Griffin Predicts

I just listened to a Podcast that Clippers Forward Blake Griffin was interviewed on. He said that if he had to bet, the NBA would be playing by December 15. That was good news to my ears. Let's hope he's right!

The Best

This is the perfect example of two things:

1. This NBA lockout is idiotic and is going to stain the league for years to come.

2. Bill Simmons is one of the best sports writers/thinkers EVER. I mean ever.

"Behind the Pipes: Into the Arms of the NHL"
By Bill Simmons, Grantland.com

The NBA needs to consider natural predators like the NHL

A New Record

WOW

I previously posted about a negotiation session that lasted 7 hours. I was blown away by that amount of time spent by momentary enemies in the same room. They have more than tripled that mark in the last two days. Between Tuesday and Wednesday negotiations took place at the feet of a federal mediator for over 23 hours. 23 HOURS! In a 31 hour time frame, the two parties sat together for 23 of them. I would be happy about this, but the leaked reports say that not much progress was made. But I thought they talked for 23 hours....no progress......? I'm confused too.

All-Star Tour

Well, I guess we don't have to wonder anymore about what the biggest names in the NBA will be doing now that they have the first two weeks of the season off. An exhibition tour is said to be scheduled for many of the biggest names in the sport to participate in. This will be a 4 continent, 6 game tour. Big time players such as Kobe, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Lebron James and Dwane Wade are all scheduled to participate. Let's hope that this doesn't become so profitable and so much like a rock n' roll tour that they decide to quit the negotiations!

The Players

I'm a day late. I over-promised and under-delivered. My bad. But, without further delay....

THE PLAYERS:

Jekyll or Hyde?

The players are mixed up in a Jekyll and Hyde situation in this lockout. They are, in a sense, not at fault for the extended lockout and drama created in the negotiations. The fact, plain and simple, is that the owners locked out the players. The players have not de-certified and gone on strike. That is the first misconception that the majority of casual fans are making about the lockout. The second victim role the players are occupying is actually in the negotiations. David Stern and the owners have been pulling some cheap negotiation tactics, hoping to win over not only public support, but also fool the players into buying what they are trying to sell. The owners presented their original proposal to the players that was filled with all kinds of nonsense and outlandish demands. They included a hard salary cap into their demands. The players obviously were outraged at this because it would place a very strict limit on their salaries. The owners, in their generosity and willingness to work out a deal, took the hard cap off of the table during the next round of negotiations. What is the big deal you ask? That would be like me re-negotiating my contract with my employer. However they told me that I needed to take a pay cut because they took a line out of the contract that said I had to shovel the snow and change the light bulbs. The problem being that I never had to change the light bulbs or shovel the snow. They can't use it as a way to negotiate a lower salary if it was never a part of the job description. The owners tried to come out looking like the good guys. Instead the players saw through their tactic and strengthened their stance and rigidity.

Come in Jekyll. The players are massively overpaid and need to admit it. The max players, the super stars, should be paid mega-dollars. The bench players and the role players are the ones robbing the owners blind. Concessions need to be made by both sides, including the players on this topic. The major roadblock from allowing this to happen is that the player representatives at the negotiations are, you guessed it, ROLE PLAYERS. You can guess Derek Fisher's reaction when the idea of the average player's salary. Nope, he's not thrilled.

Something has to give, I guess we'll just see who wins.

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.

It Is Official. It Is Hard To Swallow.

While it was a foregone conclusion for most NBA fans, hearing the words, "NBA cancels first two weeks of the regular season" had to be a bit shocking. I for one, ready as I thought I was, was still taken back by the move. I will write a full blog post tomorrow with a complete reaction to the news. In the meantime, please enjoy this stomach punch of an article.

                                                     NBA Cancels First Two Weeks of Regular Season