http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2009/08/as_labor_challenges_grow_nba_a.html lol @ who's organizing it.
"Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert, Phoenix's Robert Sarver and Oklahoma City's Clay Bennett are all on the committee", from the article. are they the only committe members?
I think it's gonna happen and the owners are going to get what they want and the players will get slam-dunked. The relationship between the union and the league will become more adversarial than ever.
I think the twist to this potential lockout is that the owners themselves aren't in great financial shape either. This isn't like your normal lockout, where the players are hurting a lot more due to many of them living paycheck to paycheck.
That is why the owners should be able to kick the players in the rear this time and the union will never forgive them.
get rid of guaranteed contracts, and don't set a limit on on what players can earn... make if more like the NFL.
I think this will be the big chip on the table. I think they players will take less money over all to keep these in place.
We could tank this season increasing our chances of winning John Wall sweepstakes.....make some noise in free agency next season,... and make some trades this off season, Shane to Portland for Webster , Fernandez and Oulaw.......and with Yao coming back we can make a title run for the short 2010/11 season with our lineup.... Wall- Brooks/ Lowry Webster- Fernandez/Wafer(this off season) Ariza- Outlaw/Amir Johnson(2010 FA)/ Burdinger Bosh(2010 FA)- Scola/Landry Yao- Pryzbilla(2010 FA)/ Andersen and the cool thing about this team, it wouldn't just be a one year run....(with Scola & Yao being the Oldest on the team, both would be 30 yrs old).....and John Wall would be our new Franchise Player...
Dude...you're totally hijacking this thread. I hope the lockout doesn't happen. I thought with the cap going down so much, owners who are struggling financially would be happy? Especially since so many are cleared out by 2011. Hrm...let's see how this pans out.
If we have another lock out... I don't know what I will do... in the fall and spring.. basketball is life.. along with my tv shows.... can't live without either.
Actually, that's a strength for the owners in two respects: several of the owners will be better off financially NOT playing a season (and bleeding money from a payroll that revenue does not support), and the league can use those examples as leverage in the negotiations to reduce player salaries. Things I'd like to see, without suggesting that they are realistic: 1. Flip the frequency of the MLE and the LLE MLE every other year (teams can choose to "bank" it), LLE every year. There are too many regrettable MLE deals handed out. 2. Reduce the MLE max years to 4, and LLE to 3 3. Increase the length of regular (non-exception money) contracts to a max length of 6 years, but with a 'lemon clause' team option after the second year to buy out the contract for the value of the 3rd year salary. The buy out removes the contract from the team's cap and lux tax obligations after the 3rd year. 4a. Work with the NCAA and tweak the draft eligibility so that if a player accepts a college scholarship, he is ineligible for the draft for three years (even if he leaves the school before that time). This is to end the one-and-done plague that is not working out well for the NCAA or NBA. 4b. Give each NBDL team a single roster exception that permits them to pay a prospect (non-guaranteed) $100k for the season. This gives high school players that are not cut out for college a legitimate option other than Europe. 5a. Tweak the luxury tax: add a second tax line at 140% of the cap (this year, ~ $81M) after which teams pay $2-per-1 for salary above this line. This adds a little more teeth to the tax to discourage teams like the Knicks, Lakers, or Mavs from exorbitant payrolls while also increasing the revenue sharing for small market teams such as Milwaukee. 5b. Tweak the lux tax so that teams that are at or below 5% of the tax line do not pay on their tax but do not share in the revenue distribution. This allows leeway so that teams do not trade away playersor only keep 12 men on the roster to avoid a $4M-$6M swing in revenue. 6. Players that are traded during the season and subsequently waived are eligible to return to their former team after 3 weeks, but are ineligible for the playoffs. 7. Close the Keith Van Horn S&T loophole.
Cry me a river. These owners want to do away with guaranteed contracts because they were dumb enough to sign bad contracts. Why not do away with contracts all together? Have players receive a relatively small signing bonus and get paid based on a monthly salary. Allow owners to fire players as they see fit and allow players to apply for new jobs whenever they want. Yes, it seems extreme but that would be my only other option. I'd rather they just keep the the guaranteed contracts. The leverage should go both ways. Either no one has a hold on the other's finances or both are frozen for the duration of the contract.
