"The commissioner has continuously tried to drive a wedge
through the players and repeatedly he has failed," Hunter
charged. "He attempted to pit the superstars against the
minimum-salaried players and he has tried to buy off the current
veterans at the expense of younger and future players. Now he
wants to split the players, agents and the union."
"As David Stern is well aware, despite his current ruse,
(union president) Patrick Ewing, the negotiating committee and
myself have been in charge of these negotiations since day one
and that will continue to be the case," Hunter said.
"When the owners show some willingness to engage in
compromise rather than concession bargaining, the negotiating
committee -- not the agents -- will be glad to recommend the
deal to our players," Hunter said.