NBA, Union Need to Strike Deal to Solve Lockout to Avoid Risk of Isolating Fans

Ben Gordon believes that the NBA lockout could last one or two full seasons.

I don't.

After Gordon sat in on a negotiating session between the owners and players, he characterized the ongoing discussions to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press as a "waste of time."

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I think there will be more games missed, I expect it might be a year or two. I realized that when I was listening to both sides during the negotiations. I think there will be a lot of games missed and more money is going to go down the drain.

I'm preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best.

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Aren't we all?

This is not an effort to marginalize Gordon's comments as ones that shouldn't be taken seriously, because they're certainly alarming.

However, the idea that not only this season may wind up getting lost and next season getting wiped out in its entirety as well is absolutely outrageous.

The two parties (owners and NBPA) will meet with a federal mediator next week in an effort to make legitimate progress in the talks and hammer out a deal, and it is not in either side's best interest to miss a single season, let alone two full campaigns.

While the federal mediator can't force either side to do anything, the one assigned to this particular case, George Cohen, is the most powerful in the game.

Cohen, who has been in direct contact with the two sides for months, was handed federal power to mediate the ongoing dispute, and although he doesn't have the power to decide anything for either party, it's definitely a step in the right direction.

With Cohen in the room, it'll be near impossible for either side to negotiate in bad faith, and with the players continuing to clamor that the owners refuse to negotiate on a level playing field, perhaps his presence will be instrumental in the pursuit of an agreement.

Unfortunately, it's one that should've been taken months ago.

Michael Wilbon wrote a stinging piece for ESPN.com, and it's a must-read for anyone who is truly interested in finding out exactly why this particular lockout has such little resonance in the public sphere.

Here's the part that's going to stick with most casual fans:

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The most recent drop in household income is the largest in several decades and, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, has caused a "significant reduction in the American standard of living."

So with that as the economic backdrop, the NBA has decided to sit it out for a while because the owners and players can't agree on how to split up $4.3 billion. It's difficult to imagine that folks who live in constant fear of losing their jobs, of not being able to make their mortgage payments or pay their kids' tuition or do anything with their money beyond what is absolutely necessary have the stomach for this self-indulgent behavior.

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Perfect.

There are a fair amount of fans who don't understand the full complexities of exactly what is at stake for either side, but a lot of those same fans aren't interested, either.

The response? Millionaires vs. billionaires who can't figure out how to split up the pie.

The NBA is coming off of record ratings, and basketball was the most popular it had been in the public sphere since Michael Jordan walked away from the game, but an extended lockout could have a dire, drastic long-term impact on the game and its popularity.

NBPA Executive Director Billy Hunter joined WFAN for a radio interview on Wednesday and was prompted with a question of whether or not the owners would be willing to cancel an entire season.

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I would hope that they wouldn’t but you can’t tell. I think there are some owners who probably feel that they would do better if the entire season was lost so they could put more money in their pocket.

I think the damage that would be done to the game would be insurmountable, and I don’t think we would recover from it.

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That last line is extremely telling.

What's it saying?

Both sides need to come together and make a deal—before this gets really ugly.