NBA fans who are looking forward to a season this fall may be in for some bad news.
The memories of the Dallas Mavericks holding up the Larry O’Brien championship trophy may have to last for a while. As of July 1, the NBA owners have locked out their players.
“I won’t be able to watch the games and see my favorite players,” 29-year-old engineering major Franklin Chukwuleta said.
The NBA owners and the National Basketball Players Association cannot agree on a new collective bargaining agreement that would end the lockout. After nearly two years of mediation, the two sides still have not come to a settlement.
Training camps have already been delayed and 43 preseason games have officially been canceled.
“If there are no games this season, I’ll end up watching the European basketball leagues,” 26-year-old pharmacy major Nic Oglesby said.
The owners want to completely change the revenue system after 17 teams lost money last season, according to Forbes magazine.
“It’s all about the money, the fans have no say in it,” 19-year-old business major Rickey Banks said.
According to ESPN.com, the players’ union is still considering whether to decertify and file anti-trust cases against the NBA.
Reports from the NBA say the owners want a significant reduction in the players guarantee of basketball related income, which was 57 percent under the previous CBA. The owners also want a more restrictive salary cap system or a hard cap.
The players favor the salary cap system that was already in place which allowed teams to exceed it under certain conditions.
“The players are already getting a ridiculous amount of money, and so are the owners,” 18-year-old general education major Talib Habib said.
According to NBA.com, the players proposed their guaranteed income be lowered to 54.3 percent. However, there have been no signs the players will agree to a salary hard cap.
“I think it’s a good idea a hard cap is set, a lot of NBA teams are losing money,” Sports Information Officer Nicholas Podesta said.
The lockout will also have an impact on NBA cities, according to Forbes Magazine. All ten people interviewed on campus said the lockout will hurt Sacramento financially.
The Kings are one of the many NBA teams that lost money last season, losing $9.8 million in operations, according to Forbes magazine. Sacramento is also in jeopardy of losing the Kings after failing to provide a plan for a new stadium last year. The city has been given a March 2012 deadline to come up with a new plan.
“If the lockout continues for much longer there is no way to showcase whether the Kings are worth keeping,” Oglesby said.
Many players are currently playing overseas in response to the lockout.
“I don’t think [playing overseas] gives the players leverage.The real money is over here, all the international interest is in the NBA,” Podesta said.