The Economic Battle of The NBA Lockout
 |
| Miami Heat's forward, LeBron James, sits after disappointing play in 2011 NBA finals |
With several people still in shock of the 2011 NBA finals, where the revamped Miami Heat, with additions of superstars LeBron James and Chris Bosh. Came up short against the underdog Dallas Mavericks, led by Dirk Nowitzki. As a Heat fan, what could be worse than this? Although no fan saw this coming, inside the NBA this was just a matter of time. As the 2012 NBA season approached, with training camps around the corner. The NBA commissioner, David Stern announced that the NBAP and NBA could not meet at mutual terms, and all facilities and games would be canceled indefinably. Now this a sports fans' worse nightmare, many thought we would not have a 2012 season at all. Several fans actually did not completely know why this as occurring, but it is actually quite simple. The big picture was that, the small market teams, such as Indianapolis, Charlotte or Sacramento, began asking for more money. But, The Larger market teams like New York, LA or even Miami, said to ask the Players. The players, who already have limited bargaining power, gave up a lot of money in the beginning of the season. Even with this, the owners, led by small market teams wanted even more money. Which led to the players to take legal actions, while willing to sacrifice their season and playoffs, before accepting any other offers from the owners.
Below is an exert from YES Sports, talking to David Stern about the lockout
That move by the NBAP, would give them some leverage to the situation at hand. while owners do own the most power, no players equals no games, no games means no income, and that's what it's all about. The NBAP president, Derek Fisher, a current NBA player, was very prompt to respond to the situation, with multiple press conferences addressing the lockout, and he wasn't alone. Several players, including franchise names like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and even Chris Paul joined beside him to show their unified statement. But, as the battle went on, more and more games began to be canceled, which led people to infer that the players are now being greedy and selfish. This created even more complications with the owners and the players coming to an agreement.
 |
| Derek Fisher, and NBA players, addressing multiple topics at a NBAP press conference |
In the past, traditional NBA owners were in the game for the fun, the
control, and the bragging rights. They made money through franchise fan base; there was less emphasis on short-term revenue. The newer group of owners bought high, are more corporate oriented, and the financial crisis renewed their sense of
vulnerability. They’ve poured a lot of money into those teams and they
aren’t comfortable with any financial pimple, even if it's a small one. The players last year made roughly $1.5 billion dollars total in NBA salary, and that's without endorsement influences. While the owners were only looking at a $500 million cut. Although this might sound absurd for them to deny, accepting could throw any control they had or could gain in the future. in a sense, the players have far more to lose than the owners. Seeing that the owners have other lucrative income other than NBA, while the players, basketball is their life and occupation.
Below is NBA Player CBA press conference, on the NBA draft night
With the NBA in a utter battle of mutual ground, the fans, including me were waiting to see when the next basketball related would occur. With no games in November, fans were growing anxious and quite annoyed by this strike. Some were divided, some thought it was the players greed for more and more money, while others thought it was the all business owners. Here is what some people thought about the NBA lockout from the AFP YouTube channel
 |
| David Stern and Adam Silver, press conference after the bargain session |
The NBA eventually began on Christmas day, December 25 2012, with a shortened season of 66 games, with no affect on the playoffs. With multiple NBA players holding street tournaments and charity games during the lockout, that could only give the fans a little taste of what was really important, actual, competitive NBA games. With the all of this in the past now, these teams had one soul purpose on their mind, and that was to win a NBA championship, and no one was more hungry than the Miami Heat. with the bitter lose to the Mavs still in their head, they accomplished a 66 win record, and went on to win the NBA finals, against the young but talented Oklahoma City Thunder, led by Kevin Durant. With LeBron James winning his first ring, and the NBA Lockout, the 2012 NBA season was far from boring. As a fan, and a sports lover, you never want to see an event like this happen again. We can only hope in that in the future, the owners and players can meet in the middle, before another lockout can destroy the game of basketball for everyone.
Below are some interesting and very informative articles on the NBA and the lockout
No comments:
Post a Comment