2011 NBA lockout fan reaction

[Babalu]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=6723645


NEW YORK -- NBA union chief Billy Hunter said Thursday afternoon that NBA owners are locking out the players after failing to reach a new collective bargaining agreement.

"It's obvious the lockout will happen tonight," he said.

With this latest action, two of four major professional sports in the United States are locked out. The NFL locked out its players in March, and the two sides have been in discussions this week, trying to work toward a new deal.

Despite a three-hour meeting Thursday, the NBA and its players could not close the enormous gap that remained in their positions. The CBA is expected to expire at midnight.

Hunter said the union made a "moderate" new financial proposal, but it wasn't enough to keep the two sides at the bargaining table.

"The gap is too great," Hunter said.

Hunter said the two sides plan to meet again in the next two to three weeks.

"The negotiations ended without a resolution. The NBA informed us they are making a recommendation to their labor relations committee to start a lockout at midnight," union outside counsel Jeffrey Kessler told ESPN's Kelly Naqi. "The players want to continue to play basketball and are very disappointed."

All league business is officially on hold, starting with the free agency period that would have opened Friday, and games eventually could be lost, too. The last lockout reduced the 1998-99 season to just a 50-game schedule, the only time the NBA missed games for a work stoppage.

"We tried to avoid the lockout; unfortunately, we couldn't reach a deal," union executive committee member Matt Bonner said.

The sides remained far apart on just about every major issue, from salaries to the salary cap, revenues to revenue sharing.

Players, who previously offered to reduce their salaries by $500 million over five years, considered the owners' proposal for a "flex" cap, where each team would be targeted to spend $62 million, a hard cap. Although the league said total player compensation would never dip below $2 billion over the life of its proposed 10-year deal, that would amount to a pay cut for the players, who were paid more than $2.1 billion this season in salaries and benefits.

Owners also wanted a reduction in the players' guarantee of 57 percent of basketball revenues.






lets see what happens.

[Locked_Up_Tonight]

Hunter said the two sides plan to meet again in the next two to three weeks.

This is the part I do not get. Why meet once in 2-3 weeks? Why not meet more times than that?

[All Net]

next meeting not for 2-3 weeks? really? :cry:

[LoPro4u2c]

No football and now no basketball? 2011-2012 starting in September is gonna be a shit sports season.

[LaysUpBricks]

I think in the 98-99 season it was 37 days before they reached a deal for the 50 game season. But this lockout is worse than that lockout.

[Babalu]

next meeting not for 2-3 weeks? really? :cry:


This might be the owners locking out the players and making them take the hit of not being able to use the facilities, doctors/staff/rehabilitation, and that kind of thing.

Kind of like punishing the players to sway them a little.

Maybe i'm wrong though, but thats what it seems like to me.

[fatboy11]

I used to be of the opinion that they would take most of the summer but get a deal done before training camp.

I think we're headed for a shortened season or no season now. The owners appear ready for war here.

[JMT]

This will go on for a long time.

It's not simply about greed like the NFL lockout.

The players seemingly underdsstand that they're going to have to give back a % of the pie, but that's not going to be enough for nouveau owners who paid a fortune for franchises that are hemmoraging cash. They need a complete restructuring of the salary structure just to survive.

What's sad is the lockout has very little to do with the product we see on the court. It's the ridiculous money paid to guys 7-12 that has really caused the crisis.

[DRoseOwnsACamry]

It's going to blow major, major ass if the season is COMPLETELY wiped out. The NBA is going to lose all the momentum it gained and may slip deep into unpopularity.

[Theoo's Daddy]

No football and now no basketball? 2011-2012 starting in September is gonna be a shit sports season.

:( :( .. Now i have to watch high school games and NCAA.

[alanLA92]

S***. No NFL and NBA possibly this year. College football is fine since I watch it regularly anyways but I haven't watched college basketball regularly for years now.

[All Net]

At least the english premier league starts in august :cry:

[DRoseOwnsACamry]

I'm going to make a very bold statement and say that this is going to be the worst thing that's ever happened to the NBA.

[Babalu]

stern and the owners are playing hardball. Stern went through this once before and he knows how to make people cry. Lets hope an agreement can be worked out.

[NuggetsFan]

No NBA or NFL? Gay. Let's go Avalanche :bowdown: .

[Clutch]

At least there is Euroleague.

[DropStep]

Good job guys, lose all momentum you gained this season. That will teach them to be greedy.

[d.bball.guy]

:( Gonna stuck with Baseball and Soccer. At least I'm supporting a team in those two sports.

[fatboy11]

The NFL will play. They'll get it worked out before training camp.

[IGOTGAME]

it is sad because the NBA had a golden opportunity to pick up steam this season.

[AMISTILLILL]

http://www.lasentinel.net/UserFiles/File/030410/noose.jpg

[DRoseOwnsACamry]

:( Gonna stuck with Baseball and Soccer. At least I'm supporting a team in those two sports.
I've COMPLETELY lost interest in baseball. COMPLETELY. It's just so ****ing boring. And I only like watching international soccer events... Not club events. I guess I'm going to have to gain or regain an interest here...

[KingJay718]

I pray the players don't cave in.

[D12"Magic"]

****KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK No way im watching baseball.

[fatboy11]

I pray the players don't cave in.

They'll have to sooner or later. They might get the owners to come down A LITTLE BIT but the owners will ultimately win this and it will be clear-cut victory.

[DirtySanchez]

WOW...

Not surprised. The people who really lose are the fans. Hope the season happens. I'm pisst.

[Sarcastic]

Stupid owners are trying to punish the players for their shitty mistakes. No one held a gun to their head and forced them to give out huge guaranteed contracts to non superstars.

[D12"Magic"]

Deron going overseas for a year :(

[bdreason]

Owners are full of shit. I have no doubt a few of them are losing money, but if they want to play hardball, then OPEN YOUR BOOKS. Let's see some proof of these huge losses, and how the players being paid market value (less actually) is the reason they are taking losses.


And I'm sorry, but when did owning a pro franchise become a sound investment? You don't see people with millions buying pro sports teams... because it's a bad investment. The people who own pro sports teams are BILLIONAIRES, or MULTIMILLIONAIRES, and they don't own the team to make money (unless they are morons), they own it for the prestige. If they aren't willing to take financial losses, then sell the team to someone who is.

My Warriors, the losing-est franchise in recent memory, just got sold, and we had a line out-the-door of people wanting to buy the team.

[OmniStrife]

NBA 2K12!!!!!! COME OUT NOW!!! :mad:

[Zackmorris]

Lets go New York Liberty!!:rockon:






:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

[d.bball.guy]

I've COMPLETELY lost interest in baseball. COMPLETELY. It's just so ****ing boring. And I only like watching international soccer events... Not club events. I guess I'm going to have to gain or regain an interest here...
I was actually watching a game before I got back here(my mom used the computer :facepalm) and it was BORING! Probably play 2K11 all year long.

[Bring-Your-Js]

Baseball is just terrible these days. The steroid era was a marvelous time for the sport because Pedro and Randy Johnson shit all over it anyway.

[JMT]

Owners are full of shit. I have no doubt a few of them are losing money, but if they want to play hardball, then OPEN YOUR BOOKS. Let's see some proof of these huge losses, and how the players being paid market value (less actually) is the reason they are taking losses.




Not defending one side or the other, but the owners have clearly provided all financials to the players association.

"Market value" is a difficult term. When the market value of guys who sit on the bench night after night is artificially inflated by a contractual agreement, it's time for the people that pay those guys to seek a new contract. What is truly the "market value" of Shaq and his 700 minutes last year?

[lakers1978]

At the end of the day the players union will eventually give in. Owners are able to hold out a lot longer than players can. Not sure if many of you guys know, but owners still get paid during the lockout from their tv contracts. So while the owners are still making money, players will be going weeks/months without any paychecks. Basically same thing happened in 99', players eventually gave in because they got bills to pay.

[IGOTGAME]

Not defending one side or the other, but the owners have clearly provided all financials to the players association.

"Market value" is a difficult term. When the market value of guys who sit on the bench night after night is artificially inflated by a contractual agreement, it's time for the people that pay those guys to seek a new contract. What is truly the "market value" of Shaq and his 700 minutes last year?

the lower players are being overpaid. But,Kobe and Lebron are the backbone of this league right now and being underpaid(same was Jordan was). They are probably worth 50-60 million dollar on the open market. I always thought it was a tradeoff. Owners can underpay the stars in exchange for giving lower players more cash and stability.

[purplch0de]

Team owners that also own the arena probably dont mind... extra booking nights for concerts and other events.
theyll make their $ one way or another

[Shepseskaf]

Its doubly ironic that on the morning of the day that the lockout was announced, the Blazer offered Oden a ridiculous $9 million extension.

People will blame the players, but its the owners with insane decisions like the above that have ruined the financials for the league.

[D12"Magic"]

That means I can't see my team play in Jersey 1 last time? :cry:

[b0bab0i]

No NBA or NFL? Gay. Let's go Avalanche :bowdown: .
+1
fvck baseball, boring as sh!t to watch

[Bosnian Sajo]

This sUCKS SUCKS SUCKS...although it will be interesting to see who goes to the euroleague.

[IGOTGAME]

Its doubly ironic that on the morning of the day that the lockout was announced, the Blazer offered Oden a ridiculous $9 million extension.

People will blame the players, but its the owners with insane decisions like the above that have ruined the financials for the league.

great observation. I actually made that my facebook status.

[BlackWhiteGreen]

Looks like it's football for the foreseeable future for me...

I had a wheelbarrow...

[guy]

Just saw Tom Penn on PTI. He's an ESPN analyst who used to work for the front offices of OKC and Portland. He just said that there's a 75% chance that the whole season will be wiped out!!!!!!! THIS SUCKS.

[d.bball.guy]

Just saw Tom Penn on PTI. He's an ESPN analyst who used to work for the front offices of OKC and Portland. He just said that there's a 75% chance that the whole season will be wiped out!!!!!!! THIS SUCKS.
:(:(:cry::cry::cry::mad::mad::mad::banghead:

[jbryan1984]

The last lockout, along with MJ retiring really made me lose interest in basketball. Please work something out. June through November is long enough. No summer league during the one year I actually want to see it cause of our draft picks also suck.

[Sarcastic]

The owners need our pity. They were held at gun point and forced to give out huge contracts.

[bingo123]

Ok I have a question. Were owners forced to give players those big contrcts? And some people are blaiming players for this lockout. If people cant afford something they usualy dont buy it (and if they do anyway, they usualy have money problems after some time).

[BlackWhiteGreen]

The owners need our pity. They were held at gun point and forced to give out huge contracts.

The problem is, there's also no way we can radically reduce the cap with current contracts. Wade, James and Bosh together are guaranteed around $66m in 2015-16. Things must be scaled correctly and the owners need to know that.

[SCdac]

great observation. I actually made that my facebook status.

lol my facebook update of the day... "last time there was a nba lockout it did bode well for the Spurs... you never know!"

[$LakerGold]

Just sit and wait ?

How long is it gonna be?
WATCHING THE NBA IS LIKE... 50% of my life.

[Peteballa]

Euroleague

lolololololololololol

[cteach111]

theres always porn

[Theoo's Daddy]

College basketball will be exciting next season.. UK vs UNC especially.

[adri41]

ESPN Classic? Download old games? Cry into my pillow?

[Gundress]

NCAA Basketball :rockon: :rockon: :rockon:

[adri41]

Oh, oh, wait! I'm going to watch the DALLAS MAVERICKS NBA CHAMPIONSHIP DVD like every day of my life.

[SCdac]

grab a basketball. find a court and friends. play basketball.

[inclinerator]

grab a basketball. find a court and friends. play basketball.
this

[Rekindled]

they wont miss any games, what's the big deal

[Kellogs4toniee]

Watch the NFL.

O wait

[d.bball.guy]

Buy more socks, lol. JK play ball.

[Da Heroic One]

Just saw Tom Penn on PTI. He's an ESPN analyst who used to work for the front offices of OKC and Portland. He just said that there's a 75% chance that the whole season will be wiped out!!!!!!! THIS SUCKS.
The guy is the biggest dumbass ever. He said LeBron should win MVP because the Heat have sold the most tickets of any team in the league :roll:

[d.bball.guy]

The guy is the biggest dumbass ever. He said LeBron should win MVP because the Heat have sold the most tickets of any team in the league :roll:
:roll::roll:

[Derrick]

wnba

:roll: :roll:

[97 bulls]

The last lockout, along with MJ retiring really made me lose interest in basketball. Please work something out. June through November is long enough. No summer league during the one year I actually want to see it cause of our draft picks also suck.
What's sad is when the dust has settled and a new cba is in place, if the league allows the season to be loss or even loose games, its gonna leave a bad taste in the fans mouths. And the result from that is that its gonna be a while before the fans build interest in the nba again. Which means low attendance etc. Then, the league is loose money and blame it on the players salaries again.

[DRose1899]

Sucks, just when I'm started to follow NBA regularly again :(

[adri41]

NEW YORK -- Well, it's going to be a strange lockout. It is already way off the weirdness charts. That much became immediately clear as the NBA's collective bargaining talks broke off Thursday afternoon.

No vitriol. No outward animosity. No doomsday talk. Just a very diplomatic turn down what could be a very bumpy road.

"It's been extremely cordial. It's almost like we were singing 'Kumbaya' at the end," union director Billy Hunter said after three hours of talks -- a portion of which were set aside for lunch -- ended with the owners deciding to impose a lockout beginning at 12:01 a.m. ET Friday. "I couldn't believe that. We were all shaking hands and saying 'We'll see you in a couple of weeks, have a good Fourth of July weekend.'"

If you are reading this and shaking your head, rest assured you have plenty of company.

All the goodwill the NBA has spent years developing is about to disappear like LeBron James in the fourth quarter of a championship series.

Haha...

[bisk]

Wait, does this mean we might miss Dante and Galante announcing games during the summer? Oh my goodness NO

[The Macho Man]

wnba

:roll: :roll:

I saw a minute of wnba game the other day, this trick got fouled went to the line and shot a jumper

[D-H-12]

grab a basketball. find a court and friends. play basketball.

thats what im going to do whole summer , after my exams ...

[LA_Showtime]

grab a basketball. find a court and friends. play basketball.

What are these "friends" you talk about?

[Blue&Orange]

The owners need our pity. They were held at gun point and forced to give out huge contracts.
Yes you right they weren't, clearly Melo and Amare would have come to NY even if the Knicks offered less, they surely wouldn't have gone somewhere else, but for some dumb reason, our GM\Owner gave them big ass contracts.

[SevereUpInHere]

This is terrible :(

Disregarding the players and owners for a second. Do the "sh*tkickers" of the organisations still get paid? Medical staff, admin staff, cleaners and everyone else. Gotta feel sorry for them if they're not getting paid, they are the ones who truly can't afford it.

[Papaya Petee]

jerk it

[Rose]

jerk it
to the WNBA.:pimp:

[DeronMillsap]

I'll watch the NHL this fall and winter. I'm hoping they take advantage of the NFL and NBA lockout and become huge in the States.

I'll probably watch more UFC as well. And there's always the Big East and NCAA hoops.

[Babalu]

looks like owners went into the meeting knowing they were going to lockout no matter what. Didnt even bring all their reps into the meeting.

and LOL at these quotes on espn.com


All the goodwill the NBA has spent years developing is about to disappear like LeBron James in the fourth quarter of a championship series.


All of the casual fans who had taken a decade off from watching basketball, only to come trickling back last season during a popularity surge that swelled like a post-retirement Charles Barkley, are at risk of being lost, too

[Lebowski]

I'll watch the NHL this fall and winter. I'm hoping they take advantage of the NFL and NBA lockout and become huge in the States.

I'll probably watch more UFC as well. And there's always the Big East and NCAA hoops.

Yeah I guess there is time now to follow something else. I'm getting into the Red Sox depth chart at the moment.

Can someone who really understand all this explain some things for me.

1) How are owners responsible, or maybe better what are their obligations to the NBA? Can they just say **** it, we take the arenas, make new names and start a new league with our 45million cap etc. I mean, surely more then 90% of the players would follow?

2) Are salaries still being paid or will every player get money retroactive when/if the league leaves the lockout? I guess current contracts wont be adjusted to follow any new max rules?

3) Is it known what teams who earns money and what teams lose money? I can take a guess. But how many?

I still think the players are the losers here, and us fans of course. If I was making low-level money (which still should be enough) and trying to work my way up (to make 4 million instead of 1 for example) I would be pissed off to see KG making some nonsense blabbering and helping to force this lockout. Why would the owners care? I don't think, even if it is a business, that the owners main income is from their pro-sport teams, or is it?

[Loneshot]

What are these "friends" you talk about?

Must be some new goofy term from one of them lil b songs.

[Lakers Legend#32]

If Seattle can't have the NBA then nobody else should either. Especially bumf#ck OKC.

[Laimbeer_Rodman]

theres always porn
this

[tomtucker]

grab a basketball. find a court and friends. play basketball.
hard to do on christmas day............there will be no "Mariah, All i want for Christmas" :cry:

[tomtucker]

theres always porn
Not for me, it is allready getting tiresome, i have seen it all by now.. :( ....i am down to seeing girls blowing dogs and horses , i am afraid there is nothing left :confusedshrug: :cry:

[Hopper15]

they wont miss any games, what's the big deal

The 98-99 season was nearly canceled and the issues then aren't nearly as bad as they are now. Unless the player cave on the hard cap very good chance we're not having a season

[alenleomessi]

http://files.sharenator.com/thats_turible_RE_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-s432x306-132898-580.png

[NauruDude]

No NBA **** Stern corrupt. But still there is EPL La liga Copa America Football Handball Basketball Iceland

[alenleomessi]

No NBA **** Stern corrupt. But still there is EPL La liga Copa America Football Handball Basketball Iceland
yes sir, copa america starts tonight with argentina-bolivia :rockon:
the best show is starting later this month and soccer leagues are starting in august
eurobasket in september

[InspiredLebowski]

There will be no hardcap. Owners giving in so early on guaranteed money (WHICH WAS NEVER IN THE LAST CBA) makes it pretty obvious. You can't have a guy getting guaranteed money 4 years out in a hardcap unless you want to adopt a business model even dumber than the one the league's been using for the last 15 years or so. It ain't happenin, a less-soft cap, sure, a stronger lux tax or something like that, but there will not be hardcap.

The CBA's not even the biggest issue. It's revenue sharing which has nothing to do with players. All local TV money needs to pooled and split equally for a start.

[T-Time3]

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/e8e2282fcc.jpg (http://www.freeimagehosting.net/)

[Hopper15]

There will be no hardcap. Owners giving in so early on guaranteed money (WHICH WAS NEVER IN THE LAST CBA) makes it pretty obvious. You can't have a guy getting guaranteed money 4 years out in a hardcap unless you want to adopt a business model even dumber than the one the league's been using for the last 15 years or so. It ain't happenin, a less-soft cap, sure, a stronger lux tax or something like that, but there will not be hardcap.

The CBA's not even the biggest issue. It's revenue sharing which has nothing to do with players. All local TV money needs to pooled and split equally for a start.

I guarantee there is a hard cap. The current system is broken, too many teams losing money and the small markets franchises can't compete financially with big market franchises which is only destroying parity. Don't even get me started on the horrid revenue sharing situation.

Most of those owners are willing to lose a season. Why would they want to return to a soft cap to continue losing money?

[blacknapalm]

I guarantee there is a hard cap. The current system is broken, too many teams losing money and the small markets franchises can't compete financially with big market franchises which is only destroying parity. Don't even get me started on the horrid revenue sharing situation.

Most of those owners are willing to lose a season. Why would they want to return to a soft cap to continue losing money?

i can see both your points. i think there will be a hard cap. owners have all the power right now. i also strongly feel there should be TV money sharing like IL says but owners don't seem to want to go that direction. has the PA proposed that idea? it seems they lack clear statements and arguments.

meh whatever. i don't think there's 17-22 teams losing money. i think there's some fudging of numbers there but that doesn't mean there's isn't a dozen or so teams losing money. it sucks for fans but a new system does need to be put in place if the league is seeing record draft views, finals views and merch sales go up. the league is probably as popular or more popular than it's been in a decade. owners do deserve some blame for handing out huge contracts on unwarranted efforts. guaranteed contracts seems to be a simple solution to me. if someone takes your spot, your guaranteed contract is void. it doesn't matter if that comes through draft, trade, etc. that should be a privilege and something that can also be taken away. i guess that doesn't make it guaranteed but there's a problem when guys like eddy curry get guaranteed contracts, he balloons up and the team and franchise loses out.

whatever the case may be, the stuff i've been reading over the past month just doesn't look good. i'm expecting this to go into the winter at the minimum and wouldn't be shocked at all if we miss an entire season. :cry:

the players are in a bind. it's tough to just give in to the current deal and they could even get worse. like i said, i think the owners have almost all the power here. they could have eased into this but now it seems like the majority are in it for the long haul. it will hurt the players more than it will hurt the owners to sit out a season.

[Hopper15]

I couldn't agree more about the guaranteed cash point. GM's have no way of knowing if a player will simply mail it in after they get a huge guaranteed contract. Eddy Curry and Andris Biedrins got their huge contracts and simply quit working hard.

[InspiredLebowski]

Guaranteed cash is moot. It was never in the last CBA and the owners already crossed outlawing guaranteed deals (or whatever they "wanted") off their list.

This is one of the grey areas that makes the whole "picking a side" thing so dumb. Obviously no one wants a player to get a big deal and start eating Big Macs all day. But there was NOTHING IN THE LAST CBA THAT SAID THEY HAD TO. You paid it execs, you made it the norm, you reap what you sow. Both of you are bad for the business. NBA execs got worked by agents because they're dumb and it became "well if I don't give this fatass gauranteed cash then that guy will and then we're not getting anyone." All it would've taken was a conference call and a 30 way agreement to not offer them as the norm anymore. But of course, that'd never happen since money means a lot more to some franchises than others.

This a two front war. It's the union vs the owners, and more importantly in my view, the small/mid market owners vs the major markets.

[blacknapalm]

Guaranteed cash is moot. It was never in the last CBA and the owners already crossed outlawing guaranteed deals (or whatever they "wanted") off their list.

true, but i felt the players association never even followed through on that. now the owners have their feet firmly planted in the soil on the things they want the most and i don't see the PA having much leverage.

no system is perfect but it does need major tweaks. guys like sterling will be obsessed with making money and less about winning. then you'll have owners who are trying to make real estate ploys. then you have some owners who are not true fans of the game, and an overlapping of the two aforementioned.

overall, it just sucks. the owners aren't willing to do revenue sharing. this isn't about balance right now. it's about the owners taking what they can for a while. TV is the big issue here. everyone is looking for the piece of the pie. the point is small market teams have a goal here: hard caps. if big market teams are unwilling to revenue share, all the power lies w/ the owners. not to mention they hold the NBA TV deals and will profit from that even if it's limited or not around next season. merch? they profit from that as well.

[InspiredLebowski]

true, but i felt the players association never even followed through on that. now the owners have their feet firmly planted in the soil on the things they want the most and i don't see the PA having much leverage.

no system is perfect but it does need major tweaks. guys like sterling will be obsessed with making money and less about winning. then you'll have owners who are trying to make real estate ploys. then you have some owners who are not true fans of the game, and an overlapping of the two aforementioned.

overall, it just sucks.There was nothing the union needed to follow through on. The NBA is a major, MAJOR example of a have/have not league when it comes to franchise profitability. Working under the previously marshmellow soft cap made it that much egregious. It has nothing to do with (this is just a general statement directed at no one) how good your team is or your cap number or any of that; look at the local TV deals. LA and NY are in the dozens of millions, pretty sure LA's is in the billions, Indy specifically was around 7 Million last I knew. That's local rights. That goes to no one but the specific franchise. When there are that drastic of differences, let alone ticket prices (which in the grand scheme mean dick really), merchandise, marketing, all that the BIG problem is revenue sharing, not player salaries. Not that salaries aren't just downright stupid, but they aren't what's killing the league.

I don't disagree with anything you've said. I just think to try and approach legitimate parity, on a financial level, it's all on no one but the owners. The CBA's a tiny fraction.

[blacknapalm]

There was nothing the union needed to follow through on. The NBA is a major, MAJOR example of a have/have not league when it comes to franchise profitability. Working under the previously marshmellow soft cap made it that much egregious. It has nothing to do with (this is just a general statement directed at no one) how good your team is or your cap number or any of that; look at the local TV deals. LA and NY are in the dozens of millions, pretty sure LA's is in the billions, Indy specifically was around 7 Million last I knew. That's local rights. That goes to no one but the specific franchise. When there are that drastic of differences, let alone ticket prices (which in the grand scheme mean dick really), merchandise, marketing, all that the BIG problem is revenue sharing, not player salaries. Not that salaries aren't just downright stupid, but they aren't what's killing the league.

I don't disagree with anything you've said. I just think to try and approach legitimate parity, on a financial level, it's all on no one but the owners. The CBA's a tiny fraction.

updated my post, but ya, agree for the most part

[bletchley]

then euroleague will be rocks next year

[24r2]

i feel like i will waste a year of my life

[$LakerGold]

Why am I subscribed to this thread?

I Didnt even post anything in here.

[Apocalyptic0n3]

Hockey's time to shine. :D

[niko]

BTW, ESPN said something so dumb this morning (yes, you are all shocked - i know). basically it kept referencing the Knicks, the Bulls and other teams who bid on Lebron as hypocritical as we wanted to spend and now there is a lockout. I can't speak for other teams i don't follow the finances as closely, but i can tell you 100% the Knicks want NO part of a lockout. We want a capless NBA where you can spend as much as allowed. The Knicks are going to get killed in the lockout, we lose our money for MSG advertising, our sold out games every night, our franchise will lose value, we just got Melo. ESPN literally ALL ****ing morning has brought the Knicks up. The small market, new owners want a lockout. Why the **** do the Knicks want a lockout? Is losing money fun?

[bluechox2]

what is the minumium amount of games needed to be played in a season inorder for the playoffs to happen?

for example, if the cba is reached in the final week of the season, is there a playoff?

[chris2010]

well, theres always soccer:rockon:

seriously i think that the owners are losing money in their main businesses so now they are trying to cut their losses w/ their nba franchises to make them profitable again since their main businesses are failing. and im tired of seeing scrubs make big money. "oh well the owners need to stop being dumb w/ their money"- thats happening now. Only way ill turn against the owners is if they start demanding the players pack the owners back a portion of the money they have already earned. Time Warner did the same thing to some contractors my dad was in charge of. That right there gives business a bad name.

side note, if a franchise cant afford to stay in business and they have to rely on the nba to support them, then ax them. Its understandable getting a loan from the league when you first move there, but year after year you suck and rely on the nba to pay your bills, CON-TRACT

[LeFraud James]

http://www.toffeetalk.com/public/style_emoticons/default/shaking%20fist.png STERN!

[BlazersDozen]

I'd like to see a mob flip over a car because the season will be lost...

[Lakers Legend#32]

The rest of the league is now realizing what Seattle has already known. David Stern in the devil.

[EricGordon23]

Lets start riot like the one that happened in Vancouver.

[HylianNightmare]

can't wait for college hoops

and

http://www.nba.com/dleague/

[kaiteng]

There are a bunch of sports to carry us on while there are no NBA and NFL. We will be fine, players are not.

[Jasper]

Steve smith biggest NY fan tells it straight :

http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/nba/columns/story?columnist=smith_stephen&id=6721391

[Clutch]

Stephen A. Smith: Lockout Will End Before Games Are Missed


Shit just got serious,it's seems like there will be no season.

[Nobler]

Shit just got serious,it's seems like there will be no season.

No hes saying there wont be any games missed and we will get a full season.

[Clutch]

No hes saying there wont be any games missed and we will get a full season.
Yeah and that means that we will lose the whole season because he is always wrong :lol

Get it ?

[bruceblitz]

:banghead: :confusedshrug:

This lockout sucks, I'm not gonna type out my thoughts when I can just post them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt2NbsN1TTs

Stay strong fans, who knows, maybe there will be an ABA type uprising and we can have a more righteous association running the professional ranks of a sport we love.... (worst case).


For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

[catch24]

^

Good video, Bruce.

[Walker]

Boo hoo poor players want to keep making retarded amounts of money, what a joke. Why exactly should ANY of these guys be making more than 1-2mil per year? What are they doing that's so special?

To quote Mr. Sprewell,

"I've got a family to feed,"

Yea, you need to make multi million dollars a year to live right? Funny how the rest of us manage....


Ridiculous.

[3zazer1]

This lockout is unnecessary. How can you punish the big market teams when the smaller teams are over paying THEIR players? I just think this has alot to do with Lebron's decision to join the Miami Heat. It seems as if they are trying to prevent that from happening again by taking away the soft cap. Why don't they just put a limit on the ammount you can spend on a player as a smaller market team? Just a specific cap for those individual teams.

This will definately hurt the NBA in the long run.

[3zazer1]

Yeah and that means that we will lose the whole season because he is always wrong :lol

Get it ?

Give my man the benifit of the doubt. He was right about the Lebron James story back last year and he has sources around the leauge.

[Balla_Status]

Maybe they can get real jobs now.

Go work at Taco Bell or McDonalds (not like these are real jobs either). That particular franchise would bank.

[bigdog13]

This lockout is unnecessary. How can you punish the big market teams when the smaller teams are over paying THEIR players? I just think this has alot to do with Lebron's decision to join the Miami Heat. It seems as if they are trying to prevent that from happening again by taking away the soft cap. Why don't they just put a limit on the ammount you can spend on a player as a smaller market team? Just a specific cap for those individual teams.

This will definately hurt the NBA in the long run.

that is just the stupdiest idea ever. why have these teams then at all? contract to 6-8 teams. we need to get more parity in the league, not less. I gave up my tickets this year due to the direction of the league.

[one2]

Too many teams in the NBA which makes allows for more lesser-talented players to enter the league making too money.

Make the NBA more competitive. Get rid of 10 of the smallest market teams. Divide the league into 2 leagues (A league and B league). Make contracts non guaranteed. Get rid of the draft. Allow college players to sign with any NBA teams.

That's not going to happen I know but I prefer how they do it in Europe with soccer (football).

[Hamburgers]

Too many teams in the NBA which makes allows for more lesser-talented players to enter the league making too money.

Make the NBA more competitive. Get rid of 10 of the smallest market teams. Divide the league into 2 leagues (A league and B league). Make contracts non guaranteed. Get rid of the draft. Allow college players to sign with any NBA teams.

That's not going to happen I know but I prefer how they do it in Europe with soccer (football).

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090804000748/wikiality/images/6/6a/NotSureIfSerious.jpg

[Miki]

When do they have to reach an agreement to have at least 29 game season?

[one2]

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090804000748/wikiality/images/6/6a/NotSureIfSerious.jpg

That was my intent and it was serious. So sick and tired of owners relying on the draft to get talent. The system is so inherently socialist in a country whose economical system is open market or capitalistic.

If anyone didn't my post, they didn't get it.