If the owners move off of a hard cap, the negotiations will progress, maybe not completely linearly (you know how negotiations go), but I do feel like they will get there.
Personally, I see both sides. So like baseball franchise values are accelerating rapidly but not at the rate of like nhl. John Henry made a billion dollars in 2 years (bought penguins for 1 bil, sell for 2bil, 2 years later)....Baseball teams arent going up at that rate.
And make no mistake, the cap is 100% for ownership profits, 0% to do with general league competitiveness and health. And there is a hard cap in football and hockey (not basketball, but the soft cap seems to work better in basketball vs baseball).
The compromise feels like no hard cap but so much penalties that it almost feels like a hard cap. But I dont think the owners come off the demand for a hard cap as quickly as you seem to. But I dont think your position is unreasonable and you have me hopeful theyll find the light at the end of the tunnel where both sides come away "okay"