I never thought I would say this. I’ve been a huge, tremendous and loyal fan of the NBA since the 6th grade. I grew up watching Dr. J, Bird v Magic, and MJ. I road the transition of expansion, I remember Len Bias and Reggie Lewis. I watched Shaq from a rookie to retiree. I’ve watched games at the Forum and theStaplesCenter. But the NBA is trippy.
The current lock out situation (which could consume a whole season), is purely a greed move for league owners. Now I don’t mind someone making money but lets break down the specifics.
Now this is bullshit because the owners are the same guys to make the players offers. So the owners are looking at protection from themselves. See the key here is that while a player like Lebron James may be eligible for a max deal of 22 million a year there is not obligation to pay him that kind of cheddar. If owners as a group decide “hey lets all agree not to pay any player more than 10 million a year” they problem is solved.
This is about responsible spending something owners of huge companies should be able to do. But as history has shown this beyond their reach. Case in point; in 1989 the Atlanta Hawks signed back up center Jon Koncak (5 points, 6 rebounds per game) to a 6 year 13 million dollar contract. Not wild by today’s standards but in 1989 he was making more than, Bird, Magic and Jordan.
We all remember the 100 million the Cavs gave to an out of shape and drug addled Shawn Kemp in 98 and the 110 the Orlando Magic wasted on Rashard Lewis. But let’s also remember the $30 Million per season deals Jordan signed with the Bulls. Was it worth it if you were the Bulls owners? Damn right it was. Good owners know how to make a team work. Jerry Buss and the Lakers have one of the highest payrolls in sports…and they are one of the most profitable sports organizations around. Same can be said for the New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys.
Good owners make money, just ask Marc Cuban. To protect bad owners from themselves the league is asking players to take a 30% cut in their salaries starting next year. Now while we can all debate whether they are over paid or not, but if your boss asked you to do the same job for 30% less money you would tell him to eat a bag of baby dicks. So I am throwing my full support behind the NBAPA. I think they should go play overseas or better yet start their own league here in the States. The NBA is a player’s league, they market the players, they eat off the players in a way that the NFL and Major League Baseball don’t. Lebron is a Global Icon,Kobe has a huge following inChina and Dirk is the talk of Germany. The players have the leverage and it’s time to use it. Listen up David Stern…your fucked.
