Las Vegas Summer League Canceled, NBA Lockout Draws Near

The Las Vegas Summer League has officially been canceled by the NBA this year. That news might be a bit more worrisome than some fans understand, especially when many aren't really sure what the summer leagues even are. What might be clear to many die-hard NBA fans though, is that this is an ominous move from a league that looks like it is heading for a long work stoppage.

According to ESPN, the NBA owners and players' union met again on Friday to try and come to a new collective bargaining agreement. Not that much was settled, and they will be returning to the negotiating tables on next Tuesday. These labor meetings are what will dictate if the NBA heads into a lockout on July 1, or if they come to a miraculous deal that the NFL was unable to achieve. There seems to be differing levels of hope depending on who is speaking about avoiding the lockout, but there are some very key issues that haven't been addressed yet.

When it comes to a new collective bargaining agreement, the owners want to get rid of guaranteed contracts and institute a hard salary cap system for the league. Those are harsh policies that could strip the players of rights that they currently have under the old system. As it stands now, if a player signs a contract with a franchise, that franchise is then required to pay out the full value of that contract. The owners want to be able to get out of contracts though; something that is already done in the NFL right now.

When it comes to a salary cap, the league already has a soft cap in place. With a soft cap, teams can spend more than the limit, but they incur a luxury tax that can make things quite expensive. Under a hard salary cap, there would be no teams allowed to go over a certain limit in salaries. For instance, if the salary cap was set at $60 million, no team would be allowed to spend more than that number.

To put some numbers in perspective, many teams were far over the salary cap last season, with the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks setting the bar as the highest paid teams. The Lakers paid out over $91 million in salaries while the Mavericks were just under that mark. Both teams far-exceeded the soft salary cap and will have to pay a hefty luxury tax that their owners don't seem to mind. Other teams are unable to come up with funds like that, and it creates a huge discrepancy in compensation around the league.

Regarding the cancellation of the NBA Summer League, that is worrisome because it normally takes place in July. It is a place where players taken in the NBA Draft or are trying to catch on with a team after college get to play. It is a great place to gauge some of the new and young talent, but the NBA has now canceled it. That makes it seem like the league feels a lockout is going to take place that would wipe it out, giving much less credence to those saying the lockout will be avoided.