The lockout was on, then it was off. When it was all over, a Dream Team walkout was avoided.
On a day of stunning developments in the NBA's unresolved labor situation, the league imposed a lockout Tuesday and lifted it a couple of hours later.Instead, the NBA and the Players Association agreed to extend the moratorium on trades, signings and negotiations to 5 p.m. EDT Thursday, thereby avoiding a showdown that could have affected the Olympics.
"We would not have been played tomorrow night if a lockout was in effect," Charles Barkley said of the Olympic team's exhibition game tonight against China.
"I don't trust the owners as far as I can throw them, and they got very fortunate. It wouldn't be fair for us to play and make them money on TNT if they had us locked out. And that's what the argument was over - TV money," Barkley said.
Barkley's teammates said no vote had been taken and no decision on a walkout had been made, but all agreed that a lockout would have forced them to consider what action to take.
The bizarre sequence of events began at 6 a.m. Tuesday after an all-night work session in New York aimed at putting the collective bargaining agreement on paper so it could be signed before the moratorium expired at noon.
The negotiations broke down over one issue - the dispersal of $50 million in profit-sharing from the league's television revenue. The union refused to extend the moratorium, dared the owners to impose a lockout and then saw it happen.
Moments later, it was over.
"If the lockout began at noon, it lasted eight minutes, because we settled the issue at 12:08 p.m.," union attorney Jeffrey Kessler said.
Now, the deal is expected to be signed by 5 p.m. Thursday and a flurry of activity should commence.
A number of trades are rumored to be on hold, including one which would send Barkley to the Houston Rockets. And a free agent market that includes Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal and Dennis Rodman may finally open for business.
"We've waited nine days, a couple more won't hurt," said Gary Payton, another of about 150 free agents who remain forbidden from talking with prospective employers.
Last summer, a lockout was imposed, but ended three months later when the players voted to ratify a modified labor deal rather than decertify the union.
The agreement remained unsigned, however, while the two sides argued over details. The matter ended up in court, and the league threatened a lockout for July 1 if the differences couldn't be resolved.
That led to four straight days of talks that supposedly produced an agreement on all remaining disputed issues, and an eight-day moratorium was put in place until the labor deal could be completed.
Then the latest snag developed over $50 million of profit-sharing with NBC and TNT, the league's two TV rights holders. Once the networks recoup the $750 million they paid for broadcast rights, the resulting profits are shared. The league insisted that 50 percent of those profits be applied toward player salaries; the union argued that 100 percent be included.
"Money issues are usually open to compromise, and a satisfactory amount of that television money will be included" in future salary cap increases, Kessler said. "Both sides agree there are no more open issues."
The Olympic Team learned of the lockout when it got on a bus to ride to practice at American West Arena, and found out it had been lifted by the time the bus arrived.
"The free agents obviously have some concerns about when they can sign," David Robinson said, "but other than that I think everyone understands that they're just working out the details."