David Stern: Time to Get to Work on New CBA

By now you should have read our breakdown of last night’s David Stern press conference. If you haven’t, go check it now. For your convenience, courtesy of Yahoo!, here’s a litte more of what Stern had to say about the Collective Bargaining Agreement: “NBA Commissioner David Stern said Saturday ‘it’s time to start negotiating’ a new collective bargaining agreement and get rid of the rhetoric. And with the deadline approaching, he thinks that’s being done. ‘I think we have excised it,’ he said during his annual All-Star press conference. Not entirely, though. Shortly after he said the players largely agreed with the league’s financial figures, the union said it still disagreed. Stern said the league and the players’ association realize the importance of agreeing to a deal before the expiration of the current one on June 30, adding that both sides understand from the work stoppage of 1998 how devastating a lockout could be. ‘We both have the capacity to shut down the league,’ he said. ‘There’s no magic that’s going to keep this league operating if we don’t make a deal.’ The sides met Friday and agreed to hold more talks in smaller groups over the next few months.”