NBA Thread 2011-12

[Pizza]

Really, of all the problems with my half-thought out idea on how they could run their own league that is what you focus on? I'm sure if Chris Paul is getting over a million people streaming his charity game, some arenas with open dates can be persuaded to take part of the gate and/or concessions in return for the use of their building.

If anything, the biggest problem I see is finding insurance.

No NBA affiliated arena would host the games. Could they play in college arenas?

Probably. They could also probably play in places with hockey arenas but no NBA team, places like KC and Seattle, there are a lot more than 30 arenas that are capable of hosting a basketball game.

[Benjamin]

They could come to my neighbourhood park and play. I'd let them use it for free, too.

[rocksta]

I believe this is what you're looking for gentlemen:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7058281/we-need-renegade-basketball-league

As improbable as any of the other ideas here but it certainly is a fun scenario to play around with.

[DYSI]

[Guest JukeboxHero]

So what's the status on this thing? Are they anywhere close to reaching a deal?

It kinda ticks me off. Sure, the owners and players will be fine if there's no season. They'll make it through the year. But people like the vendors and ushers are the ones really paying the price here.

[Trey]

They aren't any closer to a deal and aren't talking. The owners are probably going to let the season go in an attempt to force the players hand (much like the NHL did).

[Maxx]

Except the players are smart enough to know the league isn't quite as important as owners think it is, hence their world tour that they've got planned.

[Trey]

I mean the big stars might be able to make what they would normally be getting in salary by playing a bunch of different tours and such, but the rest of the union that aren't on the superstar level will be pushing for a deal come next summer. You can't call the players smart when they sat back all summer and let the owners wait long enough so that they could cancel games and get all of the leverage.

[Maxx]

I'd say this is the only lockout where owners really don't have much leverage. The NBA is so much more star driven than other sports. It's not like the owners can start the season with replacement players, they were having a hard enough time filling arenas with teams of NBA players. They need that group that is going on tour or they've got nothing.

[Trey]

The owners have all of the leverage. They don't need the NBA to make money, the players do.

[naiwf]

I'd say this is the only lockout where owners really don't have much leverage. The NBA is so much more star driven than other sports. It's not like the owners can start the season with replacement players, they were having a hard enough time filling arenas with teams of NBA players. They need that group that is going on tour or they've got nothing.

The teams that were losing money don't need any players. If my choice is to field a terrible team and lose $30 million or field no team and lose $10 million, it's pretty simple. If I'm a guy who's making $12 million and my choice is to make $10 million or $0, again it should be pretty simple. Let a guy like Durant, Kobe or LeBron tear an ACL in an exhibition game and then see what happens.

[gunnar hendershow]

On a non-lockout related note, the Sixers have reduced their Season Ticket price for the 11-12 season!

[naiwf]

http://eye-on-basketball.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22748484/32928870

Two more weeks likely to get axed (thru Nov. 28th). The only positive that could come from a season being lost is that LeBron would have to wait another year to potentially win a title

[Trey]

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7152850/nba-lockout-union-owners-resume-talks-meeting-small-groups

Looks like we might end up with a season after all, maybe even 82 games.

[Quom]

I hope so, only if it's to have updated rosters in NBA 2K12. I'd sort of written the season off in my mind. It will be good for the older players though. Which makes little sense since it seems as if it was the better paid veterans causing most of the hold up in regards to concessions. I get they were trying to protect the younger guys but meh, it seems backwards to me.

Having said that I hope the players don't bend over any further for the owners. So far it seems as if they are the only side giving anything up. They should have all jumped to Europe I think that would have woken the owners up. Instead the veterans just sat around moaning about what they could/would do.

Plus all of the players shooting off to play overseas would have sent the message that they were in it for the game rather than the cash. Instead it's the players they were 'protecting' who had to go overseas to guarantee they would have an income this year. Not much of a united front and was an easy to call bluff.

[gunnar hendershow]

The players really won the last two CBA negotiations, this one had to go to the owners. So the players had to concede a lot since what they got in the last two CBA's has basically put the league on the brink of financial ruin.

[KJE]

Being a new basketball fan (just got into it last year around Christmas time), hopefully the season starts soon.

[SeanDMan]

[Lint]

"To present that in the context of 'take it or leave it,' in our view, that is not good faith," Kessler told the paper on Monday night before the union announced Tuesday it would not accept Stern's offer. "Instead of treating the players like partners, they're treating them like plantation workers."

Plantation workers. Seriously, what is with athletes making millions of dollars comparing themselves to slaves?

[Quom]

They're not currently making a cent. The owners don't make a thing without them. This isn't like a normal business where the owner can easily replace staff members. The staff/players are the product and the commodity. Like it or lump it isn't a nice position to put anyone in during negotiations to do it to the people who are your business is just silly.

Especially when people are regularly calling the players uneducated, greedy children mixed with loads of implied racism.

It's not for the players to be happy just to earn money. It makes no fucking sense. Just because they earn say 100% more than the average person doesn't mean they should be happy to now earn only 70% more, especially not when as I keep saying, without them nobody gets paid.