NBA lockout looming? No basketball, no problem.

With the NFL close to locking out the 2011 season, and the NBA no where near coming to terms with a new CBA, we very well could have the MLB be the only (relevant) pro sport on TV this next year. But for the NBA, this might not be the worst of things.

The NBA had a half season lockout in the 1998-99 season, it lasted 204 days and the season was shortened to 50 games. This hurt the NBA's ratings, ticket sales, and interest for the seasons after that. But lets be honest, even if there was no lockout that year, those same things would have happened any way because of the (2nd) retirement of Michael Jordan.

But if you think about it, the whole premise for these pro sports lockouts is a battle of millions, and even billions of dollars. Side A, the owners, want x-amount of their share of the billion dollar pie. Side B, the players also want their share of the billion dollar pie. Well since the Players are the one's selling the tickets, bringing fans in, they do deserve their "share". But how much is too much? in the NFL, the players union wants 50%. If I went to my boss today, asked for 50% of the revenue we bring in on our sports show, he would laugh, and point me to the door.

For the fans, you have to side with the owners. It does you no good to have your super star make $5 million more each season. If LeBron made $5 million extra, he gets to throw more parties, and buy more cars, which translates to a whopping whole-lotta-nothing on the basketball court. If your teams owner gets more money, it means he will be more willing to spend the money to go out and get your city a super star. Example A-Phoenix spent the $20 million that Amare wanted, and threw it at He-don't-wanna-play Turkoglu, Josh Childress, and Hakim Warrick. That played itself out real well, Hedu-gone, Childress keeps the bench warm when he never plays, and Warrick is the only guy that is worth his contract. If they had the extra cash in a new CBA, the Suns would have gone out to get a Carmelo, Amare type talent to keep the suns relevant in the west.

So if the NBA does have a work stoppage next year, it could be a healthy rebuilding period for the L. We watched the NHL completely skip a season a few years back, but they came back revamped and ready to go, but with hockey being the red-headed step child of the four major sports, it took a harder hit than the NFL or NBA would if there was no season. Say the NBA condenses to 50 games after another 200 days work stoppage, or an entire season, we could see the NBA go through a metamorphosis that would forever change the game. With a shorter season, many teams in the NBA would fail to make a profit and could possibly go under. So you lose the Hornets, T-Wolves, Bucks, and Pacers. At this point you have 4 less teams, you have to redo the conferences, and divisions, which would be a good thing for the NBA.

With a lockout we could see a few (positive) things-

1. Shorter NBA season
2. A few less teams in the NBA
3. Reform for the game, small rule changes, contracts aren't so massive (no more T-Macs)
4. New found love for the game (how many people would be chomping at the bit to see LeBron after a year of work stoppage) Besides, man can't live on baseball alone.
5. New draft rules-possibly changing the 1 and done rule

If I am David Stern, my first priority is playing a full season next year, but if we see a lockout, its not the end of the world. Handling this in the right way could pay big dividends down the road for the NBA. Right now the NBA, along with the MLB, is slipping far behind the NFL, so revamping the format wouldn't be a half bad attempt to get back to the glory days. 

At the end of the day, 3 simple equations can sum up the current state of the NBA.

• 82 game season + 4 rounds of best of 7 playoff series = 70% of the season is meaningless
• Bobcats + Wizards x 4 meetings a year = 60,000 empty seats
• $891,000,000 - $249,000,000 = Work Stoppage

 I would love to know the difference between making  $19-million dollars, and $21-million dollars a year. But since I'm not 6'9" 240 lbs with a 40 inch vertical and an impeccable jumper I will never get that pleasure.


To wrap it up, the NBA is in danger of a lot more than just missing part of a season, if the NBA doesn't change with the times, we will leave it behind. Change is needed in the league and a lockout might be the best thing to bring that on. The NFL is the new standard and the NBA is falling far below. A new look league would bring back old fans and get interest from new ones. Here we are on the cusp of a sporting revolution and we have millionaires arguing over millions- really?

As a sports fan, please NBA, please don't screw this up.