After filing two separate antitrust lawsuits against the league in different states, NBA players are consolidating their efforts and have turned to the courts in Minnesota as their chosen venue.
A group of named plaintiffs including Carmelo Anthony, Steve Nash and Kevin Durant filed an amended federal lawsuit against the league in Minnesota on Monday, hoping the courts there will be as favorable to them as they have been to NFL players in the past.
The locked-out players filed class-action antitrust suits against the league last Tuesday in California and Minnesota. The California complaint was withdrawn Monday. Click here to read more on the lockout and for a online sportsbook point of view on the NBA trying to settle.
“The likelihood was we’d get a faster result in Minnesota than California,” players’ lawyer David Boies said. “I think the result would be the same.”
NBA owners locked out the players July 1, and the labor strife between the two sides has forced games to be canceled through Dec. 15.
“This is consistent with Mr. Boies’ inappropriate shopping for a forum that he can only hope will be friendlier to his baseless legal claims,” Rick Buchanan, NBA executive vice president and general counsel, said in a statement.
Federal court in Minnesota was the venue for all NFL labor disputes that reached the courts for the past two decades. The NFL players enjoyed several victories over the owners there, most recently when U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson issued a temporary injunction this summer that lifted the NFL’s owner-imposed lockout. That decision was stayed and eventually overturned on appeal by the 8th Circuit in St. Louis.
Boies insisted the only reason to pick Minnesota was to speed up the process. The first case management conference in California had been scheduled for March 9, although the sides could have requested the date to be moved up. Boies expected a hearing in Minnesota next month.
“The docket is less congested there,” he said. “They have a good track record of handling these kind of cases very promptly.”
The owners had already filed a lawsuit of their own in the Southern District of New York, a venue that has issued several NBA-friendly rulings over the years, and could file a motion to have the Minnesota case moved there.
After the two sides were unable to reach an accord, the players disbanded the union last week. That set the stage for the increasingly bitter labor dispute to move from the negotiating table to the courtroom, which could jeopardize the entire 2011-12 season.
Disbanding the union allowed the players to file an antitrust lawsuit against the league, a move the NFL players also used. Chauncey Billups, Rajon Rondo, Caron Butler, Baron Davis, Ben Gordon, Kawhi Leonard, Leon Powe, Anthony Randolph, Sebastian Telfair, Anthony Tolliver and Derrick Williams are the other named plaintiffs in the Minnesota lawsuit. The consolidated complaint added some players not in either of the original two, including Nash.
“Although the NBPA made concession after concession, including concessions that would cost its members more than one billion dollars over a six-year period, the NBA essentially refused to negotiate its basic 2007 demands, refusing to back off its demand for large salary reductions and harsh player restraints,” the lawsuit alleges.
The NBA must submit its response by Dec. 5. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz.
Boies said that if there had been time to talk to all the players and lawyers initially, only one lawsuit would have been filed in the first place.
“It was a desire to get things moving. It was not a competition,” he said of the two suits. “This was not anything in which people were going different directions.”
The courts would have consolidated the suits anyway, so doing it now saves time. And with the first month and a half of the season already canceled, time is of the essence.
Boies repeated that the players’ side would prefer to reach a settlement instead of taking the litigation to its conclusion. But there was no indication that either side would be contacting the other anytime soon.
“In the face of somebody saying, ‘I don’t want to talk to you. We’ve got an offer — take it or leave it. This is an ultimatum. We’re going to make no more proposals,’ and somebody saying, ‘This is baseless; it ought to go away,’” Boies said, “that’s a waste of time to make a telephone call.”
December 17th, 2011 
KobeOfTheNBA 
Posted in 
The 5 Best Dressed NBA Players of 2011
Many players in the NBA are amongst the most well-dressed individuals in the celebrity world. After all, the NBA comes along with plenty of glitz, glamor and high salaries. As a result, many NBA players put a great deal of time and effort (not to mention money) into each ensemble they wear. Those who have never seen certain players off the court are often surprised to see how they dress, as many players have a penchant for designer clothing of the utmost quality. The following are five of the best dressed players in the NBA, all of whom can be viewed as veritable trend-setters.
Kobe is on just about every “best dressed” list, and for good reason. Known for rocking the full suit, Kobe Bryant knows how to draw attention to himself without looking even remotely out of place. As one might expect, Kobe puts just as much effort looking good off-court as he does in the middle of a heated competition, and is one of the NBA’s most stylish players. It doesn’t hurt also that Kobe is one of the most well-known names in basketball, which means those who don’t even follow the sport likely have a sense for how the man dresses. His signature look: charcoal suit with strong pin striping pattern, white shirt, and bold necktie. Kobe also likes to accessorize his suit & tie with complementing pocket square and tie bar.
Carmelo Anthony’s name is synonymous with style. Always one that dresses to impress, Anthony embodies New York style both on and off the court. A trendsetter like no other, “Melo” turns heads wherever he goes, and is a great example of how athletes can be fashionable during their time away from the game. While Kobe prefers the elegant suit & tie look, “Melo” dresses both casually as well as elegant/trendy. His favorite sui & tie look: Gingham check shirts, boldly colored, striped or paisley patterned tie, and contrasting jacket with bold patterns in gray, beige, or brown. His favorite accessories include sunglasses by Gucci or LV, pocket squares, and fedora hat. He himself said in a recent interview with GQ that he is the best dressed man in the NBA.
It should come as no surprise that LeBron James makes the list of best dressed players in the NBA, especially to those who have paid attention to his style during the course of his career. James’ style can only be described as “casual-hip,” comprised of elements that only the highest paid player in the game could ever be able to afford. Just as comfortable in jeans as in a full suit, LeBron James knows what he’s doing when it comes to throwing together an attention-grabbing outfit. That he has also been featured on the cover of GQ magazine is no surprise to us. His signature look consists of cashmere V-neck sweater and dress shirt that are leisurely worn with with rolled up sleeves displaying an exclusive, over-sized designer wrist watch.
Dwayne Wade needs no introduction, as he is one of the most well-dressed players in the game. “Flash” has been a part of a few successful modeling projects, and is well adept at displaying his unique fashion sense. Women the world over love Wade’s ability to go from “casually thrown together” to “thoughtfully composed” at the drop of a hat, making him one of the most versatile players in the NBA when it comes to off-court fashion. He has been spotted wearing self tied bow ties, cardigan sweaters, boldly patterned neckties paired with sleek V-neck knits, elegant 3-piece suits, as well as flashy all-white tux with matching white fedora. His signature look? There is none! Mr Wade knows how to dress and can pull of almost any style imaginable. He definitely earns a gold medal for the TOP 5 best dressed NBA player award.
O.J. Mayo might just have the most unique sense of style in the NBA. When off the court, mayo looks more in line with a flashy professor than a basketball player, rocking some extremely formal attire that is often comprised of three-piece suits, fat Rolex watches and sophisticated frames. As a result, Mayo commands a great deal of respect not only for the fact that he’s the number one draft pick since LeBron, but also as a result of the way he dresses.