NBA Labor Issue: How It Can Be Solved
Although the NFL lockout will most likely end soon, the NBA lockout has just begun. The NFL is undoubtedly a more profitable system than that of David Stern's league. Owners of NFL teams are essentially trying to pump extra gas in a hybrid car to take everything even further along.
The NBA has a larger issue at hand. Twenty-two of the 30 franchises are reportedly losing money, according to the owners, of course. This may not be exactly true, but less and less people will watch teams like Sacramento in today's landscape of players trying to load up teams.
Stern may be pushing for a hard cap, but that's not where the solution lies. Teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves throw money at lesser players like Darko Milicic, who signed a contract worth $20 million just last offseason, because no big-time free agent will freeze there in the winter with a bad organization.
The good teams are getting even better and the bad teams are getting even worse. Television viewership is incredibly high, though. Therefore, revenue sharing among the owners should come into effect.
Owners would have to work out the numbers of such a structure amongst themselves. Many would not like the feeling of basically being on NBA welfare, but they should get over it. Let teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat bake the cake and split the Indiana Pacers a nice piece, instead of a team like the Milwaukee Bucks not even having the money to buy the batter.
Owners should not handcuff players when they are printing the money. The customer is the most crucial part of every business, and if they want to see the Heat play 82 times a year on a major network, let them.
Right now, there is a limit on the number of games for each team that can be shown on national networks. Appealing to smaller markets is not where the money has ever been or ever will be.
The NBA Players Association should not be frowned upon when the owners are responsible for the lockout and the existing problems themselves.
