NBA Lockouts Winners & Losers

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

January 8, 1999 / 9:09 PM EST / CBS Sportsline

David Stern's NBA had always enjoyed a reputation as a charmed league, never losing a game to a labor dispute in its 52-year history and earning billions from TV and sponsorship deals.

Now the league and Stern face the difficult task of rebuilding that image after a bitter six-month lockout cost them almost half the season and the good will of many fans.

Stern was a lightning rod for criticism during the lockout and his public image was sullied, but he should emerge as a winner in the years ahead. The new labor agreement gives him much greater control over financial matters and player discipline.

The Winners

The Owners: They put their collective trust in David Stern's hands and allowed the commissioner to strike a deal that will save them from themselves. Under the old labor agreement, Glen Taylor of Minnesota could set the market price by giving Kevin Garnett $126 million. George Shinn of Charlotte did it a few years earlier by paying Larry Johnson $72 million. Now, however, there's a negotiated limit -- the maximum salaries agreed to by the union that are based upon years of service. Stern also held out against the union's luxury tax, thereby keeping multimillionaires like Paul Allen of Portland from being able to buy a championship.

Russ Granik: He was the "designated bad guy," Stern said, and also could have been the fall guy if the owners actually had canceled the season. Instead, Granik passed his final test and showed himself worthy of succeeding Stern as commissioner someday in the not-too-distant future.

The locked-up members of the Draft Class of '95: Garnett ($126 million for six years), Rasheed Wallace ($80 million for six years), Bryant Reeves ($66 milliofor six years) and Michael Finley ($48 million for five years) chose long-term security over quick free agency. Not one of them had to sweat during the lockout or have his market value artificially limited.

Rod Thorn: The owners gave Thorn, the league's discipline czar, a much larger hammer. They increased penalties for everything from on-court behavior to missing practices to skipping media sessions to missing the rookie orientation program. Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin said gaining more control over such matters was as important to him as gaining cost controls.

Billy Hunter: Yes, he gave up a lot. But he also achieved his goals of preventing a hard salary cap, maintaining a strong Larry Bird exception and taking care of the middle-class and minimum salaried players.

The Losers

Patrick Ewing: He took a public relations beating by repeatedly putting his size 16s in his mouth, being seen as a hindrance to a deal and David Falk's puppet. Some of the criticism was unfair, and Ewing was a galvanizing force among the players themselves. Unfortunately, the public never got to see that side.

Class of '96 draft picks: No one will lose more money than the likes of Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Ray Allen and Antoine Walker. They can still get extensions worth $73 million, but all five would have been looking at contracts that would have approached or surpassed Garnett's. Abdur-Rahim's deal with Vancouver, according to one agent, would have approached $200 million.

Class of '95 draft picks: Antonio McDyess and Damon Stoudamire also will end up with less money than they could have gotten under the old system, and in McDyess' case the loss is about $50 million over six years. The biggest loser of all from this class is Joe Smith, who reportedly turned down $80 million from Golden State before they traded him. He'll be lucky to get a third of that now.

Balloon payees: A handful of players were due to get balloon payments this season. Charles Oakley was rewarded for all his hard work for the Knicks with a $10 balloon payment, of which he'll lose more than $3.9 million. Terrell Brandon was due $7 million, of which he'll lose $2.73 million. Will Purdue loses $1.7 of his $4.4 million and Muggsy Bogues loses $1.1 million of his $2.8 million.

Washouts: Lionel Simmons, the former LaSalle star who was a bust with the Sacramento Kings, was due $4.2 million. He'll lose $1.6 million. Bobby Hurley, who was due to make $4.03 million from Vancouver, will lose $1.6 million.

Michael Olowokandi and the Los Angeles Clippers: The No. 1 draft pick made a last-minute decision to sign in Europe, and he can't join the Clippers until Feb. 15 at the earliest. He'll miss his first training camp and the first two weeks of the season, then have to play catch-up the rest of the season. The Clippers, meanwhile, won't have a legitimate starting center unti Olowokandi arrives because they'll probably lose Ike Austin to free agency.

Agents: The big shots like Falk and Arn Tellem signed most of their clients to megabuck contracts under the old system, so they won't be hurt quite as badly as some have suggested. Other up-and-coming agents will be affected by the limitations on high-end salaries, and some of the best players won't need to pay an agent 4 percent if they can get a lawyer to negotiate their contracts for an hourly rate.