The NBA, too big to succeed?

Hello,

     It is I, The handsome Righthander, here to tell you that nothing of consequence has happend in sports lately.  "Wrong!" you say?  well to hell with you.  If you are one of the few people who is ignorant  and just a foolish fool in general, this blog is not for you.  In fact, by blog's end, you may not like me very much.  Don't worry, I will still continue to live my life without your support.  I will find a way to go on.  I will go on, much like the way the world has moved on without the NBA.  Just take a look at the picture above.  REALISTICALLY, how many players can you name? I got up to six.  I mean really, if you cannot even get your stars to come out and support the cause that puts food on your fucking table, how bad is your situation, and why should the average fan care?  Where is LeBron, Kobe, and all the torchbearers that will usher the NBA into new levels of prosparity?   I would even settle for Amare Stoudamire and his dumbass glasses.   After months of knowing that the league was going to take a hardline stance, you threaten to decertify and sue the league?  Why now, why not 8 months ago?  You face a situation where you have no leverage, no fans, and no supporters.  Plans of Players to start their own league have fizzled, plans to play in Europe have fizzled, and worse, the fanbase support has fizzled.  No one wants to see Carmelo Anthony the accountant, or Kevin Garnett the lawyer.  I also understand that No one pays to see Jerry Riensdorf hoop either.  Basketball is the single thing that made these people interesting, and they are no longer doing it.  "But Dewayne Wade is a clothing designer now,"  you say?  "Who gives a shit"  I say. 

 Your constituency is losing money every day, and has no financial backers to help defer costs.  NBA Player rep President Derek Fisher  and Union rep Billy Hunter have allowed egos to get in the way of making the best deal possible for the players.    People will find out soon enough just how replaceable the NBA is when they realize that Soccer is being marketed more aggressively to local bar owners. 

Who knows, maybe its just me, maybe I am too cynical.  Maybe only I think that players like Rashard Lewis making 18M per year, and are the 3rd option on their team are crazy.  I remember when Micheal Jordan made 6M, Toni Kukoc made 4M, and Pippen made 1.8M.  market value would have paid Jordan about 100M a year for all he brought to the league at that time.  He freakin SAVED the nba, and EVEN HE could not break 10 mil until his last 2 contracts at 33 and 36 M per year.  You mean to tell me Rashard Lewis deserves to make more last year than Pippen did in 11?   Owners have a right to demand concessions, owners have a right to pay what they want to pay, high or low.  Players have a right to either pay for that money, or go back to law school.  Players make too much, owners pay too much, and the league had owners losing money last year.  The whole model is out of whack and needs to be re-assessed.

     If you own a team, you should meet certain standards.  You should expect to be able to spend  a certain amount of money, and you should expect to make a certain amount of money.  You should not be a Donald Sterling and be thrifty to earn your money, nor should you pull a Jerry Colangelo, and blow your wad and decimate your team for years to come.  If you are a player, you should be aware that your ability to hoop is a gift, and your responsibility to manage as best possible.  Ask Antione Walker (bankrupt), Scottie Pippen (Bankrupt), and Craig Hodges (took a college coaching job and after 2 years had a 8-51 record, I mean this MF'er wone CHAMPIONSHIPS, and could not coach kids?), what they would do if they got a second chance.

   Last but not least, be a team.  Players who are tweeting about not trusting Fisher and Hunter, or each other, are being devisive.  They make the players look like a bunch of Occupy Portland weirdos.  What they need to do is all wear ties, all get educated, and sit down with owners to come to a conclusion on this matter.  Above all. NBA players should be aware that if the league boycotts the year, the owners can write it off on their Billionaire tax returns.  When you read players like Delonte West, who applied to work at Home Depot despite a million dollar contract, I laugh.  I am sure owners read that too.