End of the NBA Lockout = A Huge Exhale

I'm looking forward to seeing action shots on the court -
not pictures of Billy Hunter (left) and David Stern (right).

Many people asked me why I stopped blogging, even with the scary-but-realistic possibility of no 2011-12 NBA season.  They said I could write about the lockout and what I thought about it.  I could’ve written a general synopsis of the labor negotiations.  I could’ve made an assessment on the position of both sides, and whether I sided with the NBA or the Players Union.  I could’ve followed the constant cycle of rumors and constant teases of a possible labor deal, only to learn that the talks broke down.  But I didn’t bother. 

Now that we’ve been given an early Christmas gift with this weekend’s tentative agreement in place, I can finally vent about the lockout and tell you why I’ve been quiet this whole time…

I hated every moment of the lockout.  HATED it.  I hated talking about sh*t that has nothing to do with the game itself.  I hated all the over-analysis of the 150-day long negotiation process.  During a time we were supposed to talk about free agency and everything else in the basketball landscape, we were only hearing news about progress (or lack thereof) being made in negotiations.  I just couldn’t stand the thought of enduring several months with no basketball to watch.  I even tried watching some college basketball recently, as I was resigned to the fact that an NBA season probably wasn’t going to happen.  Couldn’t do it.

Players union President Derek Fisher is one of the few
who knew what really went down behind the scenes.

Fear of loss wasn’t the only thing that kept me from blogging.  In general, I just stay away from forming my own opinion in politics – especially when I’m not involved directly.  In fact, I don’t know if any basketball analysts or bloggers are collective bargaining experts (although they sure tried to act like it).  Did any of us really know what went down during the labor talks?  Not really.  All the reports emphasized the difference in the split of Basketball Related Income (BRI), the salary cap flexibility, and other contractual terms.  However, even when the two sides appeared to be making ground on those contentious issues, it didn’t result in a deal.  So really, we don’t know exactly what the hold-up was. 

But here’s what we know for sure:  neither the owners nor players gained any popularity over this time period.  It is hard for fans to sympathize with billionaires and millionaires arguing about money, and understandably so, given how much was at stake.  It also became evident that there was a growing divide amongst both the players and owners.  Both sides tried to hide that fact in order to maintain their hand, but that’s a near impossible feat in today’s social network-ridden world, where there are too many outlets for everyone to express their opinion.  Even though this has been looked at as the owners vs. players, it became obvious that there was no unity on either side.  We've seen evidence of this from Miami Heat owner Micky Arison, as well as Dallas' DeShawn Stevenson's comments about Billy Hunter.  If the lockout were to go on any longer, things were only going to derail from there.  Paychecks were going to be missed, and 75% of the players that can’t afford to miss games were going to get even more pissed off.  When that happens, it’s best to just take the offer on the table and give the fans what they want before everyone is alienated from the NBA.

If all goes as planned, things will start to get interesting on December 9^th, the targeted start date of training camp.  We still haven’t had free agency, and that could very well change the landscape of the season.  Also, will there indeed be an All-Star Game in Orlando in mid-February?  Are we having 3 ½ months of a jam-packed 66-game schedule, or are games going to get pushed out resulting in late-June playoff games?  There are still a lot of questions to be answered, but at least they’re basketball-related questions.  

From now on, it will be tougher for guys like Chris Paul
and Kevin Durant to team up under the current CBA.

Now, how is the new CBA going to affect the landscape of the NBA?   From looking at the terms of the deal at first glance, a harsher luxury tax will be put into effect for teams that are over the salary cap.  Although there is no hard cap, this may somewhat discourage teams like the Lakers and Knicks to reach into their deep pockets.  Therefore, the new deal will stimulate competitive balance amongst all 30 teams to a degree.  Hopefully, we will no longer see a ridiculously one-sided trade as ludicrous as the infamous Pau Gasol trade from Memphis to LA in exchange for the Lakers’ benchwarmers.  At the same time, you’ll never see a team pull off what Miami did last offseason in acquiring their Big Three.  In the long run, I think this is good for the league. 

On the other hand, the rules in place that will permit competitive balance will come with a caveat: this labor deal may give birth to the amnesty clause, where teams are permitted to release a player without incurring further luxury tax on the player’s contract no matter how lucrative it may be – an essential repeat of the 2005 “Allan Houston rule.”  This time around, in addition to the luxury tax relief, there will be a small cap relief to boot; 75% of the player’s contract value will be taken off the team’s payroll.  The rule this year will most likely be named after Washington’s Rashard Lewis, who is still owed $27.7 million.  Essentially, this rule gives forgiveness to teams that gave out such regrettable deals (or traded for them).  So, while the new labor deal will create competitive balance down the line, you may not see the effects of it immediately; teams with high payrolls will be able to shed a significant amount of salary this year, somewhat offsetting the initial blow of the new luxury tax thresholds and restrictions.

It’s obvious who the true beneficiaries are with regard to the end of the lockout.  Players and owners will now start making money, fans will get to watch games and create fantasy teams again.  More importantly, much of the country’s working class – arena workers, etc. whose income depends on games being played – now have jobs again. 

Maybe I’m just biased since I live here, but I don’t know if anybody’s happier about this than the city of Orlando.   First and foremost, Magic fans will get to see Dwight Howard wearing blue and white for another season (which, quite frankly, may be his last).  Also, the city will get to host the All-Star Game after all.  I, for one, am psyched about it; I’ve never been able to attend All-Star Weekend festivities, and this may be my best chance to do so. Furthermore, the city put so much money into the amazing new arena, banking on both this year’s regular season games and All-Star Weekend venue to help pay off the investment and stimulate the economy.  Now, the possibility of bankruptcy has subsided. 

The Amway Center will now be fully utilized, thanks to the end of the NBA lockout.

I hated every moment of the lockout.  HATED it.  But now, we get to talk about basketball again.  Now, instead of seeing SportsCenter clips of David Stern talking to Billy Hunter, we'll be talking about Derrick Rose and the Bulls taking on Kobe and the Lakers on December 25th.  Merry ****ing Christmas!