Dirk Nowitzki's Academy of Awkward Basketball

Cast members from Saturday Night Live poking fun at Dirk Nowitzki at the ESPYS on ESPN.

Canadian Basketball: All-Canada Classic Preview

Canadian Basketball: All-Canada Classic

Funny NBA Lockout Commercial

Letter to the Owners, by The Players

NBA Players Union President

Derrick Fisher, Los Angeles Lakers

Dear Owners,

I would normally start by asking you how you are doing, but today I won't.  Even if I did ask, you would know that it was only for the sake of asking, because I already know how you are doing.  Your miserable, uncooperative and out to play the victim claiming you were forced to place the NBA in a lockout situation.

Your major claim is that you continue lose money in what was possibly the most well received NBA seasons in decades.  You are also upset that the contracts being offered to star players are way too high, leaving teams with little remaining money to bring in a solid supporting cast.  Add to the list of complaints an angry majority that are upset that teams with wealthy owners who can pay the luxury tax when going over the the team salary cap, essentially allow them to "buy" themselves championships.  And even though the luxury tax is divided amongst the other teams in the league, you don't feel it is enough.  Hey, if your team does poorly because of lack of funds, your terrible record will reward you with a high draft pick anyway.  Try to look on the bright side.

You, the owners, have to remember that fans come to see us, the players, play.  Few fans can name the owner of their favorite team, but can surely name the starting five.  It is for that exact reason that we currently receive 57% of all basketball related income from the NBA.  Maybe if Marc Cuban shirts started flying off the rack we could bring that percentage down, but until then I think it's fine.

Don't even get me started on the franchise player tag.  You want to extend the length of time a star player has to stay on a team based on his "star" status?  How dare you!  What if a few of us franchise player type players want to form a "super team"? Your telling me we can't! That tag would only allow 1 franchise player per team, or so I've heard.  Me no like.  Besides, how would you even decide who gets the tag?

I know owners have a lot more bills to pay than we do, like players million dollar salaries, arena maintenance, arena employees, coaching staff and basically everyone associated with the team right down to the lovely cheerleaders. But you get a lot more money based on ad space  in the arena, sponsors, ticket sales, concessions, parking and the list goes on.  My point is this, we the players like things the way they are.  We can up and leave teams when we want by making public statements or opting out of contracts or even refusing to show up to cities we don't like.  We can get coaches and general managers we don't like fired and of course, refuse to come off the bench, but that doesn't always work out.  But I'm getting off topic.  Sorry about that.

In the end, I hope this lockout does not linger on into the regular season, because both sides will lose money, players could become out of shape and interest in the NBA could dwindle.  But most importantly, our fans who have no say in the matter and make a lot less money than both parties involved, are waiting for both sides of the sport they love so much to come to an agreement so everyone can win.

Call us when your ready...

Sincerely,

The Players

(This was intended to be humorous and is not an actual Players Union letter to the owners)

Key Issues - NBA Lock Out 2011

Here's a look at some major issues that face the two sides in the negotiations.

Taken from NBA.com

The Salary Cap

What you need to know: In their desire to bring costs for players under control, owners have called for a cap on salaries. These caps have been described, at various times, as "soft" or "hard" or even "flex." The last agreement included a salary cap, too, but it could be exceeded through various exceptions (see glossary). The players would be satisfied with a cap like that one, but the owners are adamant in their call for a "hard" cap that teams cannot exceed.
Bottom line: An insistence on a hard cap has proven to be the major sticking point in these negotiations. The union flat-out doesn't want one. The league says it has to have one.

 

Salary Cap Exceptions

What you need to know: These are rules that allow teams to exceed the cap under certain circumstances. A new agreement could limit these, which would help owners with a little cost certainty but make it more difficult to sign certain types of players. A new agreement, too, could bring new exceptions, such as the "franchise" tag that's used in the NFL. An enhancement of Bird rights (see glossary) is another possibility. "Amnesty" provisions could be reinstated to allow teams tax relief for current contracts, too.
Bottom line: Despite the owners' insistence, an NBA with a "true" hard cap, one without any exceptions, will be hard to come by given the union's stringent resistance to the idea.

Split of Basketball Related Income

What you need to know: Players earned 57 percent of all Basketball Related Income (see glossary) in the former agreement. Owners are demanding that number come down.
Bottom line: The league is dead-set on scaling back the percentage of BRI the players receive. The union, predictably, wants to keep the percentage at or near where it is now.

 

Revenue Sharing

What you need to know: Owners and players are in agreement on the need for increased revenue sharing among teams as a way to make more teams profitable and competitive. Somewhere around $60 million was shared in the 2010-11 season. That won't be enough for either side in any future agreement.
Bottom line: What owners do with their half of revenue would seem to be a mostly owner-controlled issue, but players in a collectively bargained agreement must sign off on any revenue-sharing plan. They want more money to be shared among teams, more than some of the league's richer teams are willing to offer.

 

Guaranteed Contracts

What you need to know: Owners reportedly favor a system that would allow them to cut their losses on so-called "bad" contracts for underperforming players. That could mean shorter-term contracts and less guaranteed money.
Bottom line: Guaranteed contracts have been a staple in the NBA for years. The union isn't going to give up what they have without a fight. In negotiations before the lockout, the owners agreed to come off their stance.

 

Contraction

What you need to know: Stern has said that the idea of eliminating at least a couple of teams in order to enhance the league's bottom line -- and its on-court product -- is on the table.
Bottom line: Contraction remains a longshot for a few reasons. One, there's a question as to whether any teams, even those losing money, would be willing to sell. Two, other cities may be willing to take on a struggling NBA franchise, so many argue that relocation should be considered before contraction. And, of course, cutting teams would mean fewer jobs for players. That's something the union would fight.

Negotiations - NBA Lock Out 2011

Key players in labor negotiations from left to right: Commissioner David Stern, Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver, NBPA Executive Director Billy Hunter and President of the NBPA Executive Committee Derek Fisher

CBA Basics: Owners, players and the negotiations

Posted by NBA.com Jul 5 2011 1:20PM - Updated Jul 5 2011 1:44PM

The NBA's collective bargaining agreement -- the blueprint for all business that takes place between the league and its players in this multi-billion dollar industry -- expired on June 30, putting the league into a state in which no player-related business can take place until a new CBA is hammered out.

Both sides have insisted that reaching a new agreement is important to maintain the soaring popularity that the league enjoyed in a very successful 2010-11 season. But the issues are varied and complex, and the sides made little headway in negotiations on a new accord before the CBA expired. The ensuing lockout of players marks only the second work stoppage in league history. The 2008-09 season was marred by a lockout that limited that season to 50 games.

If the players and owners have agreed on anything during these months-long yet often sporadic negotiations, it is that achieving labor peace is not easy. The sides remain apart on several important issues.

Tops among them, as is often the case: money.
The NBA is pushing for a dramatic adjustment to the league's economic system. Stern claims that the NBA has lost more than $1 billion since the current CBA went into effect in 2005-06, including $380 million in 2009-10 and more than $300 million in 2010-11. He has said that 22 of the league's 30 teams lost money last season.

National Basketball Players Association executive director Billy Hunter has disputed both the league's figures and its accounting methods. The players note that the NBA, by its own accounting, is coming off a season of record revenues, which has led to bigger player payrolls and the highest cap on salaries ever.

The league contends that costs -- mainly player salaries -- have skyrocketed out of control, and that the system of doing business outlined in the last CBA is no longer workable.

NBA Lock Out 2011

Team USA dominated FIBA world championship basketball with it's roster full of NBA talent.  Lebron James announced on live TV that he would be leaving the reborn Cleveland Cavaliers for the sunny beaches of Miami.  John Wall and Blake Griffin were the rookies to watch.  All-Star weekend had Griffin dunk over a car with an entire choir singing behind him earning the Dunk Contest title.  Would the Lakers make it 3 championships in a row?  Would Phil Jackson return or retire?  Could the Celtics veteran Big 3 beat out their younger Miami clones?  Derrick Rose played like an MVP and earned the award while his Chicago Bulls held the best record in the NBA.  Carmelo Anthony left the Nuggets to join Amar'e Stoudamire with the now relevant New York Knicks.  And, finally, the Heat would do what most expected, reach the the finals, only to lose to Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks, earning his and the franchise's first ever championship.



With what was arguably the most popular NBA season in recent history, it's with a great deal of frustration and confusion that I sit here and write that the NBA is currently locked out pending and agreement of terms between the player's union and owners.  The possibility of a lock was predicted for the past few years and it seems that there is now no way to avoid it.

What all this means is that no basketball operations in the NBA can take place.  No schedules, no pay checks for players, no use of NBA facilities, no contact with coaches or training staff, but most importantly, no pre-season or regular season games until this is resolved.

In short, owners say they are losing money and that the gap between successful teams and struggling teams is too reliant on the the owner's ability to get players and pay the luxury tax.  Owners want to cap players salary avoiding inflated contracts for players and improved revenue sharing amongst all 30 teams.

The players on the other hand, have no interest on having their salaries capped or having the length of time they must remain on a team extended, among many other things.

The NHL lost a full season of games due to a lock out in the 2004-05 season and the NBA can ill afford the same fate if money is the root of the disagreement between the players and owners.


As a fan, as frustrating as it is, the reality is that professional sports is more business than it has been in the past, or maybe it just seems that way because information is so much more readily available to fans than ever before.  If you ask for my opinion, it's really hard to side with the players or owners.  Owners are investors and players are the stock, maybe that is a cruel way to look at it, but that's the way I see it.  One cannot survive without the other.  Players however can choose to play overseas, but there is no league comparable to NBA anywhere in the world.  I love Euro Basketball and FIBA as well, but besides that, international basketball will be difficult for North America to swallow.


The real losers in the end are the fans.  Fans who have no say in the matter.  The fans that may or may not be able to afford tickets to games.  Fans who buy jerseys and sneakers.  Fans who keep the TV ratings coming in.  If the owners are the boss and the  players are the employees, they should remember that the fans are the customers, and if the store is closed, customers will shop somewhere else.