Yesterday, players rejected the latest offer from the league and started taking steps for legal action against the National Basketball Association.
Commissioner David Stern reacted with dismay, "[W]e're about to go into the nuclear winter of the NBA," he told ESPN. "It looks like the 2011-12 season is really in jeopardy. [...] It's just a big charade. To do it now, the union is ratcheting up I guess to see if they can scare the NBA owners or something. That's not happening."
Union leadership agrees the season is at risk, but at a news conference yesterday the decision was said to be unanimous among players. Now the players' association is working to dissolve their union, which could allow them to pursue an antitrust lawsuit against the NBA for continuing the lockout.
Lawyers for the players are no bench-warmers. Attorneys David Boies and Jeffrey Kessler were on opposite sides in the National Football League's labor dispute. Now they're on the same team.
"The fact that the two biggest legal adversaries in the NFL players dispute over the NFL lockout both agree that the NBA lockout is now illegal and subject to triple damages speaks for itself," said Kessler. But disbanding the union is a risky move in itself. Reason being, a judge is already considering the legality of the lockout. If he deems it is, without a union the players' guaranteed contracts could be voided.
WEIGH IN:
What is the best case scenario for fans at this point? How far can this go before the NBA cancels the season officially? What would an antitrust suit entail?
Guest:
Lance Pugmire, sports writer for the Los Angeles Times