In this segment of Executive Row, I’d like to go back to some news that was rather startling to me.

Yes, the All Star Break was for most of us exactly that – a break (unless you had an obligation on Valentines Day. I, fortunately, did not). It was great to watch the world’s best come together and show off their basketball talent.

However, there is some news that came out from David Stern that you might have missed – the NBA is in the red. I mean, badly. Stern mentioned in a statement during the all star game that the National Basketball Association will post a $400 million loss this year. This, says Stern, is due to the current collective bargaining agreement – which was set in stone during Stern’s reign in 2005.

What does this mean to the average fan? A lot. Let’s highlight some of the possible changes that, according to ESPN, that Stern is working to put into place for the next CBA :

Change #1: Player salaries could take a massive cut. I have heard rumors that under the new deal, the NBA max contract for a 10+ year player could go down to 13 million a year (from 18 million for the 2009-10 season).

Potential Effect: LeBron and D-Wade could still play on the same team – in Greece.  Seriously – could Olympiakos or any other Greek A1 team become a major player in the free agency market? Yes, there have been horror stories about players not getting paid. But, if the price was right, could David Stern’s salary cuts be moving talent to other leagues? There’s no telling as of now, but this was the first thing I thought about when I overheard the potential for a massive salary cut.  Seriously, this could happen.

Change #2: Player contracts would only be “half-guaranteed”, meaning teams could buy out their contracts for half the price.

Potential Effect – This rule I like to call the “Knick Relief Rule”, where they can continue to make stupid signings but now get away with releasing the Stephon Marbury’s and Eddie Curry’s for only half the price. This is moving towards how the NFL handles player contracts (ie a contract would specify the amount of guarnteed money the NFL team is obligated to pay should the player be cut). Yes, its a major problem  for NBA players who could be one freak knee injury away from being sidelined for the rest of their career.

Change #3: Teams will have a “hard” salary cap, meaning any or all exceptions will be gone (Bird Exception, Mid-Level, etc…)

Potential Effect: Radical. Lets say this was in effect at the beginning of this season. Big Celtics fan? Forget about signing Rasheed Wallace or Marquis Daniels this year. Lakers? No Ron Artest or Shannon Brown. Nuggets? No Birdman. Suns? No Grant Hill or Channing Frye. In my opinion, teams looking to build around superstars will no longer be able to sign a key veteran for that role (think LeBron playing with the Nets bench – competitive? They’d win 25 games, maybe). Trading deadlines will also be uneventful if the trading exception is lifted.

I guess for a competitive standpoint, it makes sense (if you want all 32 teams in the NBA to finish 41-41).

And now, I have some words for the Commissioner…

Mr. Stern, I am appalled. Are you seriously trying to push for public sentiment that the NBA and its owners are suffering a 400 million dollar loss? You have fans that, despite a 10% unemployment rate and a struggling economy, are managing to still find a way to watch the game they love. You have fans that are rooting for teams that don’t care about the product that is on the floor (Knicks, Nets, etc.), just so they can have enough cap room to sign a big free agent.  Don’t mock them.

The fact you are using the media outlets and trying to push the blame on the players union is wrong. This was YOUR collective bargaining agreement that was supposed to “save the NBA”. Instead, you have lost up to 200 million dollar a year, with now this being the glaring mark in the red. It is because of your prior decisions that have resulted in far too much power in the players union, and now you are putting the NBA at severe financial risk.

Normally, an organization who is posting a loss will speak to the pubic about their turnaround strategy. Instead, what I heard from you was complaints. “The Union isn’t being nice…” Well, you put them in that position with your past decisions.

Consider yourself fortunate that the NBA is not a publicly traded organization, because shareholders would have voted you out a while ago. Regardless, I hereby submit my vote of “no-confidence”, Mr. Stern. In addition, I will now sign all of my posts as “The Commish” until further notice as I have lost total faith in the operating ability of the NBA commissioner.

Until our next board meeting,
- “The Commish”, also known as Duts