The rest is just noise

The players' reaction convinced the boss that the union was serious.

Moreover, they also believe that the players' willingness to strike is strong.

Therefore, the negotiations were suspended for nearly two weeks and restarted again. Larry Fleischer, who had no hope, came up with his plan.

This time he agreed to let the salary cap go into effect for the 1983-84 season.

Fleischer's proposal is comprehensive: players will receive 55% of the league's total revenue, teams must spend 1/23 of the league's total revenue cap, no team can spend more or less, and the NBA will guarantee 276 jobs

, and ensure that the team's salary cap is at least $3.5 million.

This is undoubtedly a sincere and valuable proposal.

The league immediately analyzed this, and their first consideration was the consequences of players choosing to strike.

Some people have proposed that if a strike occurs, this year's playoffs will be abandoned and the new season will be started next season with a full substitute lineup. However, some owners are strongly opposed to the strike, and some owners are calling for inviting players from the minor leagues as backup players.

The bosses voted and there was a majority in favor of continuing the league, so the strike was shelved.

They calculated an economic account and found that it is true that 2/3 of the teams are operating at a loss. Teams like the Pacers, Nuggets, and Spurs who joined the league from the ABA and paid huge franchise fees have not yet done so.

Recover. If the season is suspended on April 1, the league's cost would be $11.7 million. The postseason situation will be even worse - each of the 23 playoff games broadcast on CBS will cost the league $11.7 million.

cost the league nearly $800,000. Between CBS, ESPN and USA Network, the league would lose about $20 million in television revenue alone if the playoffs were canceled. The potential impact of a strike if the league were to shut down

Approximately $41 million.

For a shaky alliance, such economic losses are fatal.

The suspension was immediately rejected by the owners, who began to seriously consider Fleischer's proposal.

This is another case of intrigue, intrigue between owners. The league has taken a big step forward. If it accepts Fleischer's proposal, each team must spend at least 1/23 of the league's total revenue every season, which means

, the league needs to pool the economic income of all teams and distribute it evenly.

Naturally, teams in big cities couldn't accept it. Celtics boss Harry Mandrian raised a difficult point: "Jerry Buss signed a 25-year contract with the Magic for 25 million, why should I bear part of it?"

Part of it?”

David Stern quickly made the owners understand that the principle of revenue sharing is not to help big city teams, but to rescue small city teams that cannot survive. If small teams cannot make money,

They don't dare to offer big contracts to players. Players who can't offer big contracts will run away. If things go on like this, the weak teams will get weaker and the strong teams will get stronger. The NBA will become like MLB in the 1970s, which was dominated by wealthy teams like the Yankees for a long time.

.

After clarifying this section, when 2/3 of the teams are operating at a loss, the owners of the big teams have to consider giving up profits. Because if other teams go bankrupt, who will play with them?

Negotiations have begun to progress rapidly, and owners, the league and the union believe they are close to reaching a new agreement.

During this period, there were still fools trying to sabotage this progress, the leader of which was undoubtedly Spurs owner Angelo Drossos⑴.

Fortunately, the negotiations were run by smart people, O'Brien listened to Stern, and both sides were interested in moving forward with a new agreement as long as Fleischer came up with a workable plan.

On April 1st, Bob Lanier, the president of the Players Association, prepared two speeches, just like Wang Duoyu’s second uncle. One was what he wanted to say when the negotiations were successful and the new agreement was reached; the other was

Negotiations broke down and an agreement failed to be reached. Players were called upon to initiate a strike immediately.

The alliance also held a press conference today.

Larry O'Brien stood in front of well-known media across the United States and spoke: "Thank you everyone for waiting patiently. Thank you for coming. I think you will find that the news I am about to announce is worth your wait."

"I am announcing that we have reached a new collective bargaining agreement with the Players Association. This agreement contains many unique aspects that will greatly help the league plan for a stable future while also ensuring the continuity and protection of player rights.

It represents an unprecedented new approach to running a professional sports league that I fully believe in. If you ask me, did the owners get everything they wanted? The answer is no. Did the players get everything they wanted?

?The answer is still no. If you ask me, is it an agreement that represents a revolutionary progress for professional basketball? I believe the answer is a firm and resounding 'yes'!"

If you've ever wondered how the NBA, which had been barely surviving since the 1970s until 1983, came back to life, this is the answer.

The salary cap ensures that teams experiencing financial difficulties can survive.

The NBA avoided a lockout, and players will receive 53% of the league's total revenue. In exchange, the salary cap will take effect next season. The poverty line is 3.6 million yuan, and will increase year by year as the league's revenue grows. Players and owners have since become

Partners who share income. The salary cap caps the rising salaries, which to a certain extent limits Bath's ability to make money and makes the salary relatively fixed. This is also beneficial to the players. The existence of the poverty line forces

Every team has to spend money.

There are also several key clauses. The team can exceed the salary cap when matching other teams' offers. Half of the salary space for retired players, buyout players and injured players can be used for other players. There is also the famous Burberry

The German clause allows teams to exceed the salary cap to renew players.

The reaching of the new agreement made fans and players quickly forget about the crisis of the lockout.

Because it no longer exists.

Come April 2, the NBA will still exist.

CBS was pleasantly surprised that the NBA was able to reach a new agreement because they handled it more maturely than the NFL last year and MLB the year before that, and they did not use a lockout to solve the problem.

Since then, CBS has increased its emphasis on the NBA in its broadcast arrangements.

The league has reached a new starting point, but the team that has been torn apart will not recover as before.

For example, with the Celtics, Fitch's relationship with the players was completely messed up.

Louis watched this star-studded team enter the playoffs with a record of 55 wins, but he couldn't give them any hope of winning the championship.

The situation is similar for other teams.

Only the Philadelphia 76ers were completely ready, which is why Moses Malone yelled FO-FO-FO after the semifinals started.

He simply believes that they are the team of destiny this season and that no other team is better prepared than them.

Malone once brought a team like the Rockets to the finals, Dr. J failed three times in the NBA Finals, and the 76ers have sacrificed too much for the championship. All of them have reasons to win.

This is highly similar to the Lakers in 2020.

They are indeed the team of destiny.

The Celtics narrowly defeated the far inferior Atlanta Hawks.

Then, they faced the Milwaukee Bucks, the powerhouse in the Eastern Conference.

The first game turned out to be a defeat.

As a bystander, Louis watched the whole team fight against Fitch from training to the game, while Maxwell fanned the flames. In addition, the contradiction between the new players and the old players in terms of tactical status, playing time, and main substitute positioning, the whole team's

The chemistry is a mess.

The first game was a disastrous defeat, and the second game was exactly the same.

The game had no suspense since the third quarter. In order to punish the players, Fitch did not replace the main players when garbage time came, allowing them to be humiliated by their opponents on the court.

The Bostonians in the garden booed unexpectedly.

From this moment on, Louis knew that the countdown to Bill Fitch's days coaching the Celtics was about to begin.

PS: Do you believe me when I say that Louis will take over in the next chapter?