NBA Lockout-My Take

So the NBA lockout starts tonight, well tommorrow at 12:01 am. No one is truly surprised that it happened, it was inevetibable. There are various reasons floating around as to why the Lockout is indeed taking place, I am not a fan of many of the theories at all. While they all may have some truth to the matter, it still comes back to money. This didn't truly trigger my mind until I heard what percentage of the revenue sharing the players were getting. I than thought about the NFL and it's lockout and it's revenue sharing, in the NFL the players are in the minority in this area. Whereas the NBA, the players are in the majority and that's where the issue is. The NFL players are in the low 40's when talking what percentage of the revenue they get. The NBA players were recieving 57% of the revenue, think about where the league is going right now and all the momentum they have built. The league is finally getting back to the good old days where it was just as strong as the other sports, namely the NFL and MLB. The last lockout crippled the NBA's popularity, in the last decade the NBA has made up for that loss much of it coming recently. The NBA owners don't want to be on the minority part of this momentum, they can't stand to watch the players make even more money under the old CBA. I can understand each side and where they are coming from, but unlike the NFL the NBA season is further away. This is why I don't have faith in this lockout seriously endangering this season, the closer we get the more pressure it will be on both sides to get a deal done to keep this momentum going. Neither side can really afford for a season to be loss, but unlike the NFL the NBA owners are at risk. The small market teams who have franchise players in the last years of their deals cannot afford for the same type of free agency that may occur in the NFL. That being of players with over 4 years of service becoming full flegged unrestricted Free Agents, that will surely cripple all small market teams. I belive the owners and players in the NBA don't have as bad a relationship as their NFL counterparts. Especially with that draft class of 2012 on the horizon, the NBA cannot afford it after the unpopularity of the 2011 NBA draft on a larger scale. I can't promise you that it will start on time, but I can assure you that the owners can't afford to play hard ball for long. There will be an NBA season and I don't think it will be shortened by much, the other reason being the world having other leagues. There is only one league for NFL players to realistically consider and that's the NFL. The NBA has to face the fact that players can make EVEN MORE money in the leagues outside of this country, that could and will kill the NBA's brand. Keep all that in mind as this Lockout goes into effect....