New York Times: N.B.A. Talks Break Off, Threatening November Games
In case you missed it...well, you didn't miss much. Despite the presence of federal mediator George Cohen and negotiations that went deep into the night on Tuesday, the stalemate between players and owners continues. No word yet on when the two sides will meet again, but odds are that the remainder of November's schedule will be cancelled unless there's an unexpected breakthrough next week...which may be difficult when the two sides aren't even talking.
Splitting the league's basketball-related income continues to be the major sticking point, with owners holding firm at a 50/50 split. However, there was talk of progress on a more modest MLE (starting around $5 million with a maximum length of three years), and the players did concede another half percentage point of BRI (from 53% to 52.5%). So there was at least some optimism before before the two sides began (predictably?) to point fingers again after talks broke down on Thursday. Derek Fisher accused Blazers owner/Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen of delivering an ultimatum on the 50/50 offer, while deputy commissioner Adam Silver claims Allen didn't say anything. So yeah, sounds like things are going really well.
But while no NBA fan will be cheering the specter of additional lost games, Bucks fans and others in small markets will likely take some solace from news that the NBA Board of Governors appear to finally be making some progress in sorting out their much-talked-about revenue sharing plan.
Although the details remained confidential, the league’s poorest franchises could receive up to $15 million a year under the new formula, according to a person who has seen the plan. The two biggest payers would be the Los Angeles Lakers, who are expected to contribute $50 million a year, and the Knicks, who are expected to contribute $30 million a year.
ESPN: Bogut the highest-ranked Buck at #33
ESPN's "NBA Rank" panel of voters not surprisingly rated Andrew Bogut as the best of the Bucks, with Brandon Jennings (60) and Stephen Jackson (77) the only other Milwaukee players to crack the top 100. Were the Bucks' rankings fair? Well, I find it a bit annoying that Bogut ranked behind Marc Gasol (great in the playoffs, but look at his season stats), Rudy Gay (Rudy Gay!), Joakim Noah and Andrew Bynum, but am I surprised? Not really. It does seem like people are finally acknowledging Bogut's massive impact on the defensive end, but it's also not surprising that his ugly offensive numbers and the Bucks' disappointing record would conspire to keep him somewhat underappreciated league-wide. Not worth losing sleep over.
JS: Ilyasova, Delfino get taste of home
Earlier this week Charles Gardner chatted with agent Andy Miller, who represents both Carlos Delfino and Ersan Ilyasova. No news on Ilyasova's disinterest in returning to Milwaukee, though there's no such animosity from Delfino, who like Ilyasova has just one year left on his current deal. While Ersan has already begun his EuroLeague season with Turkish club Anadolu Efes, Miller confirms that Delfino has no immediate plans to sign abroad.
"He's had a number of offers. His family is in Argentina and he's rarely had an opportunity to be at home this time of year. He has an Italian passport. But we want to make sure it is the right set of circumstances (to sign with a European team). His season lasted longer than most; his ended in September. So he's not in as much of a rush. He had a pretty competitive summer. He's a very active person and charitable person in the Argentine community. So he's got other things going on."
HoopsHype: Delfino interview
Jorge Sierra has more on Delfino's summer, why he prefers playing in the NBA to Europe, and his hopes for next summer's Olympics.
Bucksketball: The Best of a Bad Situation #3 Glenn Robinson
I was a rather unabashed Big Dog fan during my formative years--I didn't know what true shoot percentage was back then, nor did I have much of an appreciation for defense--so I got a little wistful reading Ian's excellent retrospective on Robinson's career in Milwaukee.
When we had our Bucksketball staff meeting to discuss these rankings, I originally had Big Dog as my number one choice. This conflicted greatly with what Josh and Jeremy had and, to be honest, what I knew to be true. I wasn’t thinking of whom the best player was, I was thinking who best defined what it’s meant to be a Milwaukee Buck in the past 20 years. And there’s really no one more definitive of the Bucks since the 90s than Big Dog.
Couldn't have said it better.
Twitter: Tobias Harris keeping busy with Dale Ellis
No one's ever accused Tobias Harris of being lazy, but he also didn't look particularly chiseled as a freshman at Tennessee. So it was a good sign when he cut down his body fat significantly ahead of the draft, and by the looks of it he's hardly letting himself go during the lockout. Staying lean and quick is especially important for a guy who hopes to move from college power forward to NBA small forward, and working on his three point game with former UT star and Bucks sharpshooter Dale Ellis shouldn't hurt either.
ESPN: Keyon Dooling interested in return to Miami
Keyon Dooling continues to sound less than excited about his future in Milwaukee. Let's do this, Miami!