The NBA claims its franchises are losing money. The players union disagrees with that characterization. When the two sides met Friday in New York, commissioner David Stern sought to lecture the players on the league’s financial status as he saw it.
His tone, in Dwyane Wade‘s opinion, was reportedly too condescending for the Heat guard’s taste.
Wade clashed with Stern during the meeting, according to varying reports. One claimed Wade “shouted” and another claimed he only “reacted harshly” to Stern’s tone. Wade made a point of referring to Stern as “David” twice during the exchange, Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
The incident came a day after Stern essentially threatened to cancel the season if an agreement was not reached this weekend. Stern backed down from those comments Friday amid pending lawsuits about the league bargaining in good faith.
Wade, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony attended the talks, where the players’ share of league revenues was a major topic, reports say. James is said to be especially vehement about the players refusing to accept less than 53 percent of league revenues. The players union has already agreed to decrease its share from 57 percent to 53 percent, but owners are said to want to cut the players’ share to approximately 47 percent.
Celtics forward Paul Pierce is an active participant in the negotiations, according to reports. He has disputed the NBA’s position that small-market teams cannot compete, pointing to the success of the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder as examples.
