The NBA Lockout

[Eddie]

I hadn't seen a thread dedicated to this - and maybe it doesn't need one.

But I was reading an article in the newspaper over the weekend that had me hoping that they go ahead and negotiate for another year. I won't miss them.

The article quoted Kevin Durrant.

Now, I like Kevin Durrant. I think he's a good player and from what I recall he also has a decent reputation for being a good guy too.

But if the good guys are as stuck on themselves as much as he is, I can only imagine how much the overly egotistical bunch are. And part of me thinks it would be OK if they saw that we can live without them.

The quote that really got to me was when Durrant said that he wanted the lockout to end quickly so that the fans "wouldn't have to suffer by not watching us."

Dude. You are the entertainment. And you have a strange sense of what suffering is if you think it includes not watching you. And your comment frustrates me enough that I would be OK with the lockout lasting several years so that you have to come up with a new way to finance your lifestyle and can gain a sense of what "suffering" really is.

OK - maybe my reaction is a little strong. I get it. I just found myself irritates by the ego.

[Sizzle]

I hadn't seen a thread dedicated to this - and maybe it doesn't need one.

But I was reading an article in the newspaper over the weekend that had me hoping that they go ahead and negotiate for another year. I won't miss them.

The article quoted Kevin Durrant.

Now, I like Kevin Durrant. I think he's a good player and from what I recall he also has a decent reputation for being a good guy too.

But if the good guys are as stuck on themselves as much as he is, I can only imagine how much the overly egotistical bunch are. And part of me thinks it would be OK if they saw that we can live without them.

The quote that really got to me was when Durrant said that he wanted the lockout to end quickly so that the fans "wouldn't have to suffer by not watching us."

Dude. You are the entertainment. And you have a strange sense of what suffering is if you think it includes not watching you. And your comment frustrates me enough that I would be OK with the lockout lasting several years so that you have to come up with a new way to finance your lifestyle and can gain a sense of what "suffering" really is.

OK - maybe my reaction is a little strong. I get it. I just found myself irritates by the ego.

Yeah, I could see where you got to that reaction, but I don't think that was the way the quote was intended. Maybe "suffer" is the wrong choice of words for that phrase, but with a lockout, there is no doubt that the fans lose. Do we "suffer"? Probably not. But do we lose? Absolutely. And I think that is the point that KD is trying to make.

[New Mexican Disaster]

I will suffer if the NBA is locked out. I will bored out of my gourd for 6 months with only college basketball to watch. The summer is bad enough to have to sit through, let alone an entire spring with nothing on.

[Eddie]

Yeah, I could see where you got to that reaction, but I don't think that was the way the quote was intended. Maybe "suffer" is the wrong choice of words for that phrase, but with a lockout, there is no doubt that the fans lose. Do we "suffer"? Probably not. But do we lose? Absolutely. And I think that is the point that KD is trying to make.

Yeah - that was my assumption too. The fans lose when the players and owners fight over their millions. Just figure something out or you'll lose. It was funny that his quote about concern for us came upon the heals of a quote in which KD said that the players are standing fast and won't give in to any owner demands.

So in essence - he comes across as telling the owners to give the players what they want or it is their fault the fans will "suffer". Because the players just want to play.

Maybe the players should all just become stockholders in the NBA - and that is how they are paid. And if they suck it up and the league is losing money, then they don't get paid as much. And if they do great and the league is rolling in the money - then they get paid more.

But with guaranteed contracts, etc., it sure looks like they want all of the benefits with none of the risks.

I will suffer if the NBA is locked out. I will bored out of my gourd for 6 months with only college basketball to watch. The summer is bad enough to have to sit through, let alone an entire spring with nothing on.

I won't suffer. I'll miss it for a little while, then I'll find something else to do.

They won't want me to find something else to do for too long, or it will replace them and they won't have the draw to pull me back.

[Blueintheface]

No Jimmer.

No NBA.

No reason to have satellite from early Jan to Aug.

[Shaka]

My suffering as a fan revolves around:

1. Uneven playing field - Large market teams exceed the salary cap and can afford to pay the penalties for doing so. This gives them a huge advantage over the rest. The league must be balanced from a competitive standpoint with all teams being given an equal footing.

2. Greed - Party the owners but mostly the players. The owners take the risk so I do not have a problem with them getting a return on their investment. The players are a different matter entirely. Their money and resulting lifestyles bother me to no end. Lebron is a good example. He is so disconnected from the regular American he simply cannot comprehend why people may not like him. I'm not opposed to players being compensated for unique talents but contracts in the NBA have gone waaaaay out of bounds.

I've been falling in and out of love with the NBA for years. Frankly I think the lockout is a good thing.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

My suffering as a fan revolves around:

1. Uneven playing field - Large market teams exceed the salary cap and can afford to pay the penalties for doing so. This gives them a huge advantage over the rest. The league must be balanced from a competitive standpoint with all teams being given an equal footing.

2. Greed - Party the owners but mostly the players. The owners take the risk so I do not have a problem with them getting a return on their investment. The players are a different matter entirely. Their money and resulting lifestyles bother me to no end. Lebron is a good example. He is so disconnected from the regular American he simply cannot comprehend why people may not like him. I'm not opposed to players being compensated for unique talents but contracts in the NBA have gone waaaaay out of bounds.

I've been falling in and out of love with the NBA for years. Frankly I think the lockout is a good thing.

I have a completely different mindset towards the NBA Lockout that I have to the NFL Lockout.

The NFL owners want to add more games to the season when the players in the league already have the shortest careers of any professional athletes and more lingering ailments after they retire. From the information that is available, the NFL owners aren't suffering financially. And they have one thing that other professional team owners don't have -- unguaranteed contracts with the players. From a fan's perspective, the NFL owners are being assholes.

The NBA owners have a different problem. A majority of them are not making a profit off of the team. The guaranteed contracts given to the likes of Rashard Lewis, Gilbert Arenas and Joe Johnson (I'm projecting into the future here) become millstones around the NBA owners' necks and it cripples franchises. The interesting thing to me is that it's the owners who are offering these contracts in the first place. The problem is, to get the value out of the player that you get in the first two years of a long term contract, you have to offer them those ridiculous long term contracts. Because the contracts are guaranteed, it seems like a significant portion of these guys just don't care after awhile. In the NFL the players care because they know they can be cut and a significant portion of their contracts get cut with it.

Besides the inherent differences of the actual sports themselves, I think the single biggest difference between the NBA and the NFL and the main competitive edge the NFL has is the unguaranteed contracts. I think it greatly helps the product on the field. There aren't that many Eddy Currys in the NFL.

[Eddie]

I have a completely different mindset towards the NBA Lockout that I have to the NFL Lockout.

The NFL owners want to add more games to the season when the players in the league already have the shortest careers of any professional athletes and more lingering ailments after they retire. From the information that is available, the NFL owners aren't suffering financially. And they have one thing that other professional team owners don't have -- unguaranteed contracts with the players. From a fan's perspective, the NFL owners are being assholes.

The NBA owners have a different problem. A majority of them are not making a profit off of the team. The guaranteed contracts given to the likes of Rashard Lewis, Gilbert Arenas and Joe Johnson (I'm projecting into the future here) become millstones around the NBA owners' necks and it cripples franchises. The interesting thing to me is that it's the owners who are offering these contracts in the first place. The problem is, to get the value out of the player that you get in the first two years of a long term contract, you have to offer them those ridiculous long term contracts. Because the contracts are guaranteed, it seems like a significant portion of these guys just don't care after awhile. In the NFL the players care because they know they can be cut and a significant portion of their contracts get cut with it.

Besides the inherent differences of the actual sports themselves, I think the single biggest difference between the NBA and the NFL and the main competitive edge the NFL has is the unguaranteed contracts. I think it greatly helps the product on the field. There aren't that many Eddy Currys in the NFL.

I think this sums it up for me too. I like that a hard salary cap and non-guaranteed contracts make it easier for football teams to be competitive regardless of market size - and turn around quicker after a bad year.

I do think the NFL owners owe the players more - like not asking for a longer season. Maybe some profit sharing.

I agree with everything you say about the NBA. I'd love to see them lose the guaranteed contracts and go to a harder salary cap.

[Donuthole]

I don't think guaranteed contracts are ever going away in the NBA. But I do think they'll impose some stricter limitations on the length of contracts (4 years, max) so a bad contract doesn't penalize a team as much. Also, I think there may end up being an injury waiver exemption to guaranteed contracts which allows the team to pay off the injured player but not count that against the cap. There would have to be some protections to prevent teams from gaming the system, of course.

Let me add that I think the only way something gets done in time to have a partial season is if the players realize that they can accept some of these negative terms (hard cap, lower salaries, etc.) but toll their implementation for another 5-6 years. That would mean the more senior players wouldn't be impacted much, if at all, by the newer CBA terms. THat's the way I really see a deal getting done.

[TripletDaddy]

Go Owners!!!

[Sizzle]

I don't think guaranteed contracts are ever going away in the NBA. But I do think they'll impose some stricter limitations on the length of contracts (4 years, max) so a bad contract doesn't penalize a team as much. Also, I think there may end up being an injury waiver exemption to guaranteed contracts which allows the team to pay off the injured player but not count that against the cap. There would have to be some protections to prevent teams from gaming the system, of course.

Let me add that I think the only way something gets done in time to have a partial season is if the players realize that they can accept some of these negative terms (hard cap, lower salaries, etc.) but toll their implementation for another 5-6 years. That would mean the more senior players wouldn't be impacted much, if at all, by the newer CBA terms. THat's the way I really see a deal getting done.

With Derek Fisher leading the charge for the players, I could see him trying to sneak in a deal like that.

[TripletDaddy]

With Derek Fisher leading the charge for the players, I could see him trying to sneak in a deal like that.

With him leading the charge, the players should rest at ease. This will be a layup for Fish!

[Sizzle]

With him leading the charge, the players should rest at ease. This will be a layup for Fish!

Yes players, rest at ease. This will be a layup for Fish!

[youtube]85cZB9O_LkE[/youtube]

[UtahDan]

I love the idea of a lock out or a shortened season. Just gets the Zards one step closer to another lottery pick.

[smokymountainrain]

As somebody who always enjoys summer league a ton, I'm already suffering. So much so, and I'm such a nerd that I've been reduced to watching full Colorado Buffaloes games in order to get the Alec Burks fix I would be getting if there were a summer league.