The players will have to cave eventually.

When there is a strike there are replacement players. Can we have replacement owners in a lockout?

Actually the NBA players can go a long time without caving, and even then it will just be the young bench players. It is a star driven league and the stars are paid very well. They could all retire comfortably right now if they wished to do so. Probably the reason why they have such a good deal in the first place. The NBA is nothing without Kobe, Lebron, etc.

The NFL on the other hand, many of the best players in the game have yet to get their big contract. The average career length is only like 3 years. Most of the players cannot go a full season without getting paid. They didn't even want this fight in the first place, the owners are being greedy beyond belief. Thankfully though the owners are (rightfully) getting killed in the legal battles. They are just lucky they aren't getting sued (yet) with all the shit they've pulled for antitrust violations which pay out triple damages.

I mean, maybe.....but it's still lost income, and the rest of the non $20 million players have an equal voice. The players union wont just stand pat because Lebron has hundreds of millions. It's still a removal of income, which affects everyone, especially when you consider relative lifestyles, etc.

I see your point though.

roundhouse wrote:


Yeah, the NBA players have a much better case for holding out and not caving than the NFL (or any other sport.) Mostly because its a star driven league and there are only 15 guys on each team, with only 5 playing at one time (obviously.) Plus the average salary in the NBA is like $6 million, which is ridiculous of course, but means that almost everyone is really rich.

Still, the system needs to be changed and I think it's going to be a brutal lockout for the NBA for both sides. Will not end well at all.

mmaland wrote:


Yes please. Winning comment.

Not sure if this has been brought up before, but if the worst happens and there is no season this year, do the Clippers get the highest chances in the lottery or do they automatically get the first pick in next years draft?

College Wolf wrote:


This may not go over well, but I'm probably on the side of the owners on this. Potentially a lockout and new CBA could really help the Wolves. Whether it's a hard salary cap or maybe some type of franchise tag so teams worry less about losing LeBron or Dwight Howard for nothing. Or getting rid of guaranteed contracts so teams don't get handcuffed with a $10 million mistake sitting on their bench.

If the NBA is going to turn into 5 or 6 teams of superstars, the Wolves are going to be on the outside watching Miami, Chicago, LA, NY and Boston keep winning. If the rules are closer to the NFL, maybe Minnesota has a chance every few years.

I think everyone agrees that the NBA system is broken. But the thing that has me scratching my head is the owners keep saying how poor they are but then go and throw all this money and guys like Drew Gooden. They sure aren't helping their case much. But I agree, if they got rid of guaranteed contracts it would fix 90% of the problems the NBA has.

digitalflame wrote:


We've talked about this somewhere in the forums before. It got buried in some other huge discussion thread. Anyways, I asked Larry Coon on Twitter and he told us. I don't remember exactly, but if there is no season they would have to figure out a new way to do the next draft. I remember for certain that the NBA would NOT just use the same draft order that there was this year. Larry Coon was sure of that fact. They might do a lottery involving all the teams somehow (so change up all the odds)... was one option he told us.

roundhouse wrote:


Travis Outlaw. That was one of the worst deals ever. His stats are sooooooo terrible. He's one of the worst players in the entire league if you look at his minutes played and salary.

Terrible signing, especially since the Nyets need the cap space for another star to pair with Deron Williams.

i have a bad feeling about this lockout cuz Europe & China got money to spend n would love to have nba stars..... kobe said he would play in italy if they cant play a whole year just to stay fresh ..IF he goes alot more will n the lockout could be a whole season

WallyWorld wrote:


The NFL is doing the NBA a big favor by showing the players how to win in a lockout situation. Discredit the union and then they can take it to mediation and let a mediator decide what happens instead of the owners waiting out the players and the billionaires have more money than the millionaires. This way the players should get a more favorable deal than the owners are offering. That's what my crystal ball says.