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| image: cbssports.com |
As the NFL, NHL, and college football play on, the National Basketball Association is spending it's time in conference rooms arguing over percentage points. Instead of watching insane dunks, last second shots, and another incredible playoffs, NBA fans are relegated to reading about Billy Hunter, David Stern, and a bunch of rich old guys who want more money.
CBA (collective bargaining agreement) negotiations between the players association and team owners continue, with mixed information surfacing as to how far along the talks actually are. It seems like reports are written every day that contradict what was thought to be true the day before. One day it looks like they're coming really close to agreeing on something, and then the next day everything falls apart.
Just a few days ago, the players union decertified, which lead to the NBA cancelling games through December 15. WHAT IS HAPPENING?? I can't believe we might lose a season because of the selfishness and ineptitude of both sides. First of all, these negotiations started about a month ago. The lockout began on July 1st. What happened during those 3-4 months? Not much. There was no urgency on either side to get a deal done. Both parties are to blame.
Here are the sticking points: The owners want to salvage their shaky investments by taking all they can from the players, including taking their 7% of BRI (basketball-related income) down to 50% (now probably around 47% or 48%), having shorter contracts, and having an amnesty clause and non-guaranteed contracts so they can get out of their own stupid contract decisions. The players want to get paid. They want to make as much money as possible, even if they dramatically under perform the contract that's given to them (think Rashard Lewis, Gilbert Arenas, etc.) They also want to continue to have a soft cap, meaning teams aren't strictly limited to how much money they can spend on players. The hard cap the owners want would set that limit.
Because the owners have all of the leverage, considering they own the teams and pay the players, they control the fate of an NBA season. The only leverage the players had to threaten the owners was to decertify and file for antitrust. Instead of doing that from the beginning, the players naively tried to reason with the owners and get a deal done in good faith. The players were uninterested up until the last minute, possibly not realizing the severity and urgency of what was happening, while owners never conceded one aspect of a deal that the players wanted. Where's the leadership on the player's side? There just never seemed to be a united stand against the owners, which probably hurt them during this entire process. Now we're back to square one, with the possibility of a season looking more and more dismal with each passing day.
From the perspective of a die hard NBA fan like myself, all of this is infuriating. The only solace I can find is fantasizing about ideas like this. Bye bye NBA. See you in January. Or next year....Damn.
Here are some more of my amusing/sad/long-winded spins on the NBA's popular ad campaign from a couple of years ago. Enjoy.
The NBA, where 50/50 isn't considered equal, happens.
The NBA, where billionaires and millionaires fight for every dime, happens.
The NBA, where David Stern and Billy Hunter should just get it over with and have a no holds barred cage match fight on pay-per-view, happens.
The NBA, where Derek Fisher's sullied reputation, happens.
The NBA, where countless numbers of casual fans give up on the league and walk away, happens.
Written By Josh Brackett
Josh Brackett is a sophomore sport management student at Drexel University. For any questions, comments, or suggestions, please feel free to email him at jjb322@drexel.edu
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