HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

As the lockout approaches day number one hundred, the failure to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement continues to increase the probability of the 2012 regular season having a portion of its games cancelled.

Yesterday, NBA commissioner David Stern announced he would cancel the first two weeks of the regular season if there is no agreement on a new CBA by this coming Monday.

“There is an extraordinary hit coming to the owners and to the players,” Stern said.

All throughout this negotiating process most have readily admitted that real any progress wouldn’t materialize until both sides started losing cold hard cash. Ultimately, the prospect of a large loss in revenues will get the attention of all vested parties.  

But for now league owners and players must come to an agreement on how to split the revenues in a four-day span – something which couldn’t be done over the past two years. Complicating matters is there are no meetings set for Thursday, Friday or Saturday.

As HOOPSWORLD’s Steve Kyler pointed out earlier this week, most of the league’s advertising and season ticket contracts specifically allow for cancellation and refunds if regular season games are missed. So in essence, a large portion of the league’s money pot (advertisers / fans) could leave for good once games are cancelled officially.  

Unlike the 1999 lockout in which negative public perception was slanted heavily toward the players, the ongoing labor dispute has yet to take a similar path amongst fans.

This could possibly change once real action is missed since early season NBA competition is often overshadowed by the conclusion of the Major League Baseball season, NCAA and NFL Football.

But whose side is the public really on?

The owners have been aided in the publicity battle by their order not to discuss anything lockout related.

The reason is simple.

Based on common principle alone the owners’ demands don’t pass the sensibility test.

The league is vehemently fighting for a system which secures their ownership partners a guaranteed profit stream year in and year out regardless of any irresponsible business decisions that a franchise may make on or off the court.

The argument is constantly made about the need for financial parity in order for smaller market teams to flourish, never mind the fact the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder have thrived under the current system by remaining sensible in their approach to acquiring and managing talent.

If you strip out the emotions of the millionaires fighting other millionaires over sums of money the common person will never see, it becomes a little clearer that ownership may be the side truly dragging their respective feet.

Ask yourself this question. If your employer posted record profits and the popularity of its product was at an all-time high, would you rollback some of your salary that had been contractually agreed to previously?

Strangely enough the players have agreed to do just that, acknowledging the current system is somewhat broken and offering to make numerous concessions.

Earlier the week, the last players offer to ownership was reported to include more than $1 billion in rollbacks over the course of a new CBA despite the league’s record breaking revenues, television ratings and upward trending worldwide popularity.   

The owners said no deal and now the season may be in jeopardy of starting on time.

The old adage will remain true in this instance once the real money starts being lost. The guy with two dollars losing a nickel a day will outlast the guy with only a single buck losing the same amount.

Translation, the owners will eventually win this negotiation. In some instances they already have since the players have agreed to give up valuable percentage points in BRI despite $4 billion in revenues last year. 

But what are your thoughts? Whose side are you on at this very moment? Leave your comments below.

Deron Williams Struggling Overseas? Reports are beginning to surface that Deron Williams, a player figured to be a prominent building block for the New Jersey (Brooklyn) Nets, is struggling early on his European league tenure.

Williams shocked many during the summer by becoming the biggest NBA name to sign a deal overseas by coming to terms with Besiktas of the Turkish league.

But the early results have not been promising in the very least and Williams admits he’s struggling adapting.

“I mean, I’ve played in a lot of European basketball,” Williams stated according to the New York Times. “I’ve played in the Olympics. But this is definitely different. The way the reffing (that) has been going has been different for me, but I’ve got to adjust.”

Besiktas was eliminated in EuroCup which many consider to be a lower tier tournament and Williams posted just 7 points to go along with 6 turnovers.

There have also been reports of Williams appearing to be far from game shape.

To be fair, Williams is coming off an injury suffered at the tail end of last season and playing in a totally new realm where more physical play is encouraged and allowed by officials.

Andrew Bogut To The Kings (NBL)? According to the West Australian, Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut has committed to playing for the Sydney Kings of the NBL.

However, Bogut must first secure an insurance policy for the $39 million he’s still owed by the Bucks.

The prospect of Bogut returning home to play has been going on since the summer as he previously entertained offers from Perth, Adelaide and Gold Coast according to the report.

Bogut’s management team announced the news on Twitter and fully expects the insurance issue will be resolved even though the big man will have to miss the Kings’ season opener versus rival Melbourne.

“He is committed to the (NBL),” the group posted. “He would like to play for (the Sydney Kings). Insurance is still not finalized. As such he will not be playing tomorrow night against Melbourne. We will continue to try and resolve the insurance policy. Thanks to everyone for your patience. We will keep you up to date as things progress.”

NBA Chats: There are two chats on the schedule today. Joel Brigham is set to run the point at 1:30PM EST. Joel covers the Chicago Bulls and Eastern Conference. Be sure to get your questions in early. Next, HOOPSWORLD’s publisher Steve Kyler will host his chat at 3:30PM EST. Steve has the latest news regarding the lockout, trade rumors and offseason buzz. Submit your question here. You can always find the upcoming chats here.