The Houston Rockets won't be going to London on Oct. 19 if NBA players vote to dissolve their union.
NBA commissioner David Stern said Monday that the McDonald's Open, featuring NBA champion Rockets and five foreign championship teams will be canceled immediately if players vote for decertification and against a proposed labor deal. Results of the election will be announced Sept. 12."We'd have to cancel it on the 12th," Stern said. "It wouldn't be fair to the sponsors."
A league-wide lockout has been in force since July 1, and the NBA has said it will continue if players reject the labor pact.
The three-day tournament, staged jointly by the NBA and FIBA, basketball's international governing body, is to be the first tournament pitting club champions from the world's top leagues against one another.
Along with the Rockets, the field includes Sheffield of England; Real Madrid, the European champ; Buckler Bologna of Italy; Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel; and the undecided Australian champion.
McDonald's and other European sponsors have already paid the NBA fees for the event, and that money would have to be refunded if it's canceled, Stern said. Some money for promotions will have to be rebated regardless.
"It (cancellation) would be a serious blow to our credibility in the international marketplace," Stern said.
A sharply divided body of NBA players will decide the fate of their union and of the proposed collective bargaining agreement in votes on Wednesday and Sept. 7.
Orlando's Shaquille O'Neal became the NBA's biggest star to come out in support of the proposed labor deal. While Michael Jordan has been leading the players advocating decertification, O'Neal said players should vote against disbanding their union.
"The new collective bargaining agreement may not be that great for the players, but I support it because we have to learn from what happened in baseball," he said Monday in a statement issued by his agent. "We owe it to the fans, sponsors and ourselves to not lose any of the season. Accepting the compromise is the only way to ensure doing that."
Jordan's side has criticized the proposed deal for hampering player movement and restricting salary increases. The NBA and the players association has disputed those assertions, pointing to the deal's provisions for a higher salary cap and increased revenue sources channeled to players.