Owners Starting To Plan For CBA Negotiations

Ken Berger reports:

The current CBA is set to expire on June 30, 2011, and owners are widely expected not to exercise their option to extend it for another season. Although that's a two-year horizon, both sides realize how difficult the negotiations will be -- and how important it is for the health of the sport to avoid a lockout. Starting the process early is a show of good faith on both sides, and an admission of how protracted the process could become.

In preparation for what is expected to be a spirited debate among large- and small-market owners over how to improve the league's revenue-sharing model, the negotiating committee represents a cross-section of franchises. According to sources, the following owners and executives have been named to represent the league in negotiations with the NBA Players Association: Peter Holt (San Antonio), who is chairman of the committee; Clay Bennett (Oklahoma City); Jeanie Buss (Lakers); James Dolan (New York); Dan Gilbert (Cleveland); Wyc Grousbeck (Boston); Stan Kroenke (Denver); Larry Miller (Portland); Robert Sarver (Phoenix); George Shinn (New Orleans); Taylor (Minnesota); and Bob Vander Weide (Orlando).