Say Bye-Bye to the NBA as the Lockout Looms at 12:01 AM EST Tonight
The NBA is heading to an all-too familiar situation, one that fans of the NFL have been dealing with for over 100 days now, a lockout. The NBA just came off its best ratings for the draft and NBA Finals in years and can not afford to lose a good thing now.
Meet Billy Hunter (pictured left). For those that are familiar with the the NFL's current labor dispute, he is the NBA's Demaurice Smith or the NBA's player union director. Billy Hunter is a native of Camden, New Jersey, one of the nation's most dangerous cities. He went on to play a short career in the NFL as a wide receiver before becoming a U.S. attorney and the head of the NBA union.
He along with David Stern will now be at the forefront of NBA labor negotiations if a lockout comes to fruition. The two sides are said to be far apart and this lockout may be worse than the previous one in 1999, when the NBA played just half a season.
The owners are aiming for a new 10-year agreement with a larger share of the revenue.
According to Chris Sherdian of ESPN.com, players currently receive 57 percent of the $3.6 billion in basketball-related revenue, minus a $600 million credit for operating expenses.
The players have already agreed to cut the number to 54.6 percent, but keep much of the current "soft-cap" format. The soft-cap allows teams to go over the salary cap limit as long as they follow certain exemptions.
However, the owners would rather go to a "flex-cap" which would put a limit on players salaries. The players feel this is unacceptable. They previously rejected the owners offer of $2 billion in targeted guaranteed salaries compared to a current figure of $2.17 billion. In the final year of the 10-year deal, the owners would raise the salaries to $2.2 billion.
If you are not aware, the NBA is not faring as well as some of their counterparts, mainly the NFL and MLB. Fans are just not buying into the NBA product. Many owners are losing money in small and big markets alike.
Ultimately, the players are arguing over a few million dollars in salary and guaranteed contracts. But at the end of the day, there is no league without the owners, and the players will have to lower their demands if they want to avoid the worst stoppage in league history.
After the clocks strikes 12:01 AM EST tonight, the attention will be on Billy Hunter and David Stern to get things rectified.
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