Lockout!!!

[margodydek]

I get the argument that a lot of people (NBPA especially) are making saying, "it can't be that bad if people are currently buying franchises," but people tend to forget that for everyone that buys a team, there's someone else selling a team. People don't usually sell cash cows.

 

[r_u_s_t_b_u_c_k_e_t]

People don't usually sell cash cows.

when they want to cash out?

 

[margodydek]

when they want to cash out?

So there's no coincidence to the fact that a half dozen owners wanted to sell their teams within a few-years span? And throw in New Orleans as well who couldn't even find a buyer.

 

[Gameface]

So there's no coincidence to the fact that a half dozen owners wanted to sell their teams within a few-years span? And throw in New Orleans as well who couldn't even find a buyer.

And if the owners don't get a good deal out of this CBA the worth of their teams, especially if they continue to lose money, will most likely go down.

I watch basketball to see the players play, so I think they should get a good chunk of the pie, but the teams have to make money, end of story. The NBA is a business, not a charitable foundation set up to make sure skilled players become multi-millionaires.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

And if the owners don't get a good deal out of this CBA the worth of their teams, especially if they continue to lose money, will most likely go down.

I watch basketball to see the players play, so I think they should get a good chunk of the pie, but the teams have to make money, end of story. The NBA is a business, not a charitable foundation set up to make sure skilled players become multi-millionaires.

It's more than just players. It helps local and national economy.

 

[Gameface]

Sure, and they've got a product that sells. I don't know how much the NBA pulls in in gross revenue, I just know that it's enough money to make all the owners and players a lot of money. Certainly enough money to motivate billionaires to want to own teams and young kids to play competitive basketball in hopes of making it to the NBA. The question seems to be if the owners will be allowed by the players to have a very healthy profit-margin or if the players will force the owners to run the very serious risk of losing money on their teams.

Again, the players aren't chumps in this. They are the NBA. They have worked and competed their whole lives to develop the skills needed to play in the NBA. What the average NBA player can do is remarkable, what the stars can do is awe inspiring. The players, with their skill and competitive drive, are what captivate me and make me willing to spend good money to watch them play. They deserve a lot of the money to be had. They should fight to get their fair share, and they should drive a hard bargain, but if they hold the league hostage asking for so much that it isn't even worth it to the owners to have a season then maybe it's time for them to take a step back and realize they make millions of dollars playing basketball. Life really isn't all that bad.

 

[silesian]

"good faith"

The owners are not negotiating in good faith

What have the owners done that is dishonest or insincere? Seems that they have a position and that they are sticking to. You may disagree with this without it being in bad faith

 

[DutchJazzer]

I would gladly lose money (assuming I am a billionaire with a healthy income of money elsewhere, which I assume most owners are) too own a team. I assume at least a handful of owners are huge sports fans (Mark Cuban a good example) probably feel the same way.

mark cuban is the ONLY one

 

[margodydek]

mark cuban is the ONLY one

And even though Cuban would probably gladly lose $ to win more championships, he's just as on board as the rest of the owners. Even the big market guys (Buss, Dolan) are with the other owners. Would they prefer to have it similar to MLB where they could outspend everyone? Sure, but they understand that they need to be unified to achieve what they perceive to be the greater good.

From a negotiation stand-point, I think the owners have played this thing perfectly. Besides Jordan, you don't see or hear any owners talking to the media about the lockout, which shows that they're not nervous and they're willing to wait until the players cave. On the other hand, from recent interviews with players you can start to see that they're worried and they're realizing that they really have no leverage. They don't want to be bullied and look weak, but deep down I think they all know that they're fighting a losing battle and it would be in their best interest to give in now, rather than wait for a worse offer from the owners.

 

[NUMBERICA]

From a negotiation stand-point, I think the owners have played this thing perfectly. Besides Jordan, you don't see or hear any owners talking to the media about the lockout, which shows that they're not nervous and they're willing to wait until the players cave.

Or it shows that they don't want to be fined $100,000 and fall into the bad graces of Emperor Stern.

 

[margodydek]

Or it shows that they don't want to be fined $100,000 and fall into the bad graces of Emperor Stern.

That's a great point. I guess I should say that Stern has played this well. BTW, something that's started to bug me with the league is if I'm not mistaken don't the fines that get paid go to some charity? That's great and all, but couldn't they have had some forsight with this and built some sort of account so that when this lockout hit, they could save people's jobs? Anyways, just two extra cents I wanted to throw in there.

 

[YB85]

Something the owners should seriously consider when this is over is whether or not keeping Emperor David is a good thing for them. Stern had some great ideas 20+ years ago while he was holding on to the coattails of Magic, Larry, and Michael. Since then, he seems to be more concerned about the league going global than producing a good product. And he does work for the owners, not the other way around. After that, the owners should shift their focus to bad franchises, bad locations, and other bad owners and rid themselves of the dead weight. Contract 4 teams, and the 60 ****ty players who don't belong in the league, move a couple others, and force owners to put competitive products on the floor rather than going for profits. Yeah, the last idea is good in theory, but hard to enforce, but there's got to be a way to get Donald Sterling out of the league.