Eventually, there’s an inconvenient truth that we all have to deal with- the very real possibility of a lost NBA season.
Last week we discussed the gloomy forecast of the NFL labor issues.
You remember the shortened season of 1999, and just how much that sucked? No one is true game shape, we had a really crappy Finals and the league hasn’t returned to what it was during the Michael Jordan era. Is it coincidence that the league started to decline the very same year the Chicago Bulls dynasty ended? Possibly, but it’s difficult to say.
Look at how the league lockouts affected the NHL. Will it happen to the world’s favorite professional basketball league? Here”s Abrar, a litigation and labor attorney at Docksquad Sports that has the answer.
Here’s an excerpt, and towards the end of the piece, you’ll see his prediction on how many games will be lost.
So will there be basketball next year? The owners and the players realize they’re not the NFL. The NBA is a player oriented league in that the casual fan tunes into games for certain players. For the first time, in a long time, you have a number of superstar players on teams that have a legitimate shot at winning the NBA Championship. As I said before, as ill conceived as “The Decision” was, having Lebron James in Miami with Wade and Bosh is a marketing dream. Drama sells.
Nonetheless, the NBA owners want a salary cap to essentially save themselves from bad contracts. David Stern and the owners argue that the league lost $400 million but I have a hard time believing him. The reason why I have a hard time believing him is the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies plays in one of the smallest markets, had the third lowest average attendance last year and are dead last in average attendance this year. Yet somehow the Grizzlies are able to sign Rudy Gay to an $82 million contract over 5 years, pay Zach Randolph $17.3 million this year and sign Mike Conley a $45 million contract over 5 years.