Stern Is Now Mailing It In

NBA Commissioner David Stern dropped his letters in the mail, told the Washington Post that it didn’t look as if there would be a season, then headed for the slopes of Aspen.

Next he’ll probably send players postcards from his ski trip.

Stern and the league have been winning the mass-media war, spinning most of the blame for the owner-imposed lockout on the players. He took it a step further this week when he went the direct-marketing route. He sent letters to the locked-out players, spelling out why they should implore union leadership to accept this proposal.

The union, of course, quickly called it a divisive act on the owners’ part and accused them of going behind their backs.

(Remember when behind-the-back meant a Magic Johnson pass?)

The union then created its own response packet to mail to its constituents, and now the arguments are compiled in one neat package for all to see.

“They feel more comfortable with the deal,” one agent said of his clients. “Probably mainly for the fact that it’s the first time they’ve seen the deal, in full.”

It was a smart move on Stern’s part. He forced the issue. He made the union leadership play catch-up. He probably made the chasm between the union hawks and doves a little wider.

A guy at the bottom end of the league’s pay scale might read that the proposal would raise the average salary to nearly $5 million by the 2003-2004 season and think “Sign me up!” while the high-end players worry that their earnings will be capped at $15 million a year.

It’s not merely the NBA season, but Stern’s legacy at stake here. He used to be regarded as the best commissioner in pro sports. Lately, he has looked more like baseball’s Bud Selig, the man who often wasn’t even worthy of his title of acting commissioner.

Will Stern be remembered as the man who was so bullheaded he brought about the cancellation of a season? Will he be remembered as the man who couldn’t control the escalation of salaries?

Or will he be the guy who took a stand and made it possible for owners to view their balance sheets without cringing?

The letter might be his boldest move yet. He’s forcing players to take a look and ask themselves if these terms are so bad, and if it’s worth losing the season to try to gain something better.

“I don’t think Stern really is that against whatever the latest proposal that the union has out there,” the agent said. “I think he just sees blood, that there’s a retreat going on.”

As for his clients, “They were not that opposed to the deal as they were prior to seeing [the letter],” the agent said.

Then again, this letter could be the ultimate sign of what the NBA became under Stern: more style than substance.

“The two main issues [are] the revenue split and whether or not the union will agree to any more concessions on the high-end guys,” said another agent, Malibu-based Steve Kauffman. “You read [the letter] and you might be inclined to think: We’re not that far from a deal; we can get this done; it’s really rather close.

“The problem is, there’s so much not in that letter.”

For example, the letter details an increase in the maximum allowable raise from 12.5%. It doesn’t say that’s still well below the old maximum of 20%.

Agents say the players’ side has made most of the concessions so far. Some believe nothing more can be done until the owners agree to some key points, such as the full retention of the Larry Bird exception.

But maybe this is it. Maybe this is as far as Stern is willing to go. And there’s a growing feeling that this would be better than nothing.

“I would like to think that neither side is that crazy, to allow the whole season to blow up,” an agent said. “You can’t help but wonder.

“It’s going to come to a point where the players are going to have to answer for themselves: Is the sacrifice worth the result?”

The players have already sacrificed $480 million in lost salary and a countless amount of lost fan interest.

Even Kauffman acknowledges that within a week of the missed games at the scheduled start of the season, he was hooked on the NFL.

“That’s the most terrifying thing to me, is how bad this is going to be when it’s over,” Kauffman said. “It’s not like the NBA’s going to disappear, but there are substitutes.”

Stern doesn’t appear that worried. He has his letters out there. Now he has his vacation time. The clock’s ticking.

“It does put the ball in the players’ court now,” as the other agent said.

That might be as close as the NBA gets to playing on a court this season.