The quotes are jawdropping. You can see both videos here. One is called  ”David Stern Hopeful” and the other is ”Stern: NBA Nuclear Winter.”

If anyone is confident about the NBA playing any games this year, you won’t be after hearing these comments. The greatest hits:

If the union is not in existence neither are $4 billion worth of guaranteed contracts that are entered into on the condition that there is a union. If the agents insist on playing with fire my guess is that they will get themselves burned. …

Threat (of decertification) has been ongoing until now despite the NBA’s good-faith bargaining.

Frankly, by this irresponsible action at this late date, Billy Hunter has decided to put the season in jeopardy and deprive his union members of an enormous payday.

The chances of the season slipping away from us and the players losing all they have worked very hard to achieve … it’s really a tragedy.

And when speaking more broadly about the players’ move to disband and file the antitrust suit, Stern did not mince words: (more…)

Photo credited to GAME-FACE PHOTOS

Honestly, I cannot say that anyone expected for the NBA union to emerge from their dark hidden place of contemplation and accept the owners’ most recent proposal. No one wanted their fear of rejection to be confirmed either.

Now, instead of being joyous in light of basketball’s return, fans must again sit and wait through stories that attempt to explain what the hell decertification truly means and why the players are subjecting us all to it.

David Falk, an agent to some nine or so players in the league, voiced his opinion of how the union should weigh the proposal and how they should go about rejecting it or accepting it.

“I think it would be a complete abdication of responsibility as agents for anyone to suggest that the players as a group shouldn’t vote on whatever the final proposal is,” said David Falk, a former agent for Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing.

Now it does not seem to matter either way, because there will potentially be filings for the union to decertify and this only speaks volumes to how: 1. The players do not trust the direction the union is taking them and 2. They are ready to go the distance with missing basketball games and there probably will not be a season. (more…)