The NBA Lockout

This is going to make the NFL lockout seem like a minor disagreement.

On one side, there are the owners and David Stern. They are claiming that 22 of the 30 teams lost money over the past season, and are looking to institute a hard salary cap, as opposed to the soft cap they presently have. The hard cap number they are looking at? Somewhere in the $40Million to $60Million range. The owners also want a 60-40 split on revenue, with ownership getting the 60%. Presently, the players get 57%.

Naturally, the players want nothing to do with this proposal. They feel that it is likely that only 10 teams lost money during the previous season. Also, they feel that it is not their fault that incompetent management and short-sighted owners gave them the ridiculous contracts that they presently have (looking at you, Gilbert Arenas, Josh Childress, and Desagano Diop, amongst others). The players also refuse to accept a proposed splitting of the revenue that has them losing that much money.

In other words, they are not even close to an agreement.

Around the league, it is fully expected that the NBA will not play this season. Owners lose less money when they do not have to open up the arenas and by not fielding teams. David Stern has stated that once the lockout actually started, the offers by the NBA will be lowered, which is not exactly conducive to getting an agreement in place. Nor does this seem like a fair bargaining tactic, especially if the NBA truly wants there to be a 2011-12 season.

The NBA was riding the high of a season of goodwill and momentum, where they had the opportunity to be the primary focus for the winter months. Now, they have thrown that all away. With the distinct possibility that the NFL labor dispute will be wrapped up in short order, the NBA faces the distinct possibility of losing it's hold on the American public. The season being lost may initially be met with outrage from the fans, but will settle down to complete apathy, as the viewing public moves on to the NHL or watches the English Premier League.

So, who wins in all of this? The NHL. On the heels of a great Stanley Cup Finals, they find themselves on the verge of being the only daily American winter league. You know Gary Bettman wants the NBA to take it's ball and go home for the year. And it looks like Gary is about to get his wish.