The year 2011 is a hard year for basketball fans. There is a player lockdown in effect, which will probably end up costing half of the season. Why did the owners resort to a player lockdown? And is there anything that can be done in order to save the 2011/2012 season?
The National Basketball Association was founded in 1946. Ever since, the NBA has created a big name for itself, making basketball one of the most popular sports in the USA. Unfortunately, lockdowns are part of almost every sport. They are the result of owners losing millions of dollars. It’s hard to believe, but the NBA has lost over $600 million during the past two seasons. However, this hasn’t prevented teams from spending hundreds of millions on just a few players. This is what the owners do not agree with.
What is the National Basketball Association player lockdown? It means that the NBA has closed down all operations. There will be no games until the issues get resolved. Salaries also won’t be paid. Unfortunately, the new season is supposed to start in November, and there is virtually no time left for bargaining.
So is the lockdown a Lose-Lose situation? First of all, the owners are already losing money. However, they are not the only ones involved in the NBA. Basketball players will not receive salaries if they’re not playing. There are also many regular people involved in the NBA who will also be left without work. Basketball fans are not getting to watch their favorite teams compete. Even though the lockdown is a lose-lose situation, no one is giving in.
What do professional basketball players want? They want their salaries to be sky high, even if they are not performing well on the court. This usually will not be an issue, if it wasn’t for the $300 million loss the owners suffered during the previous season. Enforcing a hard cap means that smaller teams will become more competitive. On the other hand, teams like the Los Angeles Lakers will not be able to spend $100 million from the single player.
The National Basketball Association has been shaken, and it is almost certain that the new season will be a disaster. A lockdown is not good for anyone, but the owners want to see a profit and they’re not baking down. Their demands are two. First, putting a limit to the amount of money each team can spend on an individual player. And second, being able to break a contract if a player’s performance significantly plunderers.