After 149 days, on Nov. 26, NBA fans heard the news they had been awaiting: The NBA lockout has ended, and the league will have a season.
The owners and players announced there was a tentative 10-year deal reached that included a 66-game season and 51 percent of basketball-related income going to the players. Something in the works is a harsher luxury tax
that would limit spending by the big-market teams.
With the new deal, the players have the option of opting out after six years into the collective bargaining agreement.
There will be 16 days for training camp that starts Friday and free agency started Saturday. The season is planned to begin on Christmas Day with five games scheduled for that day.
An expectation that might come along with a shorter season is better quality of play. The NBA now has to play 66 games so every game might be treated as a must-win with the players probably giving their full efforts to help their teams get to the playoffs.
If the lockout were to continue, it would have been a real tragedy for all parties involved.
According to Businessweek, had the lockout continued past the scheduled all-star game, the city of Orlando would have lost out on a possible $100 million the game would have brought in.
The television revenue the NBA could have got from the full season would have been $930 million in contracts from ABC/ESPN and TNT. The NBA would have had to pay it all back if the season was canceled. An estimated $480 million in revenue was lost during the lockout by the NBA that the league will never see again.
During the lockout, many players played overseas to keep playing basketball if the lockout continued. Tony Parker went to France, Deron Williams traveled to Turkey and Rudy Fernandez went to Spain. Players such as Aaron Brooks, J.R. Smith, Wilson Chandler and Kenyon Martin signed contracts to play for teams in China.
However, according to Yahoo Sports, the NBA players in the Chinese Basketball Association did not allow an escape clause in its contracts that would allow players to return to the U.S. Unfortunately, those players are stuck there until the regular season ends in March.
Many trade rumors surrounding basketball’s biggest stars are circulating as the 2011-12 season is about to begin. A lot of talks have surrounded the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers. Orlando is rumored to putting Dwight Howard on the trading block, while L.A. might offer Andrew Bynum, Ron Artest or Lamar Odom. New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul has also been rumored to have been named as a possible trading option.
Orlando might be anxious to get rid of Howard and New Orleans with Paul because both players are free agents at the end of the season and probably will not be given bigger contracts to stay with their respective teams.
Just like any new season in any sport, no one knows for sure what surprises await. Will the big three in Miami finally win that coveted NBA Finals or will Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks defend their 2011 NBA title? Only time will tell.
