NBA Cancels 100 Regular Season Games; More To Come?
After failed attempts to negotiate a new CBA, the NBA was forced to cancel 100 regular season games on Monday.
David Stern, NBA commissioner, said he was sorry for the consequences that have resulted from failed negotiations.
"I'm sorry to report -- particularly for the thousands of people who depend on our industry for their livelihood -- that the first two weeks of the season have been canceled," Stern said, according to NBA.com. "We remain, really, very, very far apart on virtually all issues."
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Derrick Fisher, NBA Players Union president, also expressed regret for the turn of events. However, he said, "To be here at this point is disappointing in some ways," Fisher said, according to NBA.com "But also as we've said all along, this is what we anticipated would probably happen. And here we are. So we'll deal with this with our chin up.”
Fisher said he and fellow players wanted to save the season for fans.
"This is a big blow, obviously, to our fans most importantly,” Fisher said, according to NBA.com. “They don't have a voice in this fight but we hear them loud and clearly that they want basketball. We want to play basketball."
Stern told arenas to give away the dates scheduled for the first two weeks of NBA games, according to the league website. He has been vocal about deadlines forcing him to chop away at the season further.
"Every day goes by, we look at further reductions in what's left of the season," Stern said, according to NBA.com.
However, Billy Hunter, players’ union executive director, said he is confident that Stern will maintain a lockout if it means getting rid of the entire season to look out for his team owners’ concerns.
"They are more dug in than before. It goes back to a comment David made to me several years ago. He said, 'Look, this is what my owners have to have.' I said, 'The only way you're going to get that is if you're prepared to lock us out for a year or two,” Hunter said, according to the league website. “He's indicated to me that he's willing to do it."
