In a Tuesday interview, David Stern said some owners are “rethinking” the offer that was made to the players as recently as Friday, implying that the terms of the next offer could be less favorable to the players.
“But I believe that a majority of teams are in favor of making the deal that we were offering to the players,” Stern said. “And I’m trying very hard to keep that deal on the table.”
Stern denied that there were some owners who advocate a softer stance but he did issue a whopping $500,000 fine against Mickey Arison who seemed to voice disagreement with the league's official bargaining position.
“He believes his tweets were taken out of context and understands our concern about them,” Stern said. “And he’s very much on board with the other 29 owners about the deal that we want.”
“It was more about his timing,” Stern said. “We’re trying very hard to get a deal done with the players, or we were, and we don’t need any external distractions to that focus.”
Stern also denied that there was any secret meeting among he, Adam Silver and Derek Fisher.
“That would be false,” Stern said.