Fan Opinion: Will NBA Recover from Bad Publicity?
The NBA owners and the NBA Players Union have finally come agreed to end the owners lockout but is the damage irreversible? In some cities the NBA will always be king but there are several cities and teams who are vulnerable in this situation.
The decision not to contract the league by two teams has potential to hurt the NBA down the road. The new business model designed under this new agreement will benefit the smaller teams but what if they don't succeed after these measures take hold?
The sides met secretly several times this week culminating with a 15 hour marathon session on November 25. The final handshake agreement is not a done deal yet according to ESPN. They interviewed David Stern shortly after the agreement was made.
Stern talked after the two sides emerged from the session. He said the agreement is "subject to a variety of approvals and very complex machinations, but we're optimistic that will all come to pass and that the NBA season will begin Dec. 25."
A Christmas Day start will result in a 66-game schedule. If the schedule remains unchanged, the three Christmas games will be a huge blastoff for the league.
The early game will feature the Boston Celtics taking on the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden. The New York versus Boston rivalry is not as intense in basketball but it will get the league off to a good start after the 149-days of animosity during the lockout.
The Knicks and Celtics game leads into the second matchup of the day which is a rematch of the NBA Finals. The Miami Heat and LeBron James travel back to Dallas for the first time since losing the NBA Championship to Mark Cuban's Mavericks.
The last game to kick off the NBA's shortened season will feature NBA MVP Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls facing Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. The NBA could not have constructed this any better but the lockout is not over quite yet. Both the players and all the owners must sign off but as Stern said there is good reason to finally be optimistic after facing the potential loss of the entire season.
*Todd Jacobs is a native Southern California resident and has followed the Los Angeles Lakers since the "Showtime" days of the Lakers and earlier with Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West, "The Logo."
Sources:
ESPN: Tentative NBA labor deal reached
The decision not to contract the league by two teams has potential to hurt the NBA down the road. The new business model designed under this new agreement will benefit the smaller teams but what if they don't succeed after these measures take hold?
The sides met secretly several times this week culminating with a 15 hour marathon session on November 25. The final handshake agreement is not a done deal yet according to ESPN. They interviewed David Stern shortly after the agreement was made.
Stern talked after the two sides emerged from the session. He said the agreement is "subject to a variety of approvals and very complex machinations, but we're optimistic that will all come to pass and that the NBA season will begin Dec. 25."
A Christmas Day start will result in a 66-game schedule. If the schedule remains unchanged, the three Christmas games will be a huge blastoff for the league.
The early game will feature the Boston Celtics taking on the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden. The New York versus Boston rivalry is not as intense in basketball but it will get the league off to a good start after the 149-days of animosity during the lockout.
The Knicks and Celtics game leads into the second matchup of the day which is a rematch of the NBA Finals. The Miami Heat and LeBron James travel back to Dallas for the first time since losing the NBA Championship to Mark Cuban's Mavericks.
The last game to kick off the NBA's shortened season will feature NBA MVP Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls facing Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. The NBA could not have constructed this any better but the lockout is not over quite yet. Both the players and all the owners must sign off but as Stern said there is good reason to finally be optimistic after facing the potential loss of the entire season.
*Todd Jacobs is a native Southern California resident and has followed the Los Angeles Lakers since the "Showtime" days of the Lakers and earlier with Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West, "The Logo."
Sources:
ESPN: Tentative NBA labor deal reached
Published by Todd Jacobs
Todd Jacobs is from Anaheim, California and resides in the city of Las Vegas. Todd worked for Orange Coast Magazine as News Editor in the 80s and recently began writing for several online sites including:... View profile
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