Players to Hold Emergency Conference Call Over Stern Ultimatum

(NewsCore) - With the season slipping away, the executive committee of the NBA players association will hold an emergency conference call Monday to discuss its decreasing options in the wake of David Stern's ultimatum to accept the owners' current offer by Wednesday or else.

The executive committee is discussing whether to invite each of the 30 player representatives -- one from each team -- to New York for a meeting Tuesday, but those plans have not been finalized, a source said.

It has gone from bad to worse for the players after Stern's latest power play in the wee hours Sunday morning -- a maneuver that puts the cancellation of the 2011-12 season closer to reality.

Decertification of the union -- which could be a death knell to the season because of the slowness of the court system -- will be addressed.

Labor negotiations hit rock bottom when Stern told the union if it does not reconsider and accept management's latest proposal by Wednesday, it is off the table and a less-favorable offer will replace it.

The latest setback will reignite decertification talk. Several agents told The Post they will consult with their clients Monday to give them more information. The National Labor Relations Board will not accept a petition of decertification unless 30 percent of the players sign it.

"I think we have to do this," one prominent agent said of decertification. "At this point, we have no other choice."

Tweeting from Turkey, Nets guard Deron Williams said decertification could be too late. "I've been ready to sign a decertification petition since July? Can't believe we are just now going this route! SMH [Shaking my head]," he wrote.

It is a route the NBA does not want either as it will have nobody to negotiate with. The owners would possibly lose the season and not get the sweetheart deal they are seeking. If anything, the threat of decertification is a nice bargaining chip for the players.

"It's not an issue that we're focusing on at this point," Stern said. "We are trying to make a deal with the National Basketball Players' Association. They are the duly authorized representative of the NBA players. That's a good thing and we hope to make a deal with them. "

The key ingredients to the owners' weekend proposal was a revenue split band of between 49 and 51 percent and a measure to hurt luxury tax payers, making it difficult for them to sign free agents. Luxury tax payers would only have a small mid-level exception of $2.5 million every other year to sign players.

The union said the 49-51 revenue band for basketball related income is "a fraud." Its calculations, the union said, make it impossible for the players to get beyond 50.2 percent. The union, meanwhile, made its own offer, reducing its cut from 52.5 percent to 51 percent.

Stern said come Wednesday at 5:00pm its new offer will revert to 47 percent and a hard salary cap.

Read more: New York Post