Future of the NBA?

[gpap]

So as a hoops fan, I am starting to worry a little bit about the future of the league.

I mean it wasn't that long ago that there was a lockout that almost wiped out the whole season, then you hear talk that the players might opt out of the current CBA in 2016 or '17 and now this disaster happens with Donald Sterling.

Not to mention, it seems the players and owners have always had a very contentious relationship which I can't imagine is going to improve now with what just happened in LA.

Anyone else worried that there could be another lockout coming in the next few years or perhaps even worse???

It just seems that out of all 4 sports, the NBA always seems to be in the most volatile state

[nickagneta]

I think as soon as the ink on the last CBA dried, everyone involved knew there would be another work stoppage in the near future. The owners won. Their public relations lie that franchises were losing money was bought by the general public and so they took home the winnings. But in doing so, the galvanized the players against them.

So the players have thrown away the old leadership. The owners, from the seemingly endless increases in BRI and franchise values(and recent sale prices), have been shown to be crying wolf over not making money. A strike will be in the near future and dearsay, it probably will have nothing to do with Donald Sterling.

[gpap]

I think as soon as the ink on the last CBA dried, everyone involved knew there would be another work stoppage in the near future. The owners won. Their public relations lie that franchises were losing money was bought by the general public and so they took home the winnings. But in doing so, the galvanized the players against them.

So the players have thrown away the old leadership. The owners, from the seemingly endless increases in BRI and franchise values(and recent sale prices), have been shown to be crying wolf over not making money. A strike will be in the near future and dearsay, it probably will have nothing to do with Donald Sterling.

That's what I was afraid of

The other thing that really bothers me is right now there is no true leader in the NBA, both on the owners and the players side.

Everyone is just concerned with their own personal agenda and brand and could care less about the fans and the welfare of the league.

[D.o.s.]

Next lockout is in 2017, at which time the NBA will probably be more popular than it is today.

[Celtics18]

I think as soon as the ink on the last CBA dried, everyone involved knew there would be another work stoppage in the near future. The owners won. Their public relations lie that franchises were losing money was bought by the general public and so they took home the winnings. But in doing so, the galvanized the players against them.

So the players have thrown away the old leadership. The owners, from the seemingly endless increases in BRI and franchise values(and recent sale prices), have been shown to be crying wolf over not making money. A strike will be in the near future and dearsay, it probably will have nothing to do with Donald Sterling.

That's what I was afraid of

The other thing that really bothers me is right now there is no true leader in the NBA, both on the owners and the players side.

Everyone is just concerned with their own personal agenda and brand and could care less about the fans and the welfare of the league.

I actually think that Chris Paul might prove to be a good leader on the players' side. 

[fairweatherfan]

I think as soon as the ink on the last CBA dried, everyone involved knew there would be another work stoppage in the near future. The owners won. Their public relations lie that franchises were losing money was bought by the general public and so they took home the winnings. But in doing so, the galvanized the players against them.

So the players have thrown away the old leadership. The owners, from the seemingly endless increases in BRI and franchise values(and recent sale prices), have been shown to be crying wolf over not making money. A strike will be in the near future and dearsay, it probably will have nothing to do with Donald Sterling.

Yeah, this has been looming since the lockout.  The owners took the players to the cleaners, and with a team like the freaking Bucks selling for $550 million and a commitment not to move, and the next TV deal (supposedly) about to more than double the last one, the players are going to want a bigger share again.

I think this is partly why Silver keeps floating the 20 year old age limit.  He knows he'll probably have to give up something to the players to keep the league going, so that is a counter-concession he'll ask for from them.

[gpap]

I think as soon as the ink on the last CBA dried, everyone involved knew there would be another work stoppage in the near future. The owners won. Their public relations lie that franchises were losing money was bought by the general public and so they took home the winnings. But in doing so, the galvanized the players against them.

So the players have thrown away the old leadership. The owners, from the seemingly endless increases in BRI and franchise values(and recent sale prices), have been shown to be crying wolf over not making money. A strike will be in the near future and dearsay, it probably will have nothing to do with Donald Sterling.

That's what I was afraid of

The other thing that really bothers me is right now there is no true leader in the NBA, both on the owners and the players side.

Everyone is just concerned with their own personal agenda and brand and could care less about the fans and the welfare of the league.

I actually think that Chris Paul might prove to be a good leader on the players' side.

What worries me about Paul is that he is going to be a very, very hard-nose negotiatior with the owners on behalf of the players...so much so that he would have no qualms about losing a full season.

But regardless, that's 3 years from now. Who knows, maybe there will be a more amicable sentiment in the league during that time.

One thing is for sure. The league needs to keep Sterling away from the Clippers and their day to day operations, for good!

[gpap]

I think as soon as the ink on the last CBA dried, everyone involved knew there would be another work stoppage in the near future. The owners won. Their public relations lie that franchises were losing money was bought by the general public and so they took home the winnings. But in doing so, the galvanized the players against them.

So the players have thrown away the old leadership. The owners, from the seemingly endless increases in BRI and franchise values(and recent sale prices), have been shown to be crying wolf over not making money. A strike will be in the near future and dearsay, it probably will have nothing to do with Donald Sterling.

Yeah, this has been looming since the lockout.  The owners took the players to the cleaners, and with a team like the freaking Bucks selling for $550 million and a commitment not to move, and the next TV deal (supposedly) about to more than double the last one, the players are going to want a bigger share again.

I think this is partly why Silver keeps floating the 20 year old age limit.  He knows he'll probably have to give up something to the players to keep the league going, so that is a counter-concession he'll ask for from them.

As a fan, I think what you hope is that the owners and players begin to find cooperative ways to interact on a business level so when it comes time to negotiate a new CBA, it will be a more amicable process than the last one was.

I've got to think over the  next 3 years, both sides can and will find some "give and take" where the league can continue to grow strong for it's fanbase without any work stoppages.

[Fred Roberts]

the players have the short end of the stick on the one hand. little leverage and a worse deal in the last negotiations.

at the same time, most contracts are guaranteed. the best and most competitive league remains the NFL, where few contracts are guaranteed and teams can maneuver quickly to make moves based on injury, performance dropoff, etc.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

Next lockout is in 2017, at which time the NBA will probably be more popular than it is today.

we will see

[CFAN38]

As a fan I am less worried about lockouts and profit sharing and more with the actual game.

The NBA is in the business of sports entertainment and I worry that the entertainment is overtaking the sport. Say what you want but this league lives of off creating stars. The games are promoted for the stars and the refs are instructed to call in favor of stars.

As Isiah said in the interview after the bad boys 30 for 30. The league used to be dominated by 6'9+ but with the rise of Jordan its now a guards game. The rules are so geared to guards that true post big men are all but gone from the game. This isnt what basketball is supposed to be. If this trend continue we will see more and more teams dominated by 20+ PPG guards surrounded by 3pt shooting wings and glorified SFs for bigs.

I want the physical NBA back that I grew up with.......


also in terms of Silver and the 20yr age limit. I would think the union would be for this. Raising the age limit keeps vets playing longer. I have also read that raising the age limit would coincide with d-league salaries going up. Seems like a win win for the union.

[LooseCannon]

We can avoid a lockout if the owners are fair about splitting the expected increase in TV revenue with the players.

Does anyone believe the owners will be fair?

[gpap]

We can avoid a lockout if the owners are fair about splitting the expected increase in TV revenue with the players.

Does anyone believe the owners will be fair?

Nope...unfortunately.

[Abandoned Diary]

In the next CBA, I think that the players (especially with Chris Paul at the helm) will not cave in easily to the owner's demands. The lockout a couple of years ago gave the players a glimpse of what to expect and how to react (short term contracts to overseas leagues, using social media to maintain brand, etc), and with the skyrocketing prices for NBA franchises, they KNOW that the owners have money to spend.
 
Just like drastic methods like the amnesty clause were introduced, I believe we will see drastic changes like introducing a hard salary cap with no limit individual salaries (just like the NFL.) As mentioned in other posts, smaller markets, with the revenue sharing money and also global marketing opportunities, have similar opportunities to lure free agents and bigger stars by smartly spending money. Given that Durant and Westbrook singlehandedly gave Oklahoma City a global recognition, I am willing to bet that if limits on "max" contracts are removed, there would be a interesting bidding war from all teams.

For instance, if LeBron or Durant became a FA now, they would easily fetch $30+ as salaries. Then of course, the team would face challenges to fill the roster with lesser players with a hard salary cap. This prevents Prokhorov from buying half the league.  Some players would want to receive less to play with certain players (Payton and Malone at the Lakers, etc.) but if you're Kevin Love or Demar Derozan, would you receive $25m to play for Sacramento to get $15m to play with Westbrook in LA?