We're at the dawn of an enormously-anticipated NBA season with LeBron James back in Cleveland, a wide-open championship race and a host of young stars like Anthony Davis, Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker. These are exciting times.
And yet most of the NBA chatter is centered on trying to answer the following bummer of a question: Is the NBA headed for another work stoppage in 20 months?
That's what happens when a $24 billion TV deal is signed while franchises are repeatedly selling for record prices. If those two events provided the spark, then comments from LeBron, Kevin Durant and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban threw gasoline-soaked logs on the fire.
"The whole thing that went on with the last negotiation process," James said of the 2011 lockout, "was the owners [were] telling us that they were losing money. There's no way they can sit in front of us and tell us that right now after we continue to see teams selling for billions of dollars, being purchased for $200 million, [selling] for $550 [million], $750 [million], $2 billion. And now [Mikhail] Prokhorov is possibly selling his majority stake in the Nets for over a billion. So, that will not fly with us this time."
With billions pouring into the owners' pockets, Durant suggested that the NBA should do away with maximum salaries for players.
"Look at it like this, Kobe Bryant brings in a lot of money to Los Angeles, that downtown area," Durant said, according to The Oklahoman. "Clippers are getting up there; Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and those guys are bringing in a lot of money as well. Look at Cleveland, look at Miami when LeBron [James] was there."
In response, Cuban suggested, in the hypothetical, he might be willing to get rid of the max salary, under one condition, "if you give up guarantees, it's a trade-off."
Is it, really? Let's take a closer look at the labor issues at hand and see which side is making the most sense.
