Was the Melo-Drama too much for you to handle? Well, during this lockout the new fad seems to be: Will he or wont he play ball overseas? In my best Valley Girl speak I'd like to say, "Like, totally gag me with a spoon." Could there be a more boring topic of conversation for journalists to "report" on? Will Austin Daye play overseas? … who cares! Sure, I will care once guys start playing in Europe or wherever, but this "he might" nonsense is making my head hurt.
During the NBA season my Twitter feed can be an interesting read. An abundance of stories about trades, player's lives, road trips, in-fighting among teams and other stories can be found. So far this off-season all we have is lockout talk that is at this point basically regurgitated viewpoints about which side (owners or players) needs to bend so a new deal can get done. And now this latest craze of "will he or wont he…" is hitting my feed and suddenly I'm feeling the lockout strain (already!).
You know things are getting bad when you find yourself checking out pictures on Twitter of J.R. Smith’s trip to a zoo and knowing random things like Smith has been sporting a red Mohawk, Gary Forbes thinks he’s in the movie Space Jam, and Wilson Chandler continues to make little to no sense in his posts. It’s going to be a looooong and bumpy ride.
The crazy thing to me about this lockout is the potential damage it may cause to the end of some serious careers, the trades that may never happen, and the loss of the “what if” to things like the second season of the Miami Heat.
Will the twilight (no vampire) of the careers of Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, and others be ruined by a prolonged lockout? Will we get to see a massive Dwight Howard trade or will he hit the free agent market with a season ending lockout? Will Ty Lawson’s growth be stunted by this? Will Danilo Gallinari‘s? What is going to happen to Nene? How much room will the Nuggets have in free agency if the 2011-12 season doesn’t happen and how will they spend that money?
I can’t say I don’t care what happens between the players and owners and between the owners and owners. The system the NBA was running on was flawed and it needs to be fixed. My Lakers fan friend is not really being affected by this lockout – sure he’s slightly worried about the end of Bryant’s career – but Lakers fans know that once things get underway again, their team will be fine. But what about Nuggets fans and other mid-small market teams?
Will our teams be able to compete from a financial standpoint with the big markets once this lockout is over? If not, then why the heck is there even a work stoppage? If the real problems are not going to be addressed and band-aids are going to continue to be applied to bullet wounds, then this will all wind up being a massive waste of time.
The money being made in the NBA is has to go somewhere. Some want player salaries to be reduced, but will that just mean more money in the owners' pockets? What's the point of that? Will revenue sharing ever be truly addressed? I hope it will, but I'm not too optimistic.
Some folks want to see a revenue sharing system like Major League Baseball has implemented. There are definitely some pros to that system, but the one con that worries me is: if revenue sharing is properly put into place, will owners feel the need to put a quality team together? The Pittsburgh Pirates haven't been any good since I was a kid (and they could never get past the Atlanta Braves … and they had a skinny outfielder named Barry Bonds) and they don't seem to ever be willing to spend money on their players, but they continue to get a piece of the revenue pie. Why?
Just like how players sometimes have incentives built into their contracts, I think NBA teams should have incentive based revenue sharing. If teams like the Nuggets, Lakers, Heat, Celtics, Grizzlies, and others show that they are spending money and trying to compete for the title then they should be rewarded more-so than others teams that don’t appear to have a plan (Timberwolves) or don’t care to (Clippers).
I guess until this all gets worked out we will just have to keep reading why Metta World Peace might go play in England … blah.
If this were golf, then we'd hit the links … but for now – just read them:
Do the Players — and Cities — Really Need NBA Owners? David Berri, Huffington Post
Pretty interesting little article right here. The lockout gives us time for radical thinking…
Russell statue site to be disclosed today – Boston.com
About time don't you think???
University of Miami to Wear LeBron James Branded Nike Gear – Slam Online
What better way to say: We are gunning for SECOND PLACE! How many more times will I be able to make that sort of joke?
Lockout: The TV problem – Ethan Sherwood Strauss, Hoopspeak.com
Pretty good read about the massive money tied up in TV contracts with the NBA.
NBA Rumors – Inside Hoops.com
Amare … will he or wont he!?! Some talk on Shane Battier and more.
Jeff Van Gundy: Yao is a Hall of Famer – Matt Moore, NBC Sports Pro Basketball Talk
Sorry Mr. Van Gundy, but I disagree … too bad about Yao though, he was a good guy, a better player, and is an even better person. Can I write check? will always remind me of Yao.
A funny thing happened to the Lakers' Ron Artest – Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times
Great read by Plaschke on one of the most interesting NBA personalities.
Do You Only Live Once? Experiments Suggest Life Not One-Time Deal – Robert Lanza, M.D., Huffington Post
Like to freak yourself out or read about stuff outside the box? Check this story out.
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