If the NBA owners and the players association are sincere about wanting to come to an agreement, the solution to the league’s current labor dispute shouldn’t be hard to find. In fact, it’s already on the negotiating table.
The players already have given indications that they could be persuaded to extend the rookie contract scale from three to five years.
If they were equally agreeable to giving teams the right of first refusal after that initial contract expires, this lockout doesn’t have to threaten the NBA’s golden goose.
The players are right when they say they shouldn’t be penalized because the owners need protection from themselves. The players aren’t going to give up the “Larry Bird exception,” which allows teams to re-sign their own free agents at any price.
