Billy the Hunter

Billy Hunter, the union head of the NBA Players Association, is asking that all the owners in the NBA open their books as part of the upcoming collective bargaining negotiations. “We would like as much information as we can get,” Hunter said in a telephone interview with Bloomberg News. “I would welcome them completely opening up their books.” In response, NBA league spokesman Tim Frank said in an email, “We will open the books of all teams as part of collective bargaining, just as we have done in our prior negotiations with the players.” But, there’s more to this little Hunter’s excursion than what is on the face of it. For one, the owners' books are audited each year, with full disclosure to the NBPA, as part of the NBA salary cap process. What Hunter is most likely looking for is a bit of book juggling, hence the “completely opening the books” comments. This would be directed at the likes of James Dolan who owns the Knicks and Madison Square Garden, the NHL Rangers, an...