NBA Projects $400 Million in Losses This Year

In an attempt to negotiate "significant changes" in the next deal, NBA Commissioner David Stern met with union representatives to provide proof of mounting losses in the league.

Stern says the NBA is projecting league-wide losses of about $400 million this season and has lost hundreds of millions in each previous year of the current collective bargaining agreement.

The NBA's first proposal for a deal to replace the one that expires in July 2011 was thrown out Friday after what players association director Billy Hunter called a "contentious" 90-minute meeting.  Stern called the Union's behavior at Saturday's meeting "high marks on the list of theatrical negotiations."

The NBA is suffering from a severe image crisis in the wake of two high profile cases involving gambling:  One related to referee Tim Donaghy's admissions that he had gambled on games, another more recent occurrence whereby Washington Wizards player Gilbert Arenas allegedly pulled a gun out on a fellow player in the team's locker room over a poker debt. 

Interestingly enough, Stern in recent months has seemingly accepted the concept of "legalized sports betting".

Tyrone Black, Gambling911.com