My Take

After mulling it over for a week, I am even more upset about this lockout than I was before. I keep changing my mind about who to blame and who is more at fault. The owners say the players are to blame. The players, most recently Derek Rose, argue that the owners are locking them out. Either way, we will not be enjoying the beautiful game come November 1. Over the next two days I am going to examine each side and discuss their roles in this mess. Today I'll start with the owners.

Mark Cuban

Russian Billionaire

Donald Sterling

THE OWNERS:

They recognize that there is a problem with the way the last CBA has played out. The numbers can be argued, but as a whole, the owners are not participating in a efficient or successful business model. There are a few reasons for that. They claim, first and foremost, that the players are making too much money. I agree that 57% of all basketball related revenue is too much for the players to control. However, that is not the only factor. What the owners have decided to ignore is their lack of business sensible decisions. The majority of the owners have been very successful in multiple different business ventures over the course of their lives. I can't understand why they seem to throw all of their knowledge and experience out the window when they invest in an NBA team. Overpaying for mediocre players is the biggest deterrent to running a successful NBA team. Rashard Lewis, who barely cracks the top 100 players in the league, is due to make over 20 million dollars each year until his horrible contract is up. RASHARD LEWIS!!!! In none of their previous business ventures would any of the NBA owners have so grossly overpaid for comparable talent. He is easily making 3 times what he should be. The point is, the owners and organizations are doing this to themselves. Poor decisions have put them in this position. They are fighting for checks and barriers in the system to stop themselves from themselves.

The biggest issue to watch going forward is the unity between owners. It is no secret that they are divided on the direction this lockout should go. A group of owners, those that have been able to control themselves, want to get the season and subsequent revenues started. Another group, the group that bought at the highest prices, want to tweak the system enough to ensure a good return on their investment. These owners don't want to lose games either, but recognize the flaws in the system (except of course their inability to correctly pay their employees). The third group of owners are the most dangerous. These owners are those that own both an NBA team and an NHL team. These owners want to miss the entire season if they have to. They won't stop until the system is blown up and the players have no choice but to crawl back and accept the new one. The same thing happened in hockey 3 years ago. They know it can work and they will do anything to make it happen. This division among the owners could be the key for the players going forward.

With their fearless leader David Stern at the helm, the owners are in a good position. He got worked over by Billy Hunter in the last negotiations and is determined to not be bested this time. Though their logic and argument has some holes in it, I'll always take the billionaires when they are fighting the millionaires.

Look for my analysis on the Players' position and argument tomorrow!

Please comment and let me know what you think.