fishonjazz
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Touche'
Owners are replaceable
- Thread starter freakazoid
- Start date
Touche'
Stifle Tower
Punch Bowl Re-Filler
There will NEVER be player unity. The labor strife is driven by the few players who want to do away with the max contracts so they can get paid $50M. But you do that and the NBA middle-class, consisting of the vast majority of players gets squeezed. Teams have a mega-star, guys on rookie contracts and the rest at vet-minimum wages. The players caved last time because the rank-and-file players recognized their best interests were not being represented. And they'll cave again. If the league proceeds without LBJ, Carmelo, etc. it will survive. New stars rise up, and old ones retire. I'd be fine with LBJ and his 10 closest friends going off and forming their own team to play exhibitions around the country in 2nd-rate arenas.
freakazoid
Well-Known Member
I would like to say that I believe the players are getting some money back this time, but it won't be because the owners are afraid of them starting their own league.
carolinajazz
Well-Known Member
....and a more serious threat to the AND1 league!
I agree. BRI will be going up, with out much of an increase in expenses. The players will have an expectation to get a modestly larger slice of the pie.
Con't confuse pre-negotiation rhetoric for expectations.
♪alt13
Well-Known Member
What other reason do the owners have to pay them other than they are afraid they may play elsewhere?
The reason NBA players get paid what they do is precisely for this reason. The owners aren't paying the players millions out of the kindness of their hearts.
carolinajazz
Well-Known Member
....yeah, this time, though, lets hope the owners lock'em out for a WHOLE YEAR! The game is virtually unwatchable right now as it is, with the exception of a few teams. Nobody goes to the games anymore, unless they come disguised as "empty seats!" The big money comes from t.v. revenue and players without NBA money end up in the poorhouse faster than their heads would spin! Heck, players WITH NBA money end up in the poorhouse or broke a couple of years after they leave the league anyway!
Stifle Tower
Punch Bowl Re-Filler
Where do they play?
NBA would not go away. A 30-team new league would not crop up overnight. There won't be universal support for the new league and that kind of infrastructure can't come together in <1 year. The NBA owners sure as hell aren't going to go quietly into the night and share the arenas. You can bet there are non-compete clauses preventing ANY basketball team whether pro or minor-league from playing in an arena without consent of the NBA team(s) which have leased that arena. Of course SLC is unique because the team owns the ESA. So a new league is relegated to either playing in college arenas, cities without pro franchises (but with existing "NBA-ready" arenas) or abandoned arenas (e.g. the Forum, Key Arena, etc.).
So let's assume LBJ can convince 100 or so players to defect with him and form a new league. Ten teams in LA (likely playing in Anaheim), New York (maybe playing in New Jersey), Seattle, Nashville, Las Vegas, etc.
Now what? Revenue is not going to be anywhere near what teams in the NBA generate. Gate receipts, broadcast or streaming deal, sponsorships, merchandising, etc. will all be much, much smaller with the major players wanting more of it. So do these players go out and try to find the most idiotic billionaires on the planet to own the teams? Hey, we have an incredibly risky business model for you to invest in, and oh yeah, most of the profit goes to us. Or they sell shares? Again, investors want to see solid returns on their money...the riskier the investment, the greater the expected return.
The NBA would survive with maybe 4-5 small market teams going under. The new league would last 3-4 years tops. The stars might still make good money initially, but every other player would see they could make more in the NBA and BEG for reinstatement. And this won't be a situation like the ABA; there would be no merger.
carolinajazz
Well-Known Member
.....the "players" would have a hard time opening up a "bicycle" shop let alone their own league! Who's going to bank role them....."Snoop Dog" and "J-Z" and his entourage?
Stifle Tower
Punch Bowl Re-Filler
Maybe the owners of tattoo parlors and gun shops could bankroll the teams in each city.
Suggested team names:
Chicago Fire
Washington Bullets (that was a great one)
LA Rioters of Anaheim
New York Wannabees (playing in New Jersey)
Texas Riflemen
Seattle Superhairies
Kentucky PKM's (just kidding)
♪alt13
Well-Known Member
So why is the salary cap $60 million and not $30 million? Why don't the owners cut their pay in half? Since the players really have no choice anyway.
carolinajazz
Well-Known Member
LOL! Great stuff!