Could we be close to a deal?
Could we indeed have an NBA season this year?
Could we be up and running by Christmas?
Sources are suggesting that all the above could indeed be true. Sides are looking like they are close to reaching a deal that would get the season underway.
Take a look:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/sam_amick/11/26/tentative.deal/index.html
It would seem as though talks are going nowhere. It does not seem like that is going to change. Sure, there are meetings but they all seem to hold the same outcome. Both parties say this all looks promising and they are making progress but thats getting a bit old now, they have been saying that for months. In fact, its getting a bit annoying. Now we are having a whole lot of other lawsuits launches for all different reasons. What is that supposed to acheive? Why not solve the problem at hand instead of making more problems. The team is trying to stay afloat as it is and all these players want is more money for themselves. What happened to the love of the game? Why does it always have to be about big money?
I think this whole lockout situation is getting a bit stupid, what do you think?
I guess it is not really news as such, but it is now official that an 82 game season is not possible. We have not had a shortened season since 1999, so 12 years.
Maybe now, we will see a real sense of urgency from both parties as from what I can see, nobody is benefitting from the current situation.
Negotiations do not seem to be going far, but hopefully the lockout will end soon!
As you would expect, there are a lot of different rumours and thoughts goin on around the association, expecially at this stage of the lockout. It is hard to work out exactly where everyone is and what everyone is thinking, the only theme that remains constant is that both sides seem quite far apart. Below is a collection of articles which I have gathered from other sites. Maybe have a read yourself and see what you think.
http://www.nba.com/2011/news/10/14/union-players.ap/index.html
http://www.nba.com/2011/news/10/15/eric-gordon-lockout.ap/index.html
http://www.nba.com/2011/news/10/15/rose-lockout.ap/index.html
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/sam_amick/10/14/billy.hunter.union.meeting/index.html
http://www.nba.com/2011/news/features/shaun_powell/10/14/derek-fisher/index.html
You may end up coming to the conclusion that it is all on the owners. It would be interesting to hear their side of the story and what they have to say.
We have lost the first two weeks of the NBA season. The sides are said to be miles apart in negotiations. Read about it here.
At the moment NBA fans are all doom and gloom about the situation going on at the moment and rightfully so. I am one of those people.
Thats why I thought I would just put a link to a great mix off youtube. This is not my video but I enjoy watching it. Unfortunately it is what we are missing out at the moment and you have probably seen most of the plays before but I still think its worth watching.
Its a Blake Griffin clip. Its hard not to love the guy, or so I think anyway. Have a look!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3gKNiGR8q4
Now I guess this could make you happy or sad depending on whether you see it as what we are missing out on or an amazing athlete at his finest. I saw the former but its really a matter of perception I suppose.
Those of you following the lockout and the surrounding situation know that Monday is a very important date on the calender. If a deal is not made on or before Monday, we will probably be looking at losing the first two weeks of the regular season. This report seems to suggest that we will.
Check it out:
http://www.nba.com/2011/news/10/07/aldridge-labor/index.html#?ls=iref:nbahpt1
After much speculation and hope from the Australian basketball community, it has all fallen through. Andrew Bogut is not going to be a Sydney King during the lockout.
It was rumoured that Bogut was in talks with the Sydney Kings as well a number of other teams in the National Basketball League (NBL). It is beleived that Bogut was ready and committed to signing a contract with the Sydney Kings. All other issued were resolved except contract insurance. This ultimately costs the Sydney Kings and Andrew Bogut the opportunity to do something great for Australian local basketball. Its a real shame as the NBL could have really used the boost.
We are just about to lose regular season games. With the sides as far apart as they are in the lockout it is unlikely a deal will be made before Monday.
This is bad news for an entire industry that has been built around the NBA. Not just the players and the owners, but the venue staff, car park attendants, nearby resturants, nearby hotels, cab companies, tv stations, radio stations. The list goes on.
There is a lot more at stake than what appears on the surface. I have found a good article on nba.com that covers this aspect pretty well.
Check it out!
http://www.nba.com/2011/news/10/06/lockout-cities.ap/index.html
Its official. We have lost all our preseason games for this year. Labor talks are not happening quick enough. Both parties seem far apart and a deal does not look like it will be happening too soon. For those of you who have been following the situation closely this will not come as much of a suprise anyway.
We have lost the preseason, but we still have much more to lose. The next thing we will be losing is part of the regular season. It is beleived that if a deal is not reached by Monday (yes, this Monday) then we will be losing games in the regular season.
It does look pretty gloomy but at least the sides are talking to each other. Hopefully if they keep talking to each other, then we can have a deal and minimal distruption to the season.