Kobe Bryant has had enough of the owners. (USATSI)
Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant weighed in on the controversy sparked with players after the league signed a nine-year, $24 billion deal to re-up its TV rights on Monday. And like LeBron James and Kevin Durant, Bryant is unhappy with the CBA's pressure for stars to re-sign for less in light of how much money the owners are making.
Players are "encouraged" per new CBA to take less to win or risk being called selfish+ungrateful while nbatv deal goes UP by a BILLION #biz
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) October 7, 2014
Bryant has been vocal on this point before, and it was something he mentioned when he signed a two-year, $48 million extension with the Lakers that effectively strangled their cap space and ability to re-make the team around him. In other words, Bryant wanted to send a message that stars shouldn't and wouldn't take less. LeBron James was reportedly in the same mindset when he took a max deal last summer.
Kevin Durant made similar comments on Tuesday.
This is a sore point and one of division within the union. The executive committee of the NBPA is lead by several key stars (Chris Paul, Al Horford, and Andre Iguodala among them) but its constituency is largely that of role players and the "middle class." There is talk of eliminating the max contract in the new CBA in 2017, something that Bryant and other stars clearly are behind.
The secret here is that the owners are likely behind this idea too... provided they have a hard cap. Pay their best players exorbitant salaries and make them happy. The problem is what happens after... the middle class gets squeezed to the margins and lumped in with the bottom. So this is going to be something for the players, their representatives in the NBPA and the agents to work out. Because if the league is pushing a hard cap as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported Monday, it could get rough for everyone who isn't a megastar.
Basketball Hot News
Suns’ Alex Len re-fractures finger, will miss some time
Last season Alex Len was the No. 5 pick of the Suns but missed half of his rookie season after he had ankle surgery. Then in summer league he broke his pinky finger on his right hand.
Now he has re-fractured that same finger, but in a different place, the Suns announced on Tuesday. The injury happened in practice when Len went to dunk and Tyler Ennis tried to block the shot, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. That’s just unlucky.
The Suns gave no timetable on Len’s return, other than that he will be re-evaluated next week (Oct. 15). He could return with a split on the finger at that time.
Len is expected to back up Miles Plumlee at the five spot this season, although the Suns like to go small and will play some Markeiff Morris at the five (with a three-guard lineup).
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