NBA 2011-12 Season Dead

[crazy canuck]

The players made the mistake of thinking they are the NBA.  I dont think that has been true since Magic/Bird/Jordan played.  Imo most fans still watch the NBA despite many of the players.

They may not be watching because of the personalities of the top stars, but the idea that the league is filled with the top players in the world is still the chief draw. College sports are a much better avenue for civic/regional pride.

Imo college basketball is much more entertaining from a pure basketball pov.  The NBA puts on a good show - lots of glitz and glamour which is what I think you are getting at.  That has less to do with the players than how it is marketed.  If anything the current crop of players and quality of play makes the marketing job more difficult compared to the days when all one had to say is the Lakers are playing the Celtics and the basketball being played on the court did the rest.

The other problem the players have is there is no other league around that will pay anything close to this and there are lot of baskeball players in the US and the rest of the world who would be willing to play for what these players turned down.

As Larch observed a lot of the big names will be leaving soon anyway.  The owners have a lot less to lose here than the players.  If one wishes to point at blame then one could easily point out that the players badly overplayed their hand this round.

[Eddie Teach]

The NBA puts on a good show - lots of glitz and glamour which is what I think you are getting at. 

That's not at all what I was getting at. The same thing happens across all sports, regardless of how glitzy the end product- "major" leagues get millions of people watching games on television or paying good money for seats, while "minor" leagues filled with players not quite as good scrape by on a small fraction of the revenue. Fans don't want to watch players who are merely "pretty good" at their sport. So if the NBA owners decided they don't need the players, they can just find new ones... well, they have plenty to lose themselves. Even if they don't quite open the door for a rival league to spring up.

[Razgovory]

Honest question.  What does the average player get paid?  Are they all paid millions of dollars?  I have no idea.  To be honest, I feel sorry for the average guys who work at the stadiums.  Concession stand guys, guards, electricians, etc.

[sbr]

Average salary is ~5 million.  I'm sure the median is quite a bit lower.

Also note there are 450 roster spots in the NBA, compared to ~1700 in the NFL and about 750 in MLB.

[Capetan Mihali]

Bummer, I had made a resolution last year to bandwagon on to the Celtics this season since the 76ers suck and I had no particular Knicks affinity growing up.   

[crazy canuck]

The NBA puts on a good show - lots of glitz and glamour which is what I think you are getting at. 

That's not at all what I was getting at. The same thing happens across all sports, regardless of how glitzy the end product- "major" leagues get millions of people watching games on television or paying good money for seats, while "minor" leagues filled with players not quite as good scrape by on a small fraction of the revenue. Fans don't want to watch players who are merely "pretty good" at their sport. So if the NBA owners decided they don't need the players, they can just find new ones... well, they have plenty to lose themselves. Even if they don't quite open the door for a rival league to spring up.

Do you know how many people watch college basketball/football?

[Capetan Mihali]

Bummer, I had made a resolution last year to bandwagon on to the Celtics this season since the 76ers suck and I had no particular Knicks affinity growing up.   

Though I did get the autographs of John Starks and Herb Williams at some point in the mid-90s. 

[Eddie Teach]

Do you know how many people watch college basketball/football?

People watching college sports typically have a more personal emotional involvement with the outcome. Or they're junkies and there's no pro games on at that moment(especially true for football as they play most of the games on set days).

[dps]

The players made the mistake of thinking they are the NBA.  I dont think that has been true since Magic/Bird/Jordan played.  Imo most fans still watch the NBA despite many of the players.

They may not be watching because of the personalities of the top stars, but the idea that the league is filled with the top players in the world is still the chief draw. College sports are a much better avenue for civic/regional pride.

Imo college basketball is much more entertaining from a pure basketball pov.  The NBA puts on a good show - lots of glitz and glamour which is what I think you are getting at.  That has less to do with the players than how it is marketed.  If anything the current crop of players and quality of play makes the marketing job more difficult compared to the days when all one had to say is the Lakers are playing the Celtics and the basketball being played on the court did the rest.

The other problem the players have is there is no other league around that will pay anything close to this and there are lot of baskeball players in the US and the rest of the world who would be willing to play for what these players turned down.

As Larch observed a lot of the big names will be leaving soon anyway.  The owners have a lot less to lose here than the players.  If one wishes to point at blame then one could easily point out that the players badly overplayed their hand this round.

To a certain extent, the players are the league, but the players probably overestimate the extent to which that's true.  Fans tend to be fans of a team, not an individual player, at least in the long term.  Lakers fans didn't, in the main, cease to be Lakers fans when Mikan retired, or West, or Kareem, or Magic, or when Shaq got traded, and they won't when Bryant retires.

[Ed Anger]

Bummer, I had made a resolution last year to bandwagon on to the Celtics this season since the 76ers suck and I had no particular Knicks affinity growing up.   

Though I did get the autographs of John Starks and Herb Williams at some point in the mid-90s. 

Starks?

[Syt]

Average salary is ~5 million.  I'm sure the median is quite a bit lower.

Also note there are 450 roster spots in the NBA, compared to ~1700 in the NFL and about 750 in MLB.

The MLB number depends on whether or not you add the farming system, too, no?

[The Minsky Moment]

Start over again. draft the college stars, import foreigners, and offer the chance for the the current NBA players to come back. Those who don't will be inellible to play. or if black listing them is illegal then set up a fine system. any time that hires a old player who didn't initially return will be fine 5 times their salary.

Problem solved. Stupid million dollar cry babies

Before they get off the ground, the players form an alternative league; they hold their own draft, and while they are at it sue the NBA for all sorts of antitrust kind of violations.

The league's position is less secure than you think.

[Eddie Teach]

Starks?

He built his house with brick to save energy costs during the long winter to come. 

[dps]

Is it just me, or does the tactic that professional sports unions have apparantly adopted of disolving when they don't get what they want in negotiations seem a bit, well, I'm not sure if dishonest is the right word exactly.  I mean, the unions seem to be saying, "well, there's no union anymore, nudge-nudge wink-wink, so individual players can now sue the league, but if the owners want to sign a deal that we're willing to agree to, well certainly the union leadership is still here to negotiate the details with them".

[Razgovory]

Average salary is ~5 million.  I'm sure the median is quite a bit lower.

Also note there are 450 roster spots in the NBA, compared to ~1700 in the NFL and about 750 in MLB.

I looked it up. The median is lower.  Using the Miami Heat as an example the majority make more then a million.  http://hoopshype.com/salaries/miami.htm  Maybe the top three guys should give some of their salary to the bottom three.  You know, if they really care that much for their fellow players.  Still, 300,000 isn't something to sniff at.