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Union lawyer talks NBA’s missing records

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In other words: Stuff is missing, according to the union. But what stuff?

Lawrence Katz, the union’s lead attorney in the NLRB case and a partner at the law firm Steptoe & Johnson, described the allegedly missing material in an interview with SI.com. Katz said the union has asked for three sorts of documents, and that the NBA has either ignored those requests or responded with information the union claims does not fulfill the original requests. The categories, per Katz and another source familiar with the issue:

• Franchise valuation information. The union wants more data on how much teams are worth and how the teams determined those figures. The idea that franchise values generally increase in the long term regardless of short-term financial problems is an important issue for the union, because it could show the sport is healthy. The sale of the Warriors for a record $450 million last season — well above the team’s perceived value — is held up as proof of this, but other recent sales (the Bobcats, Nets and perhaps the Sixers) haven’t yielded those kind of above-value prices.

• Sales prospectuses. These are documents teams on the block prepare for potential buyers, according to Katz. The union would like to get its hands on these.

• Financial information on related-party entities. These are businesses owners control that are either directly or indirectly linked to NBA operations, according to Katz — things like restaurants and parking facilities. What actually constitutes a related business can be a contentious question as you get further away from the on-court product.

In addition, Katz said the union has made about 20 requests for various financial tidbits, and that the league has failed to respond adequately to those requests. He would not get into the details of those requests.

The league, for its part, continues to say it has disclosed more than enough. In a statement provided to SI.com, Tim Frank, a league spokesman, said: “We have provided the union with more financial information in collective bargaining and otherwise than probably any employer has in any industry –including audited financial statements for the teams and the league — and there is no evidence that the union has been impeded in any way in the bargaining by any supposed lack of information.”

The league added this: “We have responded to Mr. Katz’s baseless claims directly with the NLRB.”

The NLRB case is in its early stages and is in front on an official in the NLRB’s Region 2, which is based in New York. The board has interviewed several union officials so far, including executive director Billy Hunter, and it will ultimately receive paperwork from both sides. A high-level NLRB attorney will eventually sift through all the evidence and issue a recommendation about how to move ahead with the union’s case, Katz said. If that person recommends the board issue a complaint — the union’s goal here — the NLRB can essentially take over the case and file a suit against the NBA in federal court. At that point, the board can ask a judge to issue an injunction to halt the lockout.

That is all very far down the road, and the NLRB process will proceed concurrently with the broader negotiations — talks that could render the NLRB case moot if they go well.

The Point Forward Posts Union lawyer talks NBA’s missing records

Have you guys noticed that the media seems to almost always antagonize the league instead of the players. It's just a strategic move, its not like the league isn't giving them any information, they've already given them much to work with.

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Originally Posted by Blaze (Post 560329)

Who has things to hide?
The players whose contracts and bonus' are all public record?
Or
The League who conveniently refuses to provide the information requested?

The players aren't at fault here, it's not possible, the owners gave them the contracts they have. Should it be the players that say "Nah that's too much money, give me 1 mil a year less and I'm good"?

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Originally Posted by Psi (Post 560356)

You obviously don't understand how the system works. First of all they have to give the players 57% of revenue made, so that means the players automatically make more than the owners. And how are the players not at fault when they have the ability to demand trades to specific teams and demand high ass paying contracts. If one team doesn't offer certain amount of money then another team will to get the player. How is it right that the employees are in more control than the bosses??

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Originally Posted by Blaze (Post 560362)

How is it right that the employees are in more control than the bosses??

They aren't though. The owners make the decisions. They sign the contracts, they cave to trade demands, they make the league all about marketing stars rather than the game itself.

the players have been in lock-step with the owners about marketing stars ever since oscar robertson. they aren't exactly opposed to being pop-divas.

the nba has elements of its composition that are very healthy and elements that are in quite sick. it is incumbent on both the owners and the players to get a better balance. we will likely see a better product for it.

Yeah - I'm not counting on that. The emphasis for the owners appears to be getting an insanely longterm deal that locks in salaries before new TV comes along. All parties are more interested in making it easier to make more money regardless of the state of the game. There are obvious things like contraction, that would cause some pain to all sides, but clearly help improve the health of the league and the game, and nobody wants to make that any kind of emphasis. It's all sugar and no medicine, and no fucking games apparently either.

The biggest problem with the NBA is that the botton feeder teams don't improve because they lose their best developed players to the same 4-5 teams constantly, as free agents. Players should have to stay with a team at least 8-9 years before becoming free agents. They need a better arbritation based salary system which allows a team the right to retain a player at a arbritated price and not give them so much freedom to just move on. If they choose not to pay the arbitrator's price and let the player walk, than few fans would have much problem with that.

To lose a Lebron James at such a young age would turn off many basketball fans for life. The only reason Cleveland didn't lose huge attendance this year was because the jilted fans wanted to show solidarity. That will grow old in a hurry if they suck again this year.

The NBA has to be the most parity ignorant sports league in the whole world. Parity means league-wide interest zooms and you see more engaged fanbases in all cities not just in the same handfull of cities every year. League-wide revenues would zoom upwards and than everyone wins. Of course this is a pipe dream for a backwards thinking league like the NBA and it's players.

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Originally Posted by LX (Post 560363)

They aren't though. The owners make the decisions. They sign the contracts, they cave to trade demands, they make the league all about marketing stars rather than the game itself.

The bolded I agree with, but for signing players to huge contracts and caving to trade demands not so much. Do you think they want to give one guy a huge contract instead of giving it to a bunch of players and what choice do they have but to cave to trade demands if the player is about to leave? The players have too much control in the NBA period.