I heard that 15 NBA teams are not making money or losing money, if this is the case, I see a huge reduction in player salary or a lockout in 2011. Fortunately, the rockets are doing well according to our GM.
I don't know if this has been said, but the NBA better be careful with these negotiations. If they try to short change the players, star players like Lebron met bolt overseas, where I read somewhere last year, that if a team over there offered Lebron 50 mill a season, he might think about it. So the NBA better be careful or else they risk losing star players overseas.
I question whether that's a real possibility b/c a guy like Lebron wants to win his first ring in the NBA. However, there's been that talk that Lebron wants to be a billionaire. Well, if he signed for $50MM overseas in the top euroleague in a major city, he would be an international icon immediately. In recent years, you've had a few above average players head to europe (e.g. Josh Childress to Greece). You've always had the Bonzi's and fringe players over there. Well, if the money dries up in the NBA and an above average player facing a 5-6MM contract here as opposed to $10-12MM contract in Europe -- he has to really think about it, especially if the guy has fewer than 5 years left in earning capacity. I think you'd see a fair number of average+ players head overseas and dilute the league a little. That "middle class" leaves, and then you have a bunch of guys making the lower max, a few mid tier players, a bunch of bench players, and then draft picks. the GM that said it is right, this would give teams great incentive to tank because your best bet is to pick the next stud in the draft.
Now I'm kinda hoping that the mid level players would all go to the Euroleague. There'll be such a huge discrepancy between the top players and the rest. Plus we'll finally have another basketball league threaten the NBA with talent and popularity. I'm tired of the NBA's changing the rules to make the game "fun" to watch and Dictator Sperm almost single handedly erasing the era of the bigs. I don't like their silly little rules and the NBA has become almost unwatchable for me in the last decade. I hope the NBA shortchanges the players and a hard cap will be set very low and the players will have a lock out with their **** out. and let the exodus begin.
Thanks for posting this. I thought I was answering his question, but now that I re-read my post (above yours) it looks a little mean hearted, which wasn't the case. A little elaboration never hurt.
