NBA Lockout: Will the NBA Be Hurt If the 2011 Season Starts Late?
Another day goes by and the NBA lockout is another day older. Slight progress is being made between the NBA Players Association and the NBA owners. As the chance for the season to start on time is hanging in the balance, the players and owners need to strike a deal and fast.
The NBA, in my humble opinion, made its biggest step in becoming more mainstream last year.
LeBron James and Chris Bosh's move to Miami made an instant, league-wide villain out of the Heat and drew a ton of attention towards the sport.
Meanwhile, in bigger basketball markets like New York and Chicago, two of the most popular franchises in the NBA have become relevant again, drawing in the big-city fanbases who haven't been this strong since Patrick Ewing and Michael Jordan.
Add that to an improbable NBA finals run like the Mavericks had, beating the best and most hated team in basketball, and you have yourself a resurgence.
That makes not getting a deal done a possible detriment to the NBA's advancement.
Every sport, with the exception of the NFL, is vulnerable against fan backlash if their season is shortened or cancelled due to a labor dispute. With the NBA finally becoming relevant again, it can't take a chance at angering its fans and lose the ground they've gained in the past year.
It's time for both sides to sit down and get a deal done. There have been too many childish walk-outs and silent periods, all the while forgetting what makes the NBA, or any sport for that matter, relevant.
The fans.
Let's get the season going—a season that has so many intriguing headlines.
Who can the Bulls bring in the next few years who can help Derrick Rose get the Bulls to the finals?
Who can the Knicks bring in to solidify their non-existent defense and make them a 60-win team? Can they create their own "Big three?"
Where will Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Deron Williams end up? Will any of them be traded during the 2011-12 season?
Can the Mavericks continue an improbable run with a repeat in 2012?
Can LeBron James get over the hump and lead the hated Miami Heat to an NBA finals title? If not, who will be the team to knock them off?
These are just a few of the biggest headlines coming into this season, if it ever happens. Until then, all we can do as basketball fans is hope that something gets done and we get to see these headlines unfold. The 2011-12 NBA season is just too interesting to pass up.
The NBA shouldn't take for granted the great storylines that the league has going for them. If they screw this up, it could erase all the progress they made last season.
@michaelmoraitis
