Tyson Chandler Thinks NBA Owners are Acting Like Dictators

During a sports radio interview, Tyson Chandler introduced a new word into the NBA lockout lexicon. Per SRI (via ESPN Radio): “On his reaction to the stalled lockout negotiations and where he thinks they stand: ‘It’s really disappointing because I’ve been to a lot of the meetings, I’ve talked to Billy Hunter, I’ve talked to Derek Fisher and I’ve gotten information from both sides. And I feel like we’ve come down a lot on the concessions, we’ve given up a lot of points on the BRI, we’ve been ready to negotiate with the system, and I think for the owners to say a take it or leave it deal and we’re not going to talk anymore unless you take this deal 50-50, I think it’s unfair. It’s unfair to the players, it’s unfair to the fans because it’s only going to lead to a longer lockout. A negotiation is a negotiation, and that’s the way it should be, but this is more dictators than anything, and I don’t feel this is going as a negotiation.’ On what he’d say to the question of the players not having any leverage in the negotiations: ‘Well we are the product, and I’ve said from the get go, if the owners want to take that spin than we should take the lockout. The owners, you can’t find any other players like we have in the NBA. You’re not going to find them overseas, you’re not going to find them in college, you’re not going to find them anywhere else. We have the Kobes, the LeBrons, the Durants, Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Derek Rose, Blake Griffin — those guys are selling out your arenas night in and night out. There’s a reason the Clippers draw the attendance that they do — it’s because of Blake Griffin. He’s putting the money in the owners pocket. And those guys that are making money, they don’t want to lockout, they don’t want to see this thing drag on. But there are owners in the other cities that aren’t making money, I understand that, and so that’s the reason that we’ve came back so that those owners can at least break even. Now if you put a better product on the floor and you go out in free agency and make some hits and make a splash, then your team will get exciting again and you’ll get some attention and people will start going to your games. But ultimately the players are the product.'”