In the NBA lockout, millionaire players trump billionaire owners
I'm just sayin': The owners won't like Kevin Garnett when he's angry. (AJC file photo)
The NBA saved itself as a business by forming a partnership with its players and as a sporting entity by promoting those players to the absolute max. Today the league has locked out its players, and this might be the one time when millionaire players can outlast billionaire owners. Because NBA players know, in a way that other professional athletes never have or will, that the power lies with them.
There was a time when we thought of the NBA and thought of teams. (Mostly the Celtics and Lakers and Knicks, but teams still.) That time, however, was before most of today’s players were born. They — and we — know the contemporary NBA as that exalted realm where the best players aren’t known just by name but by first names, and sometimes by initials.
The NBA nearly collapsed in the late ’70s and the early ’80s. Pro basketball had become such a ratings loser that NBA finals games were being taped for late-night airing. Franchises were hemorrhaging money. Only in 1983, when the league imposed a salary cap while promising its players more than half of basketball-related income would be plowed back into salaries, did the NBA stabilize, and then it got lucky. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were already in the league, and Michael Jordan was about to arrive.
The league began to market its players — Magic vs. Bird! Michael vs. Isiah/Barkley/The Mailman!– and the NBA became not just popular and profitable, but immensely glamorous. Even now, nearly 30 years later, the league employs the same formula, which is why you’ll rarely see the Milwaukee Bucks on a national broadcast but you’ll get a twice-weekly dose of the Miami Heat. We can argue at length about whether this tactic has passed its expiration date, but we cannot argue this: The players have caught on, and they know nobody ever tunes in to watch Jerry Buss own.
Because the NBA has had a soft cap around which the bigger clubs could tap-dance, teams have overspent. (The NFL, by way of contrast, has a hard cap, and nobody overspends.) The NBA claims that more than two-thirds of its teams are losing money — the players, naturally, dispute this — and wants the players, who have been receiving 57 percent of income, to take 50 percent instead.
The players have countered by saying they’ll take 53 percent but not a penny less, and that’s where matters stands. The NBA has canceled training camp and the first two weeks of the regular season, and the New York Daily News reported this week that the league was prepared to cancel games through the end of November. Usually such delays work in the favor of those with the most money, but the players’ stance seems only to have hardened.
Why? Because its big names have gotten involved. Henry Abbott of ESPN’s True Hoop blog pinpoints Oct. 4 as “the moment the talks fell apart.” Included in that watershed session, Abbott notes, were Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce — “three superstars who had been to very few of the meetings.” Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports claims Garnett’s presence was particularly significant, writing that the “glowering” KG was “defiant, determined and ornery.”
In sum, the truculent Garnett showed up to “negotiate” the same way he would stalk out to play a game of basketball. Should the same NBA that has marketed and profited from such KG antics the past 15 seasons have been surprised?
Don’t think that NBA superstars don’t carry outsize weight. This isn’t the NFL, where the few stars are outweighed by a thousand players you wouldn’t know if they knocked on your door. This is the league that has spent decades promoting the individual over the whole, and the individuals are acting as a whole.
The players aren’t being paid during the lockout, but the average NBA salary was $5.15 million last season. (That’s roughly the average salary of an MLB player and an NFL player combined.) These guys can afford to miss a few checks, and they seem wedded to their convictions. They’re the biggest part of the game, and they want the bigger share of money. If they can’t have it, their big names would rather play overseas or stage an exhibition tour. Can’t blame them one bit.
By Mark Bradley
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109 comments Add your comment
Outside Observer
October 26th, 2011
2:54 pm
Yay for Underdogs! Wait, who are the underdogs again?
Matt
October 26th, 2011
3:00 pm
Come on Mark. As with all negotiations, the less-paid players (you know, the ones “only” making a couple million a year) are the ones who will make a ton of noise soon and force the union to cave. KG, Kobe, and Pierce could retire today and be fine. It’s the rank and file who will cause the union to cave. I read the Joe Smith’s $6 million house is being foreclosed on – just the beginning.
ATL Fan
October 26th, 2011
3:06 pm
Some people have real problems.
Eisendawg
October 26th, 2011
3:06 pm
I don’t usually wish for anyone’s failure, but in this case, it would thrill me to see the entire season canceled. Pro athletes and politicians live by a different set of rules.
misterwax
October 26th, 2011
3:09 pm
The NBA is quite boring to me…. I lost interest in the Hawks a long time ago… too many thugs and not enough class players…. it’s boring. May the lockout continue for all time.
ATL Fan
October 26th, 2011
3:10 pm
Maybe they will cancel the NBA season this year and let all the Pros go to Europe. Let the Europeans vie for the players against the NBA. Then next year, get the NBA going again and let the two markets have a World Championship Series.
dap01
October 26th, 2011
3:11 pm
I hope that both sit and they both lose. Unfortunately, concession and other support people will suffer.
NBA players don’t have a clue about what is going on in the economy. Nobody misses the NBA. Nobody.
What is Lebron doing with his talentS right now? How are those talentS doing? He is practicing the heinlick on that choking he did in the playoffs?
Westurd
October 26th, 2011
3:12 pm
Screw the players. I hate that they run the league and can minipulate things to the point where they decide which teams they are willing to play for an treaten to run if the team isn’t willing to trade them when asked.
Screw em!
Sonny Clusters
October 26th, 2011
3:12 pm
Let’s say the top NBA players all left. Some new players would come in and they would be the top players. This is a lot like the Atlanta Braves who just suffered an EPIC collapse. Move some of the stars and somebody else will be a star. Nobody had ever heard of Stinky Wintes until he got some playing time.
Gordon
October 26th, 2011
3:12 pm
To heck with the NBA. It’s boring anyway with it’s clear-out plays, superstar fouls, and lack of strategy (6 fouls, 24 second shot clock, etc.).
When do college hoops start?
chalkdawg4
October 26th, 2011
3:13 pm
Lock out is the best thing that could happen to the Hawks. Let Iso Joe’s contract run out if possible.
dtanner
October 26th, 2011
3:21 pm
would rather watch womens golf,bowling or professional poker than have to watch an n.b.a. game
moboman
October 26th, 2011
3:27 pm
Let em sit. The show has gotten boring with its lack of consistent foul calling, extra steps taken on each drive to the hoop and not called, and me first offensive schemes, all for the superstars egos. I would rather watch the college game. These guys need a reality check. Unfortunate for the non player employees who have to suffer through this.
Matt for MN
October 26th, 2011
3:30 pm
You’ve captured the problem with the NBA, it’s now individuals vs. teams. The sport has become nothing but a glorified playground pick-up game with players going one on one. Passing and team play have become obsolete. I’ve lost interest and frankly find today’s product BORING.
G
October 26th, 2011
3:37 pm
I contend that the NBA fan base is not strong enough to where if the season was canceld the fans would return. It could be the end of the NBA as we know it if they end up canceling the season. It took years for baseball to rebound, and some would argue it still hasn’t completely rebounded. The NBA is in real trouble here…
G
October 26th, 2011
3:42 pm
In my opinion the NBA does not have a strong enough fan base to withstand a canceling of too many more games. The fans will not come back. It took baseball a long time to rebuild it’s base and some would argue it still hasn’t completely. I think the NBA is in real trouble here….
Dontavius Supremo
October 26th, 2011
3:43 pm
I find it hard to believe that anyone really cares about either of these two camps. Professional basketball is a joke. Stick with the high school and college game; it’s a better product.
Paul
October 26th, 2011
3:45 pm
Bradley,
What, besides money, is typically decided in these restructurings? Is all league business handled in one CBA? These changes are always reported secondarily, when they are more relevant to the casual observer — like the NFL kickoff rule.
Gwinnett Fred
October 26th, 2011
3:46 pm
And this sums up perfectly why 80% of the neation could care less if they start playing!
Unless you live in LA, Miami, New York or Chicago (and maybe 1 or 2 other places) – going to an NBA regular season game just doesn’t have any pull.
Seriously, a family of 4 has to plunk down at minimum $200, in this econony, to sit in any kind of decent seat, to watch a 87-81 NBA game. There just aren’t too many cities around the country that have enough people that will do that.
The NHL had to sit out a whole season a while back to get their point accross, and the NBA appears ready to do the same. The owners in the NBA are not like the NFL – in the NFL, they make tons of money. In the NBA, they make money elsewhere and most have a team as a plaything.
Players will cave soon enough – tattoos aren’t cheap!
Paul
October 26th, 2011
3:49 pm
Also: Folks feigning distaste for the NBA might note that the league is coming off of its single best ratings season since probably the mid-90’s. People don’t just quit watching when, on a Tuesday night in December, with no other sports on, it’s Heat v. Celtics or anyone else.
Baseball’s strike lost some fans shortly thereafter but they all came back in 1998 when McGuire had his season. What reallly hurt baseball was steroids and inflated stats. All of the magic of those seasons was manipulated and that hurt more than anything.
some sense
October 26th, 2011
3:54 pm
Mark, I think you’re wrong on this one. Even the all-time great player, uh, adorer, Stephen A. Smith, said on Sports Reporters Sunday that the players “have no leverage” against ownerships that don’t profit. Calling them, collectively, “billionaires” is way off the mark. They are not, collectively, Mark Cuban or Jerry Buss. Owners will win this one, I think, because their current business model just doesn’t work. But when this thing is settled, the players will still be doing just fine, maybe especially the Joe Johnsons of the world.
Bob
October 26th, 2011
3:58 pm
I hope they shut down the whole league. I lost interest after Magic, Bird, Jordan, and Dominique retired. The majority today are spoiled brats or thugs. I will stick with other sports and laugh my butt off when the NBA turns into the NHL.
BulldogBen
October 26th, 2011
3:58 pm
Please MB. The current NBA model is crippled by the “promote the stars” archetype and it allows them to get astronomical contracts.
Also, since there are so few superstars, parity is the WORST of any professional sport. 9 teams have won the title in 30 YEARS.
Hope is the biggest commodity in pro sports. The NBA stopped selling that decades ago. No hope = no butts in the seats.
Even a team like the Hawks. Anyone really think they’re Championship worthy as constructed? Of course not, and they have actually SPENT money.
Najeh Davenpoop
October 26th, 2011
3:59 pm
“The players have caught on, and they know nobody ever tunes in to watch Jerry Buss own.”
This is true, but it has less to do with the NBA’s marketing strategy than you make it seem. In any sport — really, in any aspect of the entertainment industry — people tune in to watch the so-called “labor”. There’s a reason the Dome sold out when Vick was here and was half empty in 2007. There’s a reason Atlanta Fulton-County Stadium and Turner Field were packed in the mid-’90s when the players were good and sits half empty now that the players are not as good. The stars are more visible in the NBA than in other sports, but let’s be real, it’s not like people are going to tune in to watch the Colts this year without Peyton Manning.
There is no sport where the owners matter more than the players. Nobody is tuning in to watch Arthur Blank or Liberty Media either.
urm
October 26th, 2011
4:00 pm
I for one have written off the NBA. I usually like MB articles but this one had a tone that did not sit well for some reason.
Devil's Advocate
October 26th, 2011
4:04 pm
As I said with the NFL lockout, don’t compare pro players to politicians, CEOs or investment bankers. Pro players don’t steal people’s money via taxes, give themselves unwarranted benefit packages/bonuses or bank accounts. Pro players are just like any other entertainer or small business owner who earns money based on what the customer willingly gives. Granted, a large portion of the pro athlete’s salary comes from TV deal money but without ratings there would be no advertising dollars.
I can’t stand when people who claim to be pro-free market/capitalism slam the few people who are rich because of their own talents and nothing else. These are the purest rich people out there. Katy Perry is going to be filthy rich just like Oprah and Tom Cruise if she keeps turning out songs that end up at #1. Athletes are no different. Popularity and the dollars that come with it are the bottom line. I don’t care what their personalities are like, they earned their checks.
Najeh Davenpoop
October 26th, 2011
4:06 pm
Also, in a way it makes sense for the NBA to promote its stars since basketball (not just the NBA) is a star-driven sport. A football team with a spectacular QB can still lose if the defense, offensive line, skill position players, etc. suck, and conversely a football team without any big stars can win if the system and execution are good. A baseball team with A-Rod can still finish in last place. But a basketball team only has five players on the court at a time, and unlike other sports, a star basketball player is a) on the floor for most of the game and b) plays on both the offensive end and defensive end. This is less about the NBA’s rules and marketing and more about the very nature of the sport itself. Even in college sports, the teams with the future NBA All Stars are typically the ones that make deep runs in the tournament year after year.
And really, the college game with its short three-point line and lack of an illegal defense rule makes the game less</em free flowing. If you like teams shooting 18.8% in the national championship game and taking half its shots from behind the 3-point line, that’s up to you, but you’d have a hard time convincing a lot of people that that is a better brand of basketball than what the Mavs and Heat displayed in the NBA Finals.
NB.... *zzzzzzzzzz*
October 26th, 2011
4:07 pm
“millionaire players trump billionaire owners”
they sure are showing those owners whose boss! Games possibly cancelled through Nov. 28 …. that’ll sure show them!
BTW, where’s the poll that asks if anyone even cares if the NBA is in a lockout? I don’t, a lot of other people don’t …. they just need to save us the trouble of having to hear about these on going “negotiations” (which at this point the only thing being negotiated is how many games should they cancel). So many people out of jobs and these idiots are trying to make themselves even more money (here’s an idea, stop televising the games that’ll get rid of a large part of the problem)
Najeh Davenpoop
October 26th, 2011
4:10 pm
“Also, since there are so few superstars, parity is the WORST of any professional sport. 9 teams have won the title in 30 YEARS. ”
This is the real problem. Owners and players can fight about revenue sharing and salary caps all they want, but if they really care about competitive balance the NBA needs to contract about six teams. And neither side will allow that to happen.
rambover
October 26th, 2011
4:14 pm
I’m alarmed that every writer in the media — you included, Mark — seems to side with the players in this standoff. The NBA is in trouble, and it was clear before negotiations began that the players were going to have to give back a lot this time. The shift in the previous CBA to slot salaries for draftees was a good move; so was the shortening by one year of maximum contracts. Still, contracts are too long and too much money is guaranteed. There are so many bad contracts. The game, players included, will be hurt if this broken business model isn’t changed.
Heisenberg
October 26th, 2011
4:18 pm
I simply do not understand how the player can demand to have his contract gauranteed when he does not have to gaurantee he can perform up to the level of the salary. This goes beyond basketball but all professional sports. Sure one can argue the owners made the deal. But it is a 2-way deal. The player needs to live up tp his end. If a team could cut an overpaid/underperforming player (Eddie Curry), then it can pay a more deserving player more. Gauranteed contracts suck. These guys need to earn their keep like the rest of us working stiffs or find a job that pays relative to their skills and contributions.
Baddabing
October 26th, 2011
4:21 pm
The disparity in team salaries (and talent) is what has ruined baseball and is what will ruin the NBA. I hope the season gets cancelled. Pro sports leagues business models (at least basketball and baseball) need to be torn down and rebuilt. A hard cap is the only thing that will keep these leagues competitive for all teams. Allowing players to form alliances to play together is collusion just like they say the owners have colluded to lock the players out. It’s all about greed on both sides, nothing more, nothing less.
Chris
October 26th, 2011
4:22 pm
Mark, I think you’re right that the players in this league have all the power, but where you’re wrong is assuming that they’ll leverage that power to get the deal they want. I think the owners and fans are sick of the current situation and want change, even if it means waiting a year. I’m tired of whiny NBA millionaires forcing teams to do whatever they wish. I’m sick of my teams being unwatchable for years because we panicked and gave a bloated contract to a young kid who never tries to reach his potential. Frankly, I’d be fine if all NBA players were canned and they started fresh with a league of college grads. Players sell t-shirts, but ultimately, the game and the traditions are what will bring fans back.
chris
October 26th, 2011
4:22 pm
WHO CARES!!! I hope they don’t come back and they have to go get real jobs. If and When they do come back I think they will be playing in front of half empty arena’s and I hope for once the fans let their voice be heard and don’t rush back and buy tickets.
Dozer
October 26th, 2011
4:27 pm
Can we stop with the “millionaires v. billionaires” cliche??? Its approaching “eight in the box” levels…..
GT
October 26th, 2011
4:37 pm
If Europe gets the television contracts the sport may stay over there, and never come back. These guys can make millions if they handle this right, the real money is made off television and mechanise and the NBA would turn to the WBA. Not only would you keep your American market but you may gain an international one, maybe doubling their revenue.
tiger woo
October 26th, 2011
4:38 pm
“The NBA is quite boring to me…. I lost interest in the Hawks a long time ago… too many thugs and not enough class players…. it’s boring.”
You could also be describing hockey. Of course, too many white thugs is acceptable, right?
“Stick with the high school and college game; it’s a better product.”
Whatever – the talent level is much better in the NBA.
Mike Tyson
October 26th, 2011
4:40 pm
I like it when the players choke the coach, or run up in the stands and attack the spectators. Now that is quality family entertainment and values!
C
October 26th, 2011
4:46 pm
They both should take a 50% pay cut. Most of the players lose their skills when arriving in the nba. No defense, no offense only bad acting and crying. Make the ticket prices reasonable and the same no matter what team is coming to town. It’s gotten so boring, I usually only watch a quarter of a game.
extremus
October 26th, 2011
4:52 pm
The NBA is dead and deserves it where I’m concerned; even the NFL doesn’t have the sheer arrogance and prima donna displays that pro basketball has succumbed to. A self-centered rap and hip hop culture that’s pervaded the league for about a decade now has alienated many fans (including myself); it’s the least universal of the four major pro sports (perhaps with the exception of hockey, which itself isn’t exactly front page news in many areas of the country anymore).
The straw that broke the camel’s back for me was “The Decision”, LeBron James’ hedonistic hour-long self-promotion that exemplified a culture of self above teammates, above loyalty to the city or fans who’ve supported you, that basically beats one’s own chest and proclaims oneself a god (differing only to money, of course). ESPN may have gotten a lot of views during that nauseating feature, but they lost a TON of respect from fans of the game.
Now the NBA is finally facing what was inevvitable; a labor conflict between billionaire owners and spoiled, self-centered NBA players who are already way overpaid. Pride and arrogance are just as much at the core as money, and the result will likely be the league’s ultimate implosion or even demise. If so, good riddance and may it serve as a warning for the other major sports (some of which, like baseball, are nearing their own big labor negotiations). The current state of things in professional sports (ever-spiraling guaranteed contracts, mercenary free agency that’s pulling more and more star athletes into a select few larger markets, and the general self-promotion and lack of loyalty) is unsustainable. May the NBA’s death serve notice to that effect for the sake of the greater whole.
Three Jack
October 26th, 2011
4:53 pm
I get more entertainment out of watching occupy protestors get arrested than an entire NBA season.
GwinnettDad
October 26th, 2011
4:54 pm
I didn’t watch one NBA game last year, since players care more about getting their tats than playing defense. One need only watch the last 6 minutes of any NBA game, because that’s when the game matters. How exciting would baseball be if EVERY game was 5-4 or 6-5? Otherwise, a bunch of overpaid, over-hyped mama’s boys that don’t give a damn about their team, only their next advertisement. Much more important is getting laid after the game by as many different women as possible. Disgusted with the self-centered consumption, and the NBA can fold and I won’t miss it one bit. The days of REAL basketball, Russell, Cousy, Bob Petitt, & Michael are long gone. Watch Lebron? I’d rather hit myself in the head with a hammer than watch that spoiled brat clutch once again, and betray anybody that rooted for him. The NBA game is too boring to bother with.
ignition
October 26th, 2011
4:59 pm
Funny NBA has too many “thug” & tattoo’s…
WTH does the NFL, College Football, & Hockey layers have.. ?????? (Whom btw are way worse offenders)
bjohndawg
October 26th, 2011
5:07 pm
Why dont they hold a dunkin contest. Because that is all the NBA is. No fundamentals just one on one and dunking. College game is where it is at.
Why have pro teams? Just have dunk-offs.
Or better yet, they can have contests to see which player can have the most out of wedlock children.
They could call it the baby’s daddy game. Jammin and Jammin that is what today’s NBA players are about.
My point….the players are selfish, offish, and boring. Just like the owners.
Let them all go down together.
I stop watching when the Hawks started suxing, and sorry cannot find my way back to the boring game that is today’s NBA.
durtydog
October 26th, 2011
5:13 pm
@Hillbilly……..No one cares who you and your momma/wife/sister/cousin watch! Shet up and dip your dip you dip!
GwinnettDad
October 26th, 2011
5:17 pm
Actually, I love college basketball. Just look at the spirit in the stands, which is transmitted to the players on the court. It is much more a coach’s game, where the NBA is much more a player’s game. They’ll be far more variety in college games than in the NBA from a numerical standpoint, and therefore the game has far more variety. Not a single NBA game comes close in spirit, not even in the NBA finals. Boring.
However, the racists here already known everything, and nothing I say will matter to them, since their minds are so closed. They’re so angry, that they can’t see that they’re the problem, and that there isn’t any solution to cure their hatreds other than them changing their lives from the inside out. A large number are already on the web through their local county jail web site, which shows where such attitudes lead too often. Thus, I pity them, for many are beyond human aid.
Nevertheless, recent self-serving rhetoric has compared the spoiled NBA brats to slaves. Wow! If anybody, anywhere, wants to talk about greed, don’t look at banks, at oil companies, at any private enterprise. Look at the NBA first!
So I might agree more with some of those Occupy protestors if they’d only sit in the middle of an NBA basketball court!
durtydog
October 26th, 2011
5:18 pm
It’s crazy to think that we will ever win anything in any sport. Most of you are pathetic winers who never go to games but always have something to say about them. If you believe any basketball player is a Thug, your an idiot. Most of the those guys are pretty boy wanna be cool spoiled brats. Thugs!! Please. Don’t let a few black guys with tats scare you. LOL! This is the reason why I don’t like bloggers. Most of you are racists who sit around scared to say things to anyone face. Hey Hillbilly, I wonder how many black guys you work with at Home Depot know how you feel about them. I bet none. Your a punk and you hide behind a computer screen.
Hillbilly
October 26th, 2011
5:19 pm
durtydog – go put on your LeBron James pajamas and take your nap!
All I'm Saying Is....
October 26th, 2011
5:24 pm
Owners should agree to the 53% for the players and in exchange insist on a hard salary cap. With that, case closed and problem solved. Players get majority of the dollars (which I think makes sense philosophically) which is cut down from 57% and the Owners get a hard cap to protect them from themselves — which is how they got into the mess of losing money (if that fact is to be believed).
LET’S GO HAWKS!
Hillbilly
October 26th, 2011
5:26 pm
durtydog – you don’t scare me! You can find me at Home Deport in the stock room if you want me – come get some, sweetie!
Kem
October 26th, 2011
5:28 pm
@Hillbilly…. At least you are honest…..racist, but honest. College B’ball a better product than NBA? in today’s game unless there are two top ranked teams are playing, it’s not even interesting until conference tournament time. The majority of you complaining about the players would do the same thing if you were in their position.
MitchC
October 26th, 2011
5:28 pm
Mark, I dont follow the NBA or the Hawks as much as I do MLB or the Braves, but I’m sorry, my friend. I dont agree with your viewpoint.
After this “lockout” ends, however long it is.. fans should boycott the NBA.
While the 1994-1995 baseball strike took place in a “recovering” economy, and it took time to get the fans back, there was not as much widespread suffering, or unemployment, then as there is now. Do you really think the average fan who is worried about how he is going to pay his mortgage, or pay for his kids food, is going to give a darn about a bunch of rich guys fighting over money?
Simply put, the legal system, somehow, should force the rich spoiled brat owners and players to settle this for the fans sake.
I might be wrong, but whenever this is settled, this year.. or next.. it wouldnt surprise me to see the NBA television ratings, attendance, and merchandising take a big hit. Both owners and players would deserve it.
Hillbilly
October 26th, 2011
5:29 pm
durtydog – I eat lizards like you for breakfast – c’mon – bring it on, Leroy!
Bob
October 26th, 2011
5:30 pm
Who cares? In a couple of missed seasons, all the NBA stars will be BK, while the owners will still be flush. And, the game needs to get back to “team” skills rather than “individual” highlights. Then, maybe the NBA can be saved.
Hillbilly
October 26th, 2011
5:32 pm
Bob – some people do care – and we really don’t care if you don’t care.
Rudow70
October 26th, 2011
5:33 pm
I lived in Atlanta back in the early to mid-70s and NEVER went to a Hawks game. Flames, yes, Hawks, no. To me the NBA is completely dominated by a bunch of selfish, egotistical clowns. Give me college basketball anyday, especially the ACC variety. The NBA could die a quick death. No tears at all from me.
Hillbilly
October 26th, 2011
5:33 pm
I’ts funny how the ones that “don’t care” about the NBA still take the time to read the article and comment about it.
Hillbilly
October 26th, 2011
5:35 pm
“Give me college basketball anyday, especially the ACC variety.”
Yikes – talk about boring!
Hillbilly
October 26th, 2011
5:37 pm
“The NBA could die a quick death. No tears at all from me.”
I bet those college players you love to watch will be thrilled if the NBA folds. All of their career dreams – out the window.
Bob
October 26th, 2011
5:42 pm
Thanks Hillbilly…bet you watch WWF and Roller Derby, too.
nique
October 26th, 2011
5:44 pm
SOME of the players can afford to miss paychecks, but as we’ve seen from past players like Antoine Walker, Latrell Spreewell, etc. there are plenty of guys with HUGE contracts that can’t afford to miss too many paychecks.
Speaking as a luke warm NBA fan, the NBA really only gets interesting in the playoffs anyway – i.e., when the majority of the players actually try – so who cares if they cancel reg. season games?!
Feel bad though for all the working-class folks who depend on the NBA season for their paychecks though.
Reg
October 26th, 2011
5:45 pm
Yeah!!!! And when both sides of these spoil brats are done, first, don’t forget about these five figure salary school teachers who have more brains and have helped both sides get to where they are! I love basketball, and as a coach of little league basketball, but damn both sides!
Hillbilly
October 26th, 2011
5:45 pm
Don’t forget Nascar and Rodeo, Bob. Now, that’s excitement!
GwinnettDad
October 26th, 2011
5:50 pm
@Reg, yes, I agree. Damn both sides! But I’m not watching anyway, and the NBA won’t get one dime from me.
jayone
October 26th, 2011
5:54 pm
One thing i think we all are forgetting. This is about giving up a certain percentage of income. This 50-50 split sound go but it still doesn’t explain how an NBA team in a poor market is going to make up the money that an LA, Miami, Boston team makes during the season. You still have to pay your players. So the Bucks would get a lesser portion than say the Lakers? They already get that. This money only goes back into the owners pocket not to make the team a better marketed team. It will not bring a star player to that team to market to get people back in to the stadium to watch the game.
Hillbilly
October 26th, 2011
5:55 pm
GwinnettDad – why do you call the NBA players greedy? The are entertainers – look at all the money they generate. Players in all professional sports have gone on strike one time or another – I guess it’s safe to say ALL professional athletes are greedy, correct?
GwinnettDad
October 26th, 2011
5:57 pm
What is a slam dunk competition anyway? Like watching golfers sink 1 foot putts. Or a hockey player shooting at a goal without a goalie from 5 feet. Or a QB throwing a TD pass from the 5 yard line without any defenders. And this is a competition that’s featured in a NBA All Star competition? It’s boring. As if all that mattered was attitude! The entire concept of the game is mediocre and uninteresting.
Hillbilly
October 26th, 2011
5:58 pm
GwinnettDad – you can’t tell me you don’t watch and keep track of your “favorite” college players when they move on to the NBA – I know better.
tiger woo
October 26th, 2011
6:03 pm
GwinnettDad – quit picking on the NBA.
College Basketball also has Slam Dunk competions.
NFL has a Skills Challenge.
NHL has a Skills Challenge.
MLB has the Home Run Derby.
Business Man
October 26th, 2011
6:05 pm
I can’t wait to hear the news that the season has been lost. They are all just a bunch of thugs.
Hillbilly
October 26th, 2011
6:06 pm
Thanks Business Man – good to have another racist chime in!
Mojo
October 26th, 2011
6:08 pm
The NBA needs to be renamed to TBA; Thug Ball Association. Let it fold, let all the idiot players go over seas and play for the guido league in Italy. Start a new NBA here in the states, one that promotes team over individual. There’ll be plenty of college players lining up to play in it. Oh yeah, and you can’t play or work in it in any capacity if you ever played in the NBA. Salaries would be capped at 1 million / year(who needs more than that to live on anyway?), ticket prices would be capped at a reasonable price where families could go to a game and still be able to buy food when they go home. Call it a “market correction”; kinda what the rest of us have been through in business and the stock market over the past few years.
Hillbilly
October 26th, 2011
6:11 pm
Whatever Mojo – such nonsense – the best team usually wins – not the team with the best player (see LeBron – see Michael Jordan before he got help) – but you don’t watch anyway – what do you know?
athdog
October 26th, 2011
6:35 pm
No One Cares
Hillbilly
October 26th, 2011
6:36 pm
Someone Cares
Your FaceBook Friend
October 26th, 2011
6:51 pm
Screw the Atlanta Spirit
Paul in NH
October 26th, 2011
6:58 pm
There certainly seem to be plenty of posts from people who don’t understand NBA basketball.
Let me quote from a college guy:
“NBA basketball is the highest level in the world”.
http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2011/10/mike-krzyzewski-worried-about-2012-olympic-basketball-team/
Now here is a socialist....
October 26th, 2011
7:04 pm
Mojo
October 26th, 2011
6:08 pm
…
Start a new NBA here in the states, one that promotes team over individual. There’ll be plenty of college players lining up to play in it. Oh yeah, and you can’t play or work in it in any capacity if you ever played in the NBA. Salaries would be capped at 1 million / year(who needs more than that to live on anyway?), ticket prices would be capped at a reasonable price where families could go to a game and still be able to buy food when they go home
———–
This economic model has been employed in a number of countries – Cuba, Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, etc. etc.
Najeh Davenpoop
October 26th, 2011
7:10 pm
In related news…
DAMN
Rod from College Park
October 26th, 2011
7:10 pm
So I guess most people without melanin assume that a black man with more than one tatoo is a thug. Times really have not changed much at all. LOL
Delbert D.
October 26th, 2011
7:11 pm
Professional wrestling is performed at a much higher intellectual level than NBA. I lost interest when they stopped calling “palming” and started wearing culottes.
MetroATL
October 26th, 2011
7:13 pm
I think it’s funny how some will call pro athletes greedy and thugs. These same people will then turn around and support politicians that lie, cheat and steal from hard working American citizens. Athletes are just entertainers. The real “thugs” are in Washington, accepting monetary bribes to control legislation that adversely the middle-class and poor.
moboman
October 26th, 2011
7:25 pm
I dont deny any skilled athlete the right to earn a good living. The issue here is that the current system doesnt provide a level playing field for all teams. It is ruining the game, and has to be fixed. Salaries are out of control because there is no hard cap that all the teams must abide by in order to have fair competition. Last years Heat spectacle could never have happened if the league structure were fair to all teams. The owners MUST stand firm until this is corrected. If they have to sit a year or even two, so be it.
blazerdawg
October 26th, 2011
7:55 pm
I miss the Omni.
Great bar on the mezz level by the big glass corner where you could watch the sun go down over MBC. Cool organ lady who wore a red blazer and knew the crowd. Seats in the lower level were close. Pizza was good. Concourse was narrow and real drafty. Acoustics were terrible for concerts, but awesome for basketball and that other sport. Hawks games in the 70s (Drew, Chris, Rollins, and Brown) and 80s (Nique, Doc, Willis, and Fratetlo) were a blast. That other team was alot of fun too – crowds were great.
The NBA has changed for sure, but sports fans have as well.
Jerome
October 26th, 2011
7:56 pm
The NBA is modern slavery, with rich white owners running the league like a plantation, trying to keep the players down. I’m tired of this—the government should step in and order the owners to pay the players what they want, or break up the league.
Najeh Davenpoop
October 26th, 2011
8:05 pm
“The issue here is that the current system doesnt provide a level playing field for all teams. ”
The only way the NBA will have a level playing field is if the number of teams is decreased to be more in line with the number of superstars. Six teams need to be contracted. The talent pool is too thin to support a 30-team league, and as long as basketball remains a height-dependent sport it will remain that way.
zorba
October 26th, 2011
8:30 pm
There are employers and employees. And the employees want 53%! Average salary $5 plus million. Bring on the scabs, lower ticket prices and let the greedy players go to Europe or where ever they want to try and get their 53%.
Barry
October 26th, 2011
8:31 pm
I love the NBA and the Hawks. But, other than for the team and arena employees who may lose their jobs, I think it would be a good thing for sports if the whole season is cancelled. The whole paradigm of sports needs to change. Who can afford to go to games anymore? Sports is going to collapse at some point. You can’t have this bad of an economy and expect salaries and prices to continue to go up. It’s a house of cards. A cancelled season might be a first taste of reality. We’ll survive without the NBA, for as long as it takes to get things in order.
doc
October 26th, 2011
8:43 pm
mark, what irks me is the owners are trying to spin this is to the fan as an effort to get competitive balance in the league. that is all the while they trip over their own feet trying to hammer out an agreement within themselves of a profit sharing plan. what they want is the players to take all the heat finacially and in the court of public opinion and try to side step that they are the ones with the problem of first not being able to work together to make sure there is a balanced competitve field financially among themselves, then to take that to the players.
the players know they are not for competitive balance and only want to take money from them to lift their coffers. they still wont ope their books to scrutiny because it would be the last fatal step and bring on cries from the fans that really foot the bill to realize how they are being duped and bilked not by the players but the owners.
UGA75
October 26th, 2011
8:49 pm
Mark: I sincerely believe that if the whole NBA Season were canceled that most people wouldn’t notice. The NBA game is such that most fans I know all agree that all you have to watch is the last two minutes of a game if you care at all. I personally wouldn’t attend an NBA game if I were given floor season tickets, I will go to Georgia Tech or Georgia to see College hoops though. You are correct the players are the product, the problem is the product sucks from an entertainment point of view. JMHO, of course.
Skeezix
October 26th, 2011
8:50 pm
Don’t agree Mark. I think the owners hold the better hand here. If they are willing to shut down for the entire season, I believe they’ll get most of what they want.
Skeezix
October 26th, 2011
9:03 pm
I wonder what % of the population even cares about what whether there will be an NBA season this year? I’m sure devoted NBA fans are upset-especially teams with a long storied history like the Lakers, Celtics, etc. I don’t hear a lot of folks fretting about games being cancelled. From where I live, the closest pro team is the Bobcats–even in Charlotte, they don’t have a strong a fan base. Now if they were talking about cancelling the ACC season, people around these parts would be protesting in the streets.
Walton
October 26th, 2011
9:16 pm
Sorry Mark, but I beg to differ………I lost interest in the NBA years ago, and from what I’ve heard and read, so have MOST of the folks in this country. This could be the end of the league…and if it is….for the most part, no one will care……….they screwed that proverbial “Golden Goose” themselves
beone
October 26th, 2011
9:24 pm
Mark, It is lunacy to believe that a league in which the majority of teams lose money annually will survive. The players are wrong on this one and if you side with them, so are you.
Hillbilly
October 26th, 2011
9:42 pm
“This could be the end of the league…and if it is….for the most part, no one will care……….”
The NBA isn’t going anywhere . . .
A lot of people are still interested in the NBA – just like the last strike or strikes in any pro league – eventually the fans will come back.
I still don’t understand why people on here who claim to have no interest in the NBA still take the time to read the article and respond. You have been exposed!
duronimo
October 26th, 2011
9:42 pm
The problem with the NBA is that virtually the only real basketball played is in the playoffs.
Walton
October 26th, 2011
9:54 pm
You have been exposed!
@Hillbilly…………Understand this……………I’m someone who loves sports! That’s why I read Bradleys articles and respond with my opinion….yeah, exposed as a FAN……….a very dissapointed fan with the way the NBA has turned out…….I”ve already stated that I gave up on the NBA years ago, but I always hoped things would turn around…………unfortunately, things have gotten worse. I’ll watch the occasional College game , but for ME…I’m DONE with the NBA in particular and pretty much basketball altogether…………it’s no longer a game but some kind of warped exibition..Hopefully brother, you now understand
GwinnettDad
October 26th, 2011
10:33 pm
Jerome above calls a fellow earning 5 million a slave. If that what passes for an NBA fan, that’s all the more reason to stop the brain damage that is apparently caused by the NBA, and permanently put the game out of business. Apparently it causes ultimate stupidity mixed with arrogance, which spells Jerome. I hope he seeks medical help.
Ed
October 26th, 2011
10:40 pm
Am I the only one who understands the meaning of the word “OWNER” ? Mark Bradley of all people should know that. Look around yourr office. There’s no one left and the sports page of a major market newspaper is 4 pages. That’s the product of owners not making any money. NBA owners have the right to make money. They didn’t get where they are in life by being stupid. I say shut it down for a year and save the salaries. I think it’s rather comical that a guy like Kevin Garnett (with a High School education) is showing up and mouthing off to the likes of Paul Allen, Mark Cuban, Jerry Buss etc….I go to work everyday praying the owner of my company is making money so I can go back tomorrow. Let these guys go away and start over. The league survived when Bird, Majic, and Jordan moved on and they’d be just fine in a few years without this present group of inked up overpaid thugs.
Hillbilly
October 26th, 2011
11:42 pm
ok – a lot of posters are saying they prefer the college game to the NBA – mind you, these same players you love in college eventually make it to the pros.
One question, were they thugs in college or did they become thugs after they joined the NBA?
Sides making ‘slow’ progress toward new deal – NBA.com | Football News and Topics
October 27th, 2011
2:19 am
[...] Obama tells Leno NBA should learn from NFLSportingNews.comWashington Post (blog) -Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) -Huffington Postall 1,196 news [...]
WowReally
October 27th, 2011
3:15 am
What do the players risk by playing basketball? The owners actually INVEST – THEY SPEND MONEY – just to get in. Do you realize how many teams lose millions year after year?
What do the players, on average, do with their money? They aren’t stupid and and buy ridiculously expensive suits, rings, necklaces, cars, homes, clothes, etc. etc., etc. No, they don’t do that,right?
While, yes, players bring talent. If they owned and operated the NBA, it would dissolve in year one. They need people who actually exercise brain power, have patience, and know how to do math.
For example, the loss of two weeks now ENSURES (assuming the games are not made up later) that players (if they GET 53%) will LOSE money compared to accepting 50%!!!
By the way, Micheal Jordan never sought the highest contract when he deserved a 50% premium over every other player in the NBA.Why? Hmmm??? How about endorsements?
This is a simple concept. Nobody should have to buy a team and get stuck with a joke contract that requires they LOSE money. I am from Portland. We signed Greg Oden. What has he done? No way should the NORM be signing guaranteed (regardless of play) contracts for 30, 40, 50, 60 + million for 5 years.
The players are idiots. The ‘good players’ under what was proposed (if they actually play and perform – and they usually do) would make MORE money!! The average and under-average players would get MORE because the ‘wealth’ would be available for them. The only losers are those that do not produce, and cannot play.
This an article written by someone who needs an education.
Where do the Milwaukee Bucks stand? – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (blog) » Cheesehead Nation
October 27th, 2011
8:06 am
[...] reports that the largest group of owners are pushing for change to the current economic …In the NBA lockout, millionaire players trump billionaire ownersAtlanta Journal Constitution (blog)First Cup: MondayESPN (blog)Detroit Pistons Links: NBA lockout [...]
oldfart
October 27th, 2011
9:41 am
The NBA as presented with total disregard of the fundamental rules of the game for the stars is already an exhibition tour. The only real difference between the NBA and the Harlem Globetrotters is the focus on the individuals rather than the whole team. But the enforcement of the basic rules of the game, or lack thereof, is identical.
benchwarmer
October 27th, 2011
12:33 pm
I for one do not believe the current NBA is very entertaining. It’s mostly about clear one side of the floor and let some super star showboat to a dunk. Nothing to interesting about that. Not really a game anymore. More like some video bite on constant replay. Could care less if the players or the owners ever have another season. I still like basketball but the NBA hasn’t played much of it in a long time.
benchwarmer
October 27th, 2011
12:37 pm
oldfart, I agree. To my mind Michael Jordan had a real problem with turning the ball over. I’m not sure he wouldn’t have been able to play aces if the rules had been enforced but now we’ll never know . The league as played today probably has fewer real basketball players then it ever has.
Esteban
October 30th, 2011
3:49 pm
Nobody is going to support young successful black men in America. Least of all a white audience. They’ll appease themselves with fantasy games so they can pretend they’re in charge and stuff like that to keep the negativity / jealousy alive and convince themselves that they’re much better than the athletes they’re watching. The game has been watered down by rule change after rule change that allows the Euro players who can’t play defense or who have really limited athletic ability so they can compete. This is why the game is no longer exciting. What would’ve been the chances of Dirk having this run when you were allowed to play physical basketball? None! But just remember yong black men. LeBron showed you last year that you make your own decisions all the way to the NBA finals. Now ask yourselves, how many of these scrubs that you read today on this blog are the best at anything? Howa bout None!
Where do the Milwaukee Bucks stand? – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (blog) (NBA) - NBA BASKETBALL News Updates - NBA Basketball Fanatic News Blog
October 30th, 2011
9:58 pm
[...] In the NBA lockout, millionaire players trump billionaire ownersAtlanta Journal Constitution (blog)First Cup: MondayESPN (blog)MLive.comall 3,477 news articles » [...]
Knox
October 31st, 2011
1:49 am
I’ve been to NBA games and it always amazes me that audience is predominantly cheesy white people cheering cheesy black athletes. Go figure.