NBA Cancels First Two Weeks of the Season
By Nick Ostiller
Saying he was sad and sorry, the National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern canceled the first two weeks of the season Monday, after players and owners were unable to reach a new labor deal to end the lockout.
With the forthcoming work stoppage, the NBA risks alienating a fan base that sent the league's revenues and TV ratings soaring during the 2010-11 season. This loyal following has multiple extensions at Santa Clara University, where students have felt the impact of the lockout.
"If the lockout isn't resolved it will create a domino effect of problems," said sophomore Darren Velasco, a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers. "The great players in this current season will have major drop offs in their career statistics, hurting their careers as a whole."
Many of these great players have bolted for contracts overseas in such places as Europe and Australia. Although the NBA has been praised for being an internationally diverse league, with a new influx of foreign players each year, Velasco does not like the idea of iconic players leaving their American fans behind.
"With a season not happening, the bottom line is the players we know and love only waste away in other countries and leagues instead of wearing the colors and jerseys they're known for representing," said Velasco.
Santa Clara sophomore Jay Dubashi also expressed his displeasure with the current NBA situation.
"There's a lot of things wrong with the current labor agreement," said the Boston Celtics fan. "Fully guaranteed contracts, no cutting players, no hard (salary) cap. Basketball can't survive in that kind of environment. Only a few teams are making a profit."
With just three weeks remaining before the start of the season, top negotiators for both sides met for more than seven hours Monday, but were unable to reach an agreement.
"The gap is so significant that we just can't bridge it at this time," said Stern.
"We certainly hoped it would never come to this," he said of the NBA's first work stoppage since the 1998-99 season was reduced to 50 games.
"This is not where we choose to be," union president Derek Fisher said. "We're not at a place where a fair deal can be reached with the NBA."
Stern said both sides are "very far apart on virtually all issues... we just have a gulf that separates us."
Opening night was scheduled for Nov. 1, and the cancellation includes all games scheduled to be played through Nov. 14.
Now with the current lockout, neither players nor owners will have any chance of making a profit. In fact, the cost of cancellations would be staggering. Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver said the league would lose hundreds of millions of dollars, while the union executive director Billy Hunter estimated players' losses at $350 million for each month they were locked out.
As the lockout drags on, Stern's legacy as one of sports' best commissioners is weakened. Although he hasn't said when he will retire, he did say this will be his last collective bargaining agreement negotiation after nearly 28 years of running the league.
He has insisted he wouldn't worry about the damage to his reputation and that his only concern would be getting the deal his owners need.
It's uncertain when that will be. The sides didn't agree until Jan. 6 in 1999, just before the deadline for canceling that entire season. The league ended up with a 50-game schedule, often plagued by poor play as teams were forced to fit too many games in too small of a window.
Contact Nick Ostiller at nostiller@scu.edu or (408) 551-1918. The Associated Press contributed to this report.