Basketball fans rejoice. The 2011-12 NBA season, once thought to be as likely as Kim Kardashian shunning the media, has been all but saved.
Yes, the NBA lockout, which had lasted 5 excruciating months, appeared to have ended yesterday after a marathon 15 hour negotiation meeting that lasted until 3am, New York time.
Representatives for the NBA owners and players, the two protagonists in this battle, reached a tentative deal that would settle the various lawsuits involved in the dispute and lead to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that will salvage what’s left of the 2011-12 season.
Whilst all the details are still to finalised, it appears the season will kick-off on Christmas Day, ensuring basketball fans across the globe will receive the one present they really wanted: the return of the NBA.
The reasons for the lockout are too complex to neatly summarise here, but at the heart of the dispute was how basketball related income was shared amongst the two parties. Under the previous CBA, the players received 57% of the revenue, and the owners 43%.
When the existing CBA expired at the end of the 2010-11 season, the owners wanted the new deal to be a 50/50 split. When the players rejected that deal, believing they were giving up far too much, the owners locked the players out, thereby preventing the season from tipping off on time.
The two parties argued over the revenue split for 149 long days, whilst also bickering over other considerations called ‘system issues’. These issues included matters like the maximum length of contracts and free agency rights. If a truce has been called, it appears both sides have reached some common ground on such issues, with a new split that sees the players receive between 50% to 51% of revenue.
But as mentioned, the finer points of the new CBA have yet to be completely finalised.
However, the truth is, most fans simply do not care for the details. They just want their NBA back, and now it appears they’ll get their wish.
I use the word ‘appears’, because both the owners and the players still need to officially sign off on the deal, as do both side’s lawyers. But after all the acrimony, posturing and sniping, it’s difficult to imagine the parties would call a press conference to announce a deal if it wasn’t as good as done.
So what happens now?
The season will obviously be a shortened one. Instead of the traditional 82 regular season games for each club, teams will only play 66 games, with the season commencing on December 25th.
Existing contracts will remain in place.
Training camps and the free agency period are scheduled to begin on approximately December 9th, ensuring a highly entertaining and hectic couple of weeks, as teams scramble to fill their roster for the season.
If you thought last year’s free agency frenzy was crazy, highlighted by LeBron James’ move to Miami, just wait until we witness such events in an incredibly condensed two week period. Pandemonium is all but guaranteed.
The NBA: where amazing happens. Just a little bit later than usual.
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