The real issue is this: The economy has tanked and EVERYONE is hurting. Businesses are losing money and everyday employees have had to sacrifice (some without a choice if they have a 401K). How hard is it for the players to understand that If the company you work for is losing money and continues to lose money it will go OUT OF BUSINESS!?! Unless the players can prove that the greatest economic collapse of our lifetime didn't effect the NBA they need to do what every other american is doing and make sacrifices. If they want to instead play in Europe then be my guest and enjoy your 50% pay cut.
These players just need to take some sort of money management class before entering the NBA. Someone in their early 20s coming straight out of college and making millions probably isn't to know what to do with it, other than spend, spend, spend!
The NBA is no where close to going OUT OF BUSINESS. The NBA's revenue is increasing, actually. Player salaries being set at 57% under the old agreement, increases with it at the same rate. The issue is that its costs excluding player salaries are increasing at an even higher rate. The argument is whether this higher rate of increase is a function of mis-management or a function of it simply costs more to promote the business.
oh wait, THEY DO!! It's called The Rookie Transition Program Oh and Carl Harrera, if they are making money then why are Small Market teams they ones that want to sacrifce the season? If the majority of NBA owners were making money then they would have wanted the season to start already but that's not the case. maybe 30% of NBA teams (Lakers, Celtics, Bulls, etc.) are making money but they rest aren't
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/CBA-fallout-111020/nba-lockout-lack-deal-not-too-surprising :grin:
The absurd amount of work that most of these guys have put in to become elite deserves to be paid in elite fashion. The reason most people don't make it is because they are not willing to put in the work that it takes to reach such a level. Sure, most people would play for free, but they would never do the work that comes with it, which is a ridiculous amount that 99.9 percent of people on the earth have never experienced.
Do you think the owners are going to be taking a "pay cut" of their salaries along with the players? The NBA is a long way from going bankrupt, its just that management of certain team have run their teams into the ground with bad business deals and overspending. I agree that the NBA has teams that took a hit, but it was not due to the economy. It was bad ownership and management.
I agree with this statment mostly, but the fact is, this has nothing to do with whether the Players deserve their salaries or not. The fact is, we are dealing with a monopoly by economic standards, that is trying to manipulate more power away from their main source of income. I for one, support their right to form a Union to protect not just their pocketbooks, but their rights as workers.
Then put in revenue sharing. Make the Lakers and Celtics share with the Kings and Bobcats. That will fix things. Instead, the owners just want to rob the players rather than get their crap together. That's the problem.
But what you fail to realize is that monopoly you are referring to, amounts to a few select teams who hold all the cards. What you and the players need to realize is that while it is all well and good that they are find with business as usual, without the rest of 20 plus teams, you don't have a league, or enough money to go around, if they say I'm taking my money elsewhere. The players WANT to side with the big teams, but that really isn't in their best interest. Contraction is only a good thing for the players if salary cap principles are abandon and the rest of the small market teams go along with it. That just isn't going to happen any more.
Agreed. It's ridiculous when people act like NBA players are "given" everything. Sure they had a head start in terms of talent, but most of them worked their way up. I mean there are dozens of guys way way more athletic than Steve Nash but the amount of time a guy like him puts into perfecting a shot is downright scary.
Hell Yeah! We Bust our butts to be the best! signed, Eddy Curry, Kelvin Cato, Rarshard Lewis, Hedo Turkuglu and countless others...
Horse**** ! Some of these guys put in the work, but a good number of them just happened to win the DNA lottery. DD
Your "good number" is actually better expressed as "some"...just like some movie stars, singers and all models (many who just get lucky with success). NBA players are essentially entertainers who many fans think shouldn't be paid like other entertainment industry "DNA lottery winners."
I think that players can thrive in a system that benefits ALL teams and ALL players. To dismiss a good, viable working model of the nba WITH CONSTRAINTS because a few select players cannot get an extra 10 million a year, or that an entitled team can't spend other teams into financial ruin in free agency, is not smart. I'm all for free market, but just like you don't want the inmates running the asylum, you also don't want a few selected teams dictating market value for lesser teams and spending them to death. Those poor 500 million dollar players that you are trying to "protect" is killing the nba for the rest of the players. Make no mistake, this isn't about the middle class average player. This is about the greedy upper end superstars that want business as usual.
This!!!!! Why can't people understand this?! We should end the debate here. End the freaking thread. Anyone who debates this needs to just leave. I am seriously getting fed up with this garbage. The ironic thing is, Europe's economy is a mess right now. Great thinking players. Have fun over there... See if you get treated any differently.
So much bull**** in this post. If you ever truly worked hard for anything in your life, maybe you would understand. NBA players are now immune to the recession in our country? Do you realize how many people have worked tirelessly to be elite at something, only to be compensated far less than a basketball player? Basketball players have become larger than life for some of you. It's just really sad.... When a company loses money they fix the problem. End of discussion.
What would you do if someone handed you ownership of a team like Milwaukee or Indiana right now? You would probably cut player salaries first because they're by far the greatest cost to your business. The "bad business deals and overspending" you're talking about is directly related to the CBA currently being negotiated.
