NBA Sues Players Association- And It's Only The Beginning...

From the NBA their own selves... the HQ thinks Christmas Day will be the time all of this is settled, but that's our initial gut reaction...

The NBA filed two claims today against the National Basketball Players Association: an unfair labor practice charge before the National Labor Relations Board, and a lawsuit in federal district court in New York. The unfair labor practice charge asserts that the Players Association has failed to bargain in good faith by virtue of its unlawful threats to commence a sham “decertification” and an antitrust lawsuit challenging the NBA’s lockout. The federal lawsuit seeks to establish, among other things, that the NBA's lockout does not violate federal antitrust laws and that if the Players Association's “decertification” were found to be lawful, all existing player contracts would become void and unenforceable.

“These claims were filed in an effort to eliminate the use of impermissible pressure tactics by the union which are impeding the parties’ ability to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement,” said NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Adam Silver. “For the parties to reach agreement on a new CBA, the union must commit to the collective bargaining process fully and in good faith.”

NBA Optimistically releases 2011-2012 Schedule

David Stern

Who says David Stern doesn't have a good sense of humor. And after all, isn't the Boy Scout motto "Always be Prepared"?

With that in mind, despite the current NBA Lockout and general view that there will be no season, the league has released their schedule for the upcoming season.

And yes, if you look at the e-mail, the announcement is even sponsored.

We do have to add, they qualified it in the official release by saying "In the event the NBA is able to reach a new collective bargaining agreement with the NBAPA in a timely fashion."


So NBA fan, if you were to be allowed to see your games this year, despite the tension between warring rich people and lawyers, here's what you'd see:

Your season "Would" open with the Champion, Dallas Mavericks squaring off with the Chicago Bulls, followed by the Oklahoma City Thunder playing the L.A Lakers on a T.N.T doubleheader.

Mostly, the release goes on to blather about the games their "T.V Partners" may or may not get to telecast this season. To which we say, "Good for them".

Truly the question is will any of these games actually happen? The answer is, "Who knows?" Much like the beginnings of the NFL Lockout, most everyone is subscribing to the "Sky has fallen" theory, saying they won't play this season and possibly next.

True, the differences here are even more stark than the NFL, the NBA is asking for a pay cut essentially by its players and is pleading poverty. And while we don't necessarily blame the players, the owners are right, the pay scale has gotten way, way out of hand. (Hmmm..., wonder who's fault that is?)

So, you can take this for what it is worth and go check out the website of your favorite NBA team to find out their alleged schedule for the season. And you can then go back to your daily lives complete in the knowledge that you may be looking at a piece of paperwork, that might be worth something one day, because it probably will never happen.

Hahaha! This goes out to you, NBA Fan!:

NBA Lockout: Day 1--Will anybody notice? (Stupid is as stupid does)

Billy Hunter of NBAPA and David Stern

Well, it's official, we now have two professional sports leagues that are now in the midst of labor strife.

As you saw yesterday, the NBA decided it was time to make a stand (albeit kind of against themselves), by locking out the players until a collective bargaining agreement can be reached and lower salaries paid.

We wish them luck with that, for they (the owners) are trying to slay the monster that they built themselves.

And while both sides are saying nice things...at least publicly about each other, it is going to be a long, nasty process here, much worse we believe, than anything the NFL has gone through.

Read a brief summary from the Boston Herald RIGHT HERE

The two sides have agreed to resume negotiating in a couple of weeks, but we are pretty sure it won't change anything. The dysfunctional pay-scale and revenue scale the NBA has been operating under since their last strike in 1998 has exacerbated the problem and neither side is willing to admit it.

Yes, there are solutions. And according to many, they aren't complicated. Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times offers up a pretty good one, though we suspect it ain't gonna happen.

Read Heisler's story RIGHT HERE

When push comes to shove, this still boils down to a couple of things and while we aren't necessarily siding with the players, we place a lot of the blame here on the owners.

In their endless pursuit of an NBA title, many owners just got stupid. They started paying guys who in no way shape or form deserved it, way too much money, thinking they could buy a title. You can't.

Yes, we know, there is plenty of money to go around and we don't fault the players for taking what the owners were willing to offer them. But the players and the players association should be realistic that they are going to have to give in a little in order for this to work. We just have a hard time wrapping our hands around the premise of anyone, never mind a basketball player, being paid $25 million plus a year...to do anything.

We know, the players do have options and can go play overseas, but do they really want to do that? Do they really want to go play in say, Greece, where gunshots and riots sometimes break out during games.

Sorry, NBA fan, there is a really good chance you are going to have to survive on a steady diet of College Basketball this year.

Oh, if you want to know how petty this already is, try clicking on any NBA.com or team website, you won't find any mention of any current players...

CBSSports.com gives us David Stern announcing the lockout:

BREAKING: And We Have Lockout...

NBA Players Union chief Billy Hunter says owners are locking out their players eight-and-a-half hours early after failing to reach a new CBA.

In a three-hour meeting Thursday, the sides could not close the gap that remains between the two parties in their positions.

All league business is officially on hold, starting with the free agency period that would have opened Friday. The last lockout reduced the 1998-99 season to just a 50-game schedule, the only time the NBA missed games for a work stoppage.

Union executive committee member Matt Bonner says "we tried to avoid the lockout; unfortunately we couldn't reach a deal."

Earlier this week on "The Dan Patrick Show" Charles Barkley's gut feeling told him that the entire season would be lost...

Remember, this is what we were subjected to the last time this happened...


More when we know more...

NBA Lockout could start today

David Stern

Yes, you heard me right. Although there are some that will say "So what?", this is somewhat of a significant deal. Never mind the fact it would mean 2 professional sports leagues dealing with lockouts at the same time.

The reason for the NBA Lockout is a little different:

The NBA owners and Commissioner David Stern want to clamp down the upward spiraling salaries they keep paying because they are losing money. However, the obvious question there is "Who started the upward spiral?" If an owner offers, say a Joe Johnson (good, not great player) a 6-year, $129 million dollar contract, the player would be insane not to say "Sure, I'll take that".

There are reports and quotes out there saying the league wants to break up the "Superstar" teams, such as the Heat. Uh...no. That, we believe has nothing to do with it. It's about rolling back salary costs.

We don't disagree that the league needs to control costs, the do. But again, who's to blame for it in the first place? And do you really think that even if they succeed in controlling salaries, they won't zoom right back up again in a few years when an owner gets impatient and tries to buy a title?

The league and its players union, headed by Billy Hunter, will meet again today to try and come up with terms at the very least of a collective bargaining agreement. Nobody really believes it will happen. If it doesn't a lockout could effectively start tonight at Midnight est., the time the current agreement expires.

And while we think the lockout will happen and drag on for a month or two, we also believe this won't drag out like the NFL's has. League owners know they have to play games and get butts in seats in order to make money. And unlike the NFL, who has a good 6 months between seasons, the NBA offseason only runs about 3 months.

We give you this story for a reason. Just as the NFL Lockout begins to wind down and we think we can stop talking...and learning legal speak, a new Lockout is about to begin.

TheBasketballJonses give us a look at what your NBA Lockout PR ads could look like. And yes, they are pretty funny.