Amare suggests that the players start their own league

[looseball]

This comes as no surprise to me.  The league has been promoting the individual players as the reason for fans to come to games and watch on TV.  They don't seem to promote the TEAMS much any more.  So it seems natural for the players to think they are bigger than the league.  We've already witnessed the beginning of this trend with the "big three" deciding to team up in Miami.

[Donoghus]

There's only two men suited for the job:

William Bellamy and Daniel Cortez

Someone scour all the Burger Kings.  Dan Cortez must be found!

[BballTim]

Right, and then 10 years down the line, the league is either a huge failure, or they are in the same situation where the players and owners are fighting over revenues and systems, just with new faces and names.

Maybe, maybe not. I hope it doesn't come to that, but the threat of it is a guillotine hanging over the heads of the current owners, as they are technically more replaceable than the players. It's the elephant in the room for those that say the players have "no leverage".

The owners may be replaceable, but are their arenas and the television deals they've negotiated equally capable of being replaced?  My guess would be no.

  Do they all own their arenas?

[bballee]

Was done before.  ABA so successful it eventually forced NBA to merge it into the league.  Brought us the three-point shot.  

As for the (likely) fewer teams issue, most of us could name a couple of dozen players that don't/no-longer belong in the league and there are already a couple of roster-full's playing abroad.  So perhaps not so huge a problem.

Think the Murdock/FOX idea is insightful.

Love the idea as I'm pretty disgusted with the petulant billionaires.

lee

[thirstyboots18]

“If we don’t go to Europe then let’s to start our own league,” Stoudemire told a group of reporters. “That’s how I see it. It’s very serious. Yeah. It’s very, very serious. It’s a matter of us coming up with a plan, blueprint and putting it together. So we’ll see how this lockout goes. If it goes one or two years, then we got to start our own league.” That’s how Stoudemire had intended to end the interview, but he was persuaded to expand on that thought a few minutes later. “If it don’t resolve then we’re thinking about starting our own league,” he continued.

Link

Good idea.  Ha.  After a couple years, instead of fighting with the owners, they can fight with each other.

[Moranis]

My guess is if the players really did this, the league would have 16 teams, 8 per conference, 4 per division.  It would exist only in the major markets (or places people would want to play) and would have something like a 60 game season (8*3 div, 5*4 conference, 2*8 other conf.)

Eastern Conference
NE
Boston
New York
Philly
Toronto

SE
Miami
Atlanta
Wash D.C.
Orlando


Western Conference
SW
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Denver
Phoenix

MW
Chicago
Detroit
Houston
Dallas


You get a good national mix, you cover only cities that have teams and are large and/or can easily support a team, and you load the teams up with talent.  

[Celtics4ever]

I would not support a league that didn't include the Boston Celtics, period.

[Roy H.]

My guess is if the players really did this, the league would have 16 teams, 8 per conference, 4 per division.  It would exist only in the major markets (or places people would want to play) and would have something like a 60 game season (8*3 div, 5*4 conference, 2*8 other conf.)

Eastern Conference
NE
Boston
New York
Philly
Toronto

SE
Miami
Atlanta
Wash D.C.
Orlando


Western Conference
SW
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Denver
Phoenix

MW
Chicago
Detroit
Houston
Dallas


You get a good national mix, you cover only cities that have teams and are large and/or can easily support a team, and you load the teams up with talent.  

Let's take this as an example.  Where would the Boston team play?  The Garden is already under lease to the Celtics.  What other indoor venues in the area are going to hold the number of necessary fans?

[Donoghus]

My guess is if the players really did this, the league would have 16 teams, 8 per conference, 4 per division.  It would exist only in the major markets (or places people would want to play) and would have something like a 60 game season (8*3 div, 5*4 conference, 2*8 other conf.)

Eastern Conference
NE
Boston
New York
Philly
Toronto

SE
Miami
Atlanta
Wash D.C.
Orlando


Western Conference
SW
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Denver
Phoenix

MW
Chicago
Detroit
Houston
Dallas


You get a good national mix, you cover only cities that have teams and are large and/or can easily support a team, and you load the teams up with talent.  

Let's take this as an example.  Where would the Boston team play?  The Garden is already under lease to the Celtics.  What other indoor venues in the area are going to hold the number of necessary fans?

Put 'em in the Woo!!!

DCU Center, baby!

[Moranis]

My guess is if the players really did this, the league would have 16 teams, 8 per conference, 4 per division.  It would exist only in the major markets (or places people would want to play) and would have something like a 60 game season (8*3 div, 5*4 conference, 2*8 other conf.)

Eastern Conference
NE
Boston
New York
Philly
Toronto

SE
Miami
Atlanta
Wash D.C.
Orlando


Western Conference
SW
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Denver
Phoenix

MW
Chicago
Detroit
Houston
Dallas


You get a good national mix, you cover only cities that have teams and are large and/or can easily support a team, and you load the teams up with talent.  

Let's take this as an example.  Where would the Boston team play?  The Garden is already under lease to the Celtics.  What other indoor venues in the area are going to hold the number of necessary fans?

Plenty of college venues, but who is to say they couldn't play in the Garden.  If there are no Celtics it might be quite possible that the Garden is in fact a viable option.  It would obviously depend on the lease agreement, but much as the players contracts aren't honored, perhaps the Garden's isn't either.

[nickagneta]

Those owners know exactly what it takes to make a successful league

Really?

If that's true why are they claiming to be in an unsustainable system and claiming to be losing $300 million a year as a league?

By their own words and actions, it doesn't sound like they do know what it takes to make a successful league

[nickagneta]

For those arenas that currently have leases with the NBA, sooner or later they are going to want to start taking dates assigned to the NBA and putting on replacement entertainment.

If this is a year or two undertaking, I could see some of those venues making themselves available to a new league, especially if the NBA is not honoring their contractual obligations by providing games to be put on at those venues.

I'll bet John Henry would have no problem finding money to become an owner in this new league, if he thought it could work. Big if though, Henry usually invests in sure things.

[thirstyboots18]

Can't wait until they decide a salary scale...bet that would be a very interesting discussion.

[looseball]

I would not support a league that didn't include the Boston Celtics, period.

How about the Boston Heretics?

[Celtics4ever]

Nope, I am a Celtic fan, period.   I despise most other teams and players.