{"product_id":"the-cap-joshua-mendelsohn-9781496218780","title":"The Cap: How Larry Fleisher and David Stern Built the Modern NBA","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA legal thriller, a close account of the tortuous 10-month negotiations, in the mid-1980s, for the big play that eventually put both the NBA's players and the owners in the win column.\u003c\/b\u003e--David M. Shribman, \u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2020 \u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e Holiday Gift Books Selection\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eToday the salary cap is an NBA institution, something fans take for granted as part of the fabric of the league or an obstacle to their favorite team's chances to win a championship. In the early 1980s, however, a salary cap was not only novel but nonexistent. \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Cap\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e tells the fascinating, behind-the-scenes story of the deal between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association that created the salary cap in 1983, the first in all of sports, against the backdrop of a looming players' strike on one side and threatened economic collapse on the other. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJoshua Mendelsohn illustrates how the salary cap was more than just professional basketball's economic foundation--it was a grand bargain, a compromise meant to end the chaos that had gripped the sport since the early 1960s. The NBA had spent decades in a vulnerable position financially and legally, unique in professional sports. It entered the 1980s badly battered, something no one knew better than a few legendary NBA figures: Larry Fleisher, general counsel and negotiator for the National Basketball Players Association; Larry O'Brien, the commissioner; and David Stern, who led negotiations for the NBA and would be named the commissioner a few months after the salary cap deal was reached. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs a result, in 1983 the NBA and its players made a novel settlement. The players gave up infinite pay increases, but they gained a guaranteed piece of the league's revenue and free agency to play where they wished--a combination that did not exist before in professional sports but as a result became standard for the NBA, NFL, and NHL as well. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Cap\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e explores in detail not only the high-stakes negotiations in the early 1980s but all the twists and turns through the decades that led the parties to reach a salary cap compromise. It is a compelling story that involves notable players, colorful owners, visionary league and union officials, and a sport trying to solidify a bright future despite a turbulent past and present. \u003cb\u003eThis is a story missing from the landscape of basketball history.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Joshua Mendelsohn\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1496218787\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781496218780\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Nebraska Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/01\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 376\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.50lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.15h x 6.43w x 1.30d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2020 pg. 91\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/01\/2021","brand":"Joshua Mendelsohn","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44047595110655,"sku":"9781496218780","price":32.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_c685cd57-baf5-49d7-a41b-55aa71430dda.jpg?v=1684991115","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-cap-joshua-mendelsohn-9781496218780","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}