NBA Owners Officially Lockout Players

In a move that inspires nothing but sporting apathy, the NBA owners officially locked out it’s players Thursday, June 30th, 3:21PM eastern time. Owners informed players that they have approved a work stoppage, according to CBS Sports. The lockout ends two years of collective bargaining agreement negotiations. With the move, the NBA joins the National Football league as the second major sport involved in a work stoppage in 2011.

Representatives for NBA owners and players met Thursday in New York in an attempt to agree on the framework for a new agreement or to extend negotiations past the 10:01 p.m. Mountain Time deadline, at the very least. The meeting was apparently fruitless and could no prevent the inevitable as the NBA officially shut itself down for the summer. NBA owners apparently believe that the league’s economic system is in shambles and see the lockout as the only possible resolution.

The lockout though not a surprise, as it has been discussed for months, comes on the heels of one of the most successful NBA seasons in recent memory. Television ratings peaked during the playoffs and were through the roof during the Dallas and Miami NBA finals series. The lockout ostensibly puts the brakes on all of that and, with the owners and players reportedly far apart, leaves fans guessing.

Owners are pushing for a restructured 10-year agreement includes a harder salary cap, an additional split of basketball-related income and shortened guaranteed contracts. The lockout, according to the owners is absolutely necessary with 22 of 30 teams operating in the red last season. Those numbers are unbelievable, as again, the league appears to have had one of it’s more successful seasons in years.

The lockout essentially is a case of the owners attempting to get the players to save them from themselves. For a group of owners that are currently fighting to shorten guaranteed contracts and salaries, they are the same group of owners that give 6 year contracts to the Marcin Gortats and Kwame Browns of the world.

Regardless of who is at fault, all we do know is that there is a possibility that fall will be bare after the World Series in baseball. Hopefully the two sides can figure this out for the sake of the fans.