As The Threat of an NBA Lockout Looms, I Have Threats Of My Own

David Stern still has the clout to stop, what everyone believes, is the inevitable

It’s Thursday, June 23rd, and I’m watching the NBA draft, but I just can’t seem to enjoy it. By NBA Draft standards, the 2011 edition featured the full spectrum of treacle I’ve come to expect. There have been plenty of interesting trades: George Hill, Stephen Jackson, Andre Miller, and Raymond Felton among others. The unintentionally humorous or awkward moments were there too: newly drafted Jan Vesely giving an open mouth kiss to his girlfriend while she stands on a chair, or Jay Bilas giving an homage to viewers who may be playing a drinking game after he says “wingspan”, the Knicks getting back to their old ways by making a terrible selection in Iman Shumpert, Minnesota GM David Kahn being criticized no matter what he does, etc. Yet, I felt nothing. No joy. There was something else present over the proceedings of the NBA’s newly inducted talent. The impending labor talks, on Friday, that will ultimately decide how big of a split there is between the NBPA and the NBA owners.

Just to give you some perspective on me as a fan: I’ve been an professional basketball fan my whole life. I grew up in the Chicago suburb of Northbrook, Illinois as Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Phil Jackson, and the Bulls Organization dominated the Association; winning 6 championships in an 8 year span. A completely unprecedented achievement during the modern era of sports. I like to say “I was raised by my parents, and Michael Jordan”. I even cried when Michael retired for the first time. I was so despondent that day, my second grade teacher, went out of her way to inform my parents that she thought it was rather unusual how hard I was taking his Airness’ hiatus. That’s the level of fixation we’re talking about with me. From the time I was seven years old, my harmful obsession with professional basketball was obvious, even to my instructors. In Junior High I used to call this overweight kid who had no friends, I won’t repeat his name, Jerry Krause. “Always trying to scout new friends” I would joke with my other NBA junky pals. In college, in Tempe, I would sometimes blow off dates or friends on Saturday Nights so that I could watch the Bulls’ Nationally televised games on WGN. It has been a sick, twisted obsession for a lifetime. I even started a website called Basketball Bystander to turn my fanaticism for professional basketball into something productive.

I could sit through the Lockout in 1998, because the league had given me so much joy. The Bulls and Rockets were both compelling for me to follow as a sports fan. The timing was also more appropriate, as the NBA was about to hit a transition period into its post-Michael Jordan existence. In the aftermath of the lockout, it was difficult to discern whether the ensuing drop in ratings that the NBA felt was the result of a post-Jordan lull or backlash from the lockout. One could make an equally compelling argument for either side. It was probably a combination of things.

In 1998, the climate of the NBA could not be more dissimilar than it is in 2011. In 1998, the league had to find a way to negotiate through a new, uncertain, financial era. This version league is as healthy as it’s ever been, and the timing of this labor dispute couldn’t be more inappropriate. That’s what makes this feel so grimy. That the NBA’s fans, who are as devoted and passionate as those of any sport are getting shat on. The NBA owners and players are pulling down their pants and making diarrhea on the faces of its fans. “We know that we just had the most exciting regular season and playoff combination ever, but we are gonna shut things down for a while so we can figure out how to divvy up our new found success.”

The particular issues of the lockout don’t really matter for the purposes of this post. Because the truth is that most fans will never know them. Even the most informed fan, which I consider myself, could never be informed enough to know the complete nuances of what’s happening unless one was present in the negotiating sessions. I could bring up how 22 teams are supposedly losing money, but I don’t know how much those estimates of loss include “cost of money” investments and depreciation of the overall value of assets; items that seemingly have nothing to do with the year-to-year income of the NBA. I also can know ratings, attendance, and merchandise sales are up, so things can’t be that bad. But, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what I know is or isn’t there. The only thing that I know is: this deal isn’t going to get done as long as the owners are pushing a hard cap (or flex cap, whatever you want to call it). The players themselves are being greedy too. They are not willing to budge on relinquishing the length or the dollar amounts guaranteed in contracts. The two very items that can negatively handcuff a franchise. On top of that, in the NBA, individual players already have more leverage over the course of a franchise’s destiny than  in any other sport. Yet, that’s what’s happening. The rhetorical barbs from both sides are becoming more jagged as the deadline of a July 1 lockout approaches.

The point of this rant isn’t to try and solve this power struggle for you, it’s to let the NBA know that fans are getting sick of this. We are living in a world built on distractions, and I fully intend to be enthralled by whatever distraction comes my way next. I could fill the void with soccer or become more devoted to football to replace the fix, maybe I’ll turn into a foodie and start a cooking hobby, fall deep into celebrity gossip to replace trade rumors, I could become a fan of Russian Romance novels instead of reading the NBA blogosphere, I could become a music hipster and go to concerts instead of basketball games. There are plenty of ways to compartmentalize an obsession with pro basketball into other hobbies because there are plenty of other hobbies out there. Following a pro sport isn’t like crack, it’s like tunnel vision. Take away the tunnel, and I might see the forest for the trees. Is that what you want NBA? Screw the threats between owners and players, what about my threats? What about the threats of the fans who are sick of this even being an issue? Other escapes from the real world don’t disappear. Even when they do, new escapes are found. You have everyone’s attention NBA. That is more valuable than anything. Why give that up?

Wizards owner Ted Leonsis has gone on the record as wanting to do what it takes to institute a hard cap in the NBA. Click Ted's pic to get the details.

If the NBA has a lockout that causes games to be missed, that would make it two lockouts in a 13 year span. That’s completely unacceptable. You wonder why no one in America watches hockey, even though it’s more physical, more like football? Because it goes on strike every few years! If a sport goes away enough, people forget the rules of the game, and they won’t watch a sport if you don’t even know the rules. It’s too much work for something that’s supposed to be an escape. I knew the rules of hockey at one point, but I forgot them because I stopped paying attention. Even the rules of NBA basketball are somewhat esoteric to the casual fan. If the NBA goes away long enough, people will forget. People will forget why they should even bother watching. This isn’t the NFL, basketball is just another potential hobby. The idea of lockouts happening as precedent are unacceptable. You think fans are going to put up with another season tainted by labor strife? Screw you too!

When you follow the NBA like I do, you know are following a league that has a virtually meaningless regular season. Not meaningless in the sense that it has no point, but it’s proven to me year-after-year during the playoffs that the quality of basketball in the regular season is inferior. The regular season is like the index of a book, it’s necessary for reference, but the playoffs are where the story happens. That distinction hasn’t bothered me because I’m the definition of a fanatic to a tee, and, as such, I consume the lower quality product nevertheless. I memorize the index as much as the story when it comes to basketball. Where I draw the line is consuming a product that assumes that treats me as if I’m unimportant.

Fans like me don’t have a seat at the negotiating table. I can’t come in as a fan representative to labor talks with my lawyers expecting a piece of the pie. I am the pie! So this is the deal, and it’s take-it-or-leave-it: you miss games, we’re not coming back. Ever.

Is that an empty threat?

All I’ll say is this, to both the players and owners: Hold out for more money, and see just how much you’ll lose.