With only 10 days remaining until we find out the fate of Billy Hunter, let's check in on any updates from the NBPA with the latest information up top:
- Should Hunter be ousted come All-Star weekend, the NBPA will target B. Todd Jones, the current Minnesota attorney general and acting director of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, reports Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski. Wojnarowski adds that the NBPA will use an executive search firm to coordinate the process.
Earlier updates:
- Kobe Bryant told Ken Berger of CBS Sports that most NBA players – including himself – need to get up to speed on the issues at hand before they can make an informed decision. "I'm pretty ignorant to what the issues are going to be when we show up, so I don't know," Bryant said on Tuesday. "I'm pretty sure most of the players are, so we'll have to educate ourselves. Will a vote come? Probably. We've just got to make sure we're educated enough to make the right the decision."
- Resigned to the reality that the owners will always have the leverage, Bryant added that he thought Hunter represented the players "as well as he possibly could." Bryant also seemed to think that this situation exemplifies why the league's stars need to be more active with regard to the union. "You always look at your marquee guys, right?" he said. "Back in the day you had Isiah [Thomas] there, you had Magic [Johnson] there, so you're looking at [Kevin] Durant, myself, Chris [Paul] and guys who are faces of the league. Even if you're not representing your team as far as a union standpoint goes, be a little more active."
- As Berger points out, Bryant's noncommital words regarding Hunter's performance come as a surprise given his relationship with NBPA President Derek Fisher, who initiated the review on Hunter. In response to rumors that he wanted Hunter's job, Fisher tweeted the following on Tuesday: "Heard rumors I'm angling for Executive Director. There are people out there better suited for that role than me. No thanks. Not interested."
- In a series of tweets, Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal indicates reports that a replacement for Hunter has been agreed upon by "NBA power agents" are false (Twitter link). Additionally, Mullen has a comment from a source close to NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr regarding speculation that he will step into Hunter's position: "Don is very happy in his current role and has absolutely no plans to leave the NHLPA. In the future, should the basketball players seek his guidance due to his vast sports union experience there is little doubt Don would provide that, but he won't be leaving his position at the NHLPA." (Twitter links here).