Get used to hearing this word, lockout. A big reason why this summer's free agency frenzy happened is because after this upcoming season the collective bargaining agreement is going to run out. That means that the entire economic system of the NBA is most likely going to be changed. A lot of players wanted to get their new contracts before that happened because more likely than not player's salaries are going to be going down, a lot.
For two years the owners and the players association have been talking and for two years there has been no progress made. Apparently Dwyane Wade and LeBron James went to the meetings and basically threatened the owners. If the owners didn't give in to the player's demands, Wade said he would pursue a modeling career in Paris (I know, disturbing right?), and LeBron James said he would play in the NFL.
It's kind of disturbing to hear that these guys, who so many kids idolize, would be willing to disappoint so many people.
David Stern has been beating around the bush with this subject for awhile but that's no longer an option. Every time someone in the media would ask him about it, he would say something that had absolutely no relevance to the question whatsoever. What's really happening is, the NBA hierarchy is trying to save the owners from themselves and in the process they are slowing everything down. Contracts have gotten so big and outrageous that the league feels like they need to step in. If you disagree then this might change your mind. Last season Nate Robinson made more money than Larry Bird ever made in any season of his career. Robinson's salary was 4.2 million dollars.
What the league wants is for there to be a hard salary cap, which means that you can't spend over a certain amount no matter what. The NBAPA, as you might imagine, is 100% against this idea because it means nearly everyone is going to take a huge pay cut. Some of the owners are against it as well because then teams like the current Miami Heat would be impossible to build.
Because there is such a gap between all sides in the negotiations it's looking like we're heading towards a lockout. In most lockout situations they would take Developmental League players and just fill the roster with them but this lockout would be different. In those cases it's just the players that are on strike, but in this lockout the owners would be on strike too.
If there was a lockout I don't know what I would do. No NBA? Possibly for an entire year? You might as well take my bed, my dog, and my car while you're at it. Hopefully an agreement is reached before a lockout would be necessary but all inside sources (probably Mark Cuban), and even David Stern himself says that things aren't looking good.
But it's not all bad, at least we would still have the WNBA....Good God let's hope there's no lockout.
