No. 21 star, Garnett's contract is much larger than Yang Jian's. He averaged 17 points, 8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.1 blocks per game. He signed a 6-year contract of 126 million, which is higher than Yang Jian's 7-year contract.
21 million.
The Timberwolves have become the laughing stock of the entire league. Garnett's contract will not expire until a long time ago. During this period, he will always be the highest-paid star in the league. He alone has completely locked up the Timberwolves' salary space, and the team
There is no way to sign big-name players in the free market, so you can only rely on drafts and trades.
The new collective bargaining agreement introduces a rookie salary scale, with salary linked to the draft.
This is very detrimental to high-ranking rookies. In the past, they could directly ask for a high-paying long-term contract, and if they didn't give it, they would make a fuss and refuse to sign. This is no longer possible. Players can only get ordinary contracts during their rookie period, and even the contract of the No. 1 pick will not be very high.
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This agreement actually has no impact on rookies outside the lottery, and they cannot get big contracts in the first place.
The new collective bargaining agreement retains the Bird clause, but stipulates a maximum salary increase, which is based on a percentage. It is not a casual increase like Garnett's. Ironically, Garnett, who has played for two years, did not have Bird when he renewed his contract.
Virtue.
Yang Jian was also a beneficiary. He only played for one season and signed a high-paying long-term contract with the SuperSonics during the offseason. He did not have Bird Rights at the time and could sign the contract at will, but the team must have salary space and cannot exceed the limit.
The salary cap extended his contract.
The new labor agreement also stipulates a luxury tax, and teams that exceed the luxury tax line must pay fines. This can limit the phenomenon of star groups to a certain extent. A team cannot sign three high-paid big-name stars unless it is willing to pay a huge sum of money.
Tax.
This move was very successful, and many years later teams started poaching stars and teaming up to compete for championships. At that time, NBA broadcast fees had increased a lot, and each team was rich and could afford to pay fines.
There are also agreements that are beneficial to players, and the "average exception" and "mid-level exception" have been introduced to allow teams to manipulate the signed players on the cap. This clause was proposed by the players union, and the bosses agreed.
The new collective bargaining agreement has increased the basic salary of players from US$15,000 to US$287,500. In the past, temporary workers in the NBA had no guarantee at all and could be laid off at any time. Now if the team does not lay off short-term contract workers within a certain period, they have to pay
The other party's full basic salary.
In the new collective bargaining agreement, the proportion of players' salaries in bri increased from 48% to 55%. However, if the proportion is higher, the players' income will also be affected.
How big is the impact of this lockout? The 1998-99 season became only the 1999 season, and there was no season in 1998.
There are only 50 regular season games left this season, and the All-Star Game has been cancelled. Moreover, the schedule is unprecedentedly intensive. Players who have not had systematic training for a long time will have to undergo a huge test, and the chance of injury due to lack of physical fitness will greatly increase.
Michael Jordan was frustrated and announced his retirement for the second time.
Pippen was determined to leave, and Jordan knew that he would not be able to win the championship if he stayed with the Bulls, and he had no team he wanted to join. After the new labor agreement was introduced, free transfers of players were restricted, and Jordan could not get a high salary. He could
Go to a team with salary space and get a high salary, but that will definitely be a weak team.
In a parallel world, Jordan's retirement is undoubtedly a disaster for the NBA. There is no super scorer in the league who can succeed him. Now the impact of Jordan's retirement is not that big. When he was there, Yang Jian won two scoring titles.
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The person who was really affected was Jordan. He lost three championships in his career, one regular season MVP, and three FMVPs. His historical status was significantly lower than that of Magic Johnson.
Magic Johnson made a video and knelt down to beg Jordan to come back. As a result, Jordan lost 4 consecutive seasons and retired, which was sad.
Phil Jackson, the "Zen Master" who coached the Bulls for many years, also left. He had long shown his careerist side, hoping to replace Krause and become the real talker of the Bulls. In the end, his demands were not met.
It failed to become a reality.
Jackson led the Bulls to six championships but failed to drive away Krause, and it's even more difficult now.
In the summer of 1997, Jackson and Krause were already incompatible. At that time, the Bulls management had already found a replacement for Jackson, Tim Floyd from Iowa State University. But Jordan stated,
I would not play for any coach except Zen Master, so under such circumstances, Zen Master was able to stay on.
The most embarrassing person for the Bulls is Pippen. He entered the free market and wanted a high-paying long-term contract, but no one took it seriously. Pippen's performance in the playoffs in the past two years was average and his statistics were not good. Teams with salary space felt that the salary was high.
Signing him is a risk.
Rodman is also ignored, but he doesn't care anymore.
Surprisingly, Charles Barkley, who only joined the SuperSonics last season, also announced his retirement.
After he got the championship ring, he celebrated uncontrollably and couldn't control his mouth after taking a break for more than half a year. People were surprised to find that this guy has become a 130-kilogram fat man and his whole body has become round.
With his size, how could Barkley play basketball? Supersonics manager Wally Walker was helpless and couldn't renew Barkley's contract. Barkley also decided to retire directly because he already had the ring he wanted.
This is bad news for the Sonics. There are too few players with contracts on the team. The manager can only sign three rookies in a hurry. Among them, Brad Miller is still the last pick of the second round. Because of his performance in the World Championship,
Fans roared.
Bo Outlaw, Eric Snow, Sam Perkins, Hoiberg, Mookie Norris, Bruce Bowen and others have all received offers from other teams. Each team poached the SuperSonics
The role players are all premium, and winning the championship makes them all become championship pieces.
Regardless of whether these people are really capable, at least they have a record and look beautiful.
The Sonics can only try their best to recruit in the free market within a limited time, and the lineup cannot be as strong as last season.
The NBA has lost many fans due to this shutdown, and no one knows what the future will look like.
The only one who is not affected is Yang Jian. He is famous far and wide, has made movies and released albums, and led the Chinese men's basketball team to win the World Championship. He is a sure winner in life.
If others don't play ball, they will just sit back and have nothing. Yang Jian can cross boundaries and achieve results in the entertainment industry.
Therefore, many people question Yang Jian. He has not practiced basketball for several months. People are very curious about how much success he has left after playing so well...