The NBA had maybe its best season in history. Star power was never brighter. The
league had heroes and it had villains, both of whom helped the 2011 NBA Finals gain
an average audience of 17.3 million people to watch the Dallas Mavericks defeat
the heavily favored Miami Heat.
As the clock struck midnight on July 1, it all came to a screeching halt as the
league's collective bargaining agreement expired, locking out the players. Months
into the dispute, it's apparent that the season will either be delayed, shortened,
or canceled altogether.
Like the NFL, which overcame its labor issues to start its season on time, the split
of revenue, including a hard salary cap, is central among NBA owners' concerns.
The current soft cap allows for teams to keep their own players; the hard cap, which
is used in the NFL and NHL, would disallow that. How far off are they? The Lakers
spent $112 million last season despite a soft cap in the high $50 million range.
While that would negatively affect free wheelers like the Lakers' Jerry Buss and
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, the small-market teams would benefit from the competitive
balance.
For now, Madison Square Garden is reserved for everything but the pro game – the
NHL's Rangers, college hoops, boxing, the WWE. The Knicks were the big ticket in
town, having lured Carmelo Anthony and A'mare Stoudemire, two legitimate stars,
to the big city. A buzz found its way back to Broadway. However, football and even
hockey – which is maybe the biggest winner in the New York market – will dominate
the tabloids' back pages.
It's more than just the games not being played. The NBA has long craved international
flavor, from Hakeem Olajuwon and Yao Ming to Tony Parker and Dirk Nowitzki. Its
stars have never made it a two-way street, but the work stoppage has prompted some
of today's stars to line up deals overseas. Nets guard Deron Williams signed with
Turkey. Two Nuggets – former Knick Wilson Chandler and J.R. Smith – are slated to
play in China, and another, Ty Lawson, will be a member of Zalgris Kaunas in Lithuania.
The Lakers' Ron Artest, fresh off his brief Dancing With the Stars stint, is targeting
the Cheshire Jets in the obscure British Basketball League.
That's what it's come to. As long as the NBA's locked out, its players are unemployed.
They're pursuing job opportunities elsewhere. They and hoops fans can only hope
it's short term.
There will be other consequences as well. Without time on their side, will first-ballot
Hall of Famers Tim Duncan, Jason Kidd, Kevin Garnett, Steve Nash, and others hang
it up for good? Will teams like the Sacramento Kings, who threatened to leave after
the 2010-11 season, or the New Orleans Hornets be able to sustain their fan base?
The expediency of this will determine that.
For all the discontent the stoppage has caused for New Yorkers and hoops devotees
worldwide, once LeBron James (one of the aforementioned villains) delivers a thunderous
dunk or Dirk Nowitzki (the hero of non-South Beach residents) pours in a trifecta,
fans will assuredly crawl back to the arena or their couches en masse. They did
in 1999, when the season was comprised of just 50 games plus the playoffs, and they
always (eventually) do. The NBA may look a little different upon its return, but
after all, these are the greatest athletes in the world. Whatever the case may be,
it seems that tipoff will almost certainly be later rather than sooner.
