Who's more to blame for the nba lockout? The owners? Or players?

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   Stevennix2001posted 12 years ago

   Okay, it looks like the preseason is cancelled, and unless a miracle happens, it looks like the first two weeks of the regular season will be canned as well.  Balked at the disgust of the owners proposing a 50-50 split of the revenue, the Player's union has refused to negotiate before the deadline on Monday that would otherwise save the regular season.  Who's really at fault here?  The players for wanting too much money?  Or the owners that are being too greedy?  Or is it both?
   
   here's a link for more details:
   
   http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/70728 … ources-say

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   Cagsilposted 12 years ago

   Both. It just shows that neither one of them gives a damn about the fans. Plain and simple.

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      Nickaloochposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      precisely. I blame solely David Stern and the players for being so greedy. Stern let things get out of hand over the past few years and I don't see this getting resolved anytime soon.
      
      even the average players are incredibly over paid but i think around christmas time basketball will be back, and get some of the worst ratings ever because how much it will have pissed people off. It's a broken sport because of mismanagement from the front offices and the commish. It's a shame to because i thought the recent playoffs were some of the best games in a long time.

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      Stevennix2001posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I agree. I think both are only interested in looking after themselves, as both sides seem to be willing to lose games at this point to see which one flinches first; while being unsympathetic on how this will hurt their fan base.

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   Nickaloochposted 12 years ago

   it's incredibly stupid when the general public already has a negative outlook on the NBA for the most part.
   
   I may just resort to watching College Basketball much more intensely in fact lol

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   optimus grimlockposted 12 years ago

   stupidity! They get there best ratings in almost 20 ears and they strike. You figure they would look at the ratings and realise that money comes with ratings but no greed takes over and we have this b.s.!

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   LakeShow Tposted 12 years ago

   First off, I am going to continue to put my neck out there and go against the grain and say that this deal gets done either on the Monday deadline or soon thereafter (in which case the season would start two weeks late).
   
   Second, I don't think any side is to blame. What has happened here was inevitable. Many, if not most, owners are losing boatloads of money each season. How are they to feel, knowing they can't compete for big name players against larger markets. Then there are the owners that make boatloads of money each year. Both types of owners are pitted against each other. Then there is the players against both types of owners and commissioner Stern. In the past the players have walked away with the most favorable labor agreements of any sport. Can't fault them for that. That's Stern and the owners' fault. And now that the NBA is starting to take in great revenue once again they want the players to take a massive pay cut. Put yourselves in the players' shoes on that one. Imagine your employer is taking in massive profits and is requiring you to take a 7-10% paycut. That would be hard to stomach.
   
   I think the problem compared to other sports is how the revenue is shared amongst the whole league. Football is so much more balanced in terms of teams' ability to compete because of it. The structure basketball has had for as long as I know makes it a league of haves and have nots in terms of players and successful owners and franchises.

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      Stevennix2001posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Well that's awfully optimistic of you Lakeshow, but it looks like things are heading towards the worse.
      
      I beg to differ with you on that.  Although you do bring up some excellent points, but this all goes back to how both parties are only looking out for what's best for themselves, while giving the proverbial middle finger to the fanbase, as neither side really seems to give a damn if they lose fans or not if it means getting their way. 
      
      
      
      However, if the owners were really concerned about losing , then they would've had the revenue sharing strategy mapped out before the last season ended, as it was reported on ESPN by J.A. Adande.  You're right, the owners are morons in the sense that they allowed the players to eventually gain the amount of leverage that they have today in these negotiations.  If the owners would've been this stern back in the last labor dispute, then none of this would've been necessary, as they certainly had more control over the situation.  Back in the labor dispute, the NBA was not as globally advertised the way it is today, and there was certainly no FIBA tournaments every summer to give it's star players more exposure.  Now that Stern over the years has promoted the NBA as more of an international sport, this has only given the players more leeway in the negotiations.  Now, the NBA owners are just expecting the players to bail them out of their bad business decisions.  If Stern and the owners were this gung ho back in the last labor dispute, then they might've gotten everything they wanted.  However, to do it now after the rating highs of last season, it's just bad business practice on their part to expect everything, and it'll only cost them in the long run.
      
      I couldn't agree more with this part of your statement.
      
        Although that's a fine analogy, you fail to see that NBA players aren't working normal 9-5 jobs. No, these guys are freaking millionaires, and some are probably billionaires themselves thanks to their accumulated endorsements along with their player salaries. 
      
      In fact, I'm sure you remember the infamous Latrell Sprewell line in the last lockout, "I don't make enough money to feed my family!" And if memory serves me correctly, wasn't he making almost ten million a year?  Or around that number if I'm not mistaken?  Oh yea, but you're right...we should sympathize with the players that b**** and whine about money to feed their families even though they make more than over half the citizens in the United States, and they're basically working the most overpaid jobs in the world.  After all, isn't basketball a kid's game?  Therefore, why should I feel sorry for some whiny millionaire baby that can't handle his money, and his whining about taking a paycut over a job that's essentially means he's being paid to play a kid's game.... Yeah...good luck convincing me to feel sorry for the players, as NOTHING you can say will make me feel sorry for jerks like Kobe or LeBron, as the very nature of their job makes them overpaid by definition.  Period.
      
      
      
      Well there's no argument that the NFL still continues to serve as the business model that almost all the other league sports aspire to. Unfortunately though, with the way that both the NBA and MLB structure is, I doubt seriously they'll ever have the same model for various reasons.  Hockey might have a good chance now that the owners have full control over everything like they wanted in their last labor dispute, but the problem with Hockey is that the NHL doesn't know how to promote their product that well; hence I don't think you can really duplicate the NFL's success.  Not even if you open a league playing the same damn sport either, as the XFL proved that.   
      
      However, you do make a lot of good arguments here, and I respect your opinion.  Unfortunately, I'll be very surprised if we even have a half season like the last labor dispute in the nba ended up with.

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   optimus grimlockposted 12 years ago

   if any sport needs contraction its the nba!

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   Ron Montgomeryposted 12 years ago

   Obama

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   optimus grimlockposted 12 years ago

   sounds like its middle east fantasy basketball league this year! I here Iran has a good point guard lol.

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   transformbodyposted 12 years ago

   I would blame both sides and money. It's fight between millionaires and billionaires, and They still want more money...

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