I think the owners are dealing the hard ball to break the union, plain and simple. I don't believe their losses are even close to what they claim them to be. Franchises are selling at a rate of about $400 million per franchise, a very healthy number. Ratings are excellent for the NBA playoffs. Instead of dealing in good faith and trying to resolve the real issues(guaranteed contracts that kill teams, length of guaranteed contracts, a major reduction of the MLE to lower the NBAPA middle class, a better compensation system for losing free agents than sign and trades, a reduction of the yearly maximum pay raise, a reduction of the BRI to an NHL level) they have gone nuclear and want a complete redo with a breaking of the union.
I absolutely agree that the owners are going WAY over the top here to break the union. And I am sure they are presenting their numbers in a way that makes things favor them in the negotations (just like the players are doing, and anyone else does in negotations).
But I still think the current system is not sustainable, and there are a number of teams who are stuck with choosing between trying to put a quality product on the floor and losing money, or keeping costs at a financially viable number, but risk alienating their fans by putting an inferior product out there.
The simple fact that the owners are willing to sacrifice games and perhaps an entire season by playing hardball makes me believe that they really are losing a lot of money here.
Ultimately, they are going to have to compromise though. Both the players and the owners. Right now, they are both on the extremes. The players are going to have to give up significant salary, and the owners are going to have to either share a lot more money, or live with a system of "haves and have-nots". Unfortunately, I don't see either side budging on those for a long time...