MANHATTAN — Don't expect the Knicks to take the court at Madison Square Garden anytime soon.
The NBA's Players Association rejected a final offer from league owners for a new collective bargaining agreement Monday, and voted to decertify their union, paving the way for the ongoing labor dispute to be settled in court.
The decision has caused "the nuclear winter of the NBA," Commissioner David Stern told ESPN, and put the 2011-2012 season in jeopardy.
The move by the players to end their union allows them to file an antitrust lawsuit against the NBA to end the lockout, the New York Times reported.
The players hired high-powered lawyer David Boies to represent them in that proceeding. Boies was last seen representing the NFL in its recent labor dispute with its players.
“The players just felt that they had given enough, that the NBA was not willing or prepared to continue to negotiate,” Billy Hunter, the executive director of the former union, said at an afternoon press conference in a Midtown hotel, according to the Times. “Things were not going to get better.”
A visit to the NBPA's website Monday night revealed the following message: "Error 404: Basketball Not Found."
Hunter said the union, which now will function as a trade association, will file an antitrust suit within days, the Times reported.
That legal process could take months, Stern said on ESPN, jeopardizing the season. The league has already filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, Stern said.
"There will ultimately be a new collective bargaining agreement, but the 2011-12 season is now in jeopardy," Stern said in a statement released by the NBA.
Hunter was joined by dozens of players at the press conference announcing Monday's developments. They included Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony and point guard Chauncey Billups.
One Knick not in attendance was Amar'e Stoudemire. He was out of town.
"About to take the Yacht out, then grab dinner tonight. Great way to spend my Sunday," Stoudemire tweeted over the weekend. Still, he wrote, "I would rather play a game for the NYK right now."
