There's Enough Blame to go Around

The "Basketball for Thought" is a commentary by Kris Gardner.

September 1998

As the NBA's lockout drags on, the likelihood of the season starting on time November 3rd is practically a pipe dream. The owners and players presented their respective cases to an arbitrator in order to determine whether guaranteed contracts should be paid to the players during the lockout. Whichever side wins the decision gains the clear advantage in the negotiations. The question remains who is at fault. Answer: everyone -- the owners, players, agents, and even the fans. Yes, the fans, too.

NBA owners have the right to run their teams any way they see fit. Of course, most owner's primary objective of ownership is to make money. As a result, in order to guarantee profit, the owners want "cost certainty" (re: hard salary cap) instituted in the new collective bargaining agreement. The owners are wrong for wanting to limit players' salaries. If the market dictates huge salaries, so be it; the market will bear huge contracts until the market goes bust.

The owners claim the market is bust. Salaries are rising out of control. The owners have no one to blame but each other. Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen wants no salary cap at all. Without a salary cap, Allen, a billionaire, could virtually buy himself an All - Star team. The majority of NBA owners cannot pay huge salaries; however, knowing a "large revenue" team (Commissioner Stern's term) will offer a free agent a $100 M contract forces the "small revenue" team to make the offer in order to compete. Small revenue teams want to be competitive; but, the ever increasing salaries make it a near impossibility to be a championship contender and maintain fiscal responsibility.

The players are wrong for wanting no salary cap. The players' side claims to have the best interests of the "grunt" players at heart as they hold fast to their demand to keep the "Larry Bird Exemption" which means a team can re-sign their own player for any amount. In reality, hard working vets like Tyrone Corbin and sharp shooting Eddie Johnson will never get the opportunity to be signed to a contract using the "Bird" exemption.

The players want open ended salaries without limits as well as an increase to the minimum one year contract for veterans (from $275,000 to at least $500,000) plus more exemptions in the new agreement. Those proposals directly clash the owners' proposals i.e. cost uncertainty.

The agents are to blame because they leak salaries their clients sign for to the press, other players, and / or the public. Agents want the world to know the great deals they got for their clients. Releasing salaries to the public exacerbates greed throughout the league as well as jealousy and rage from the fans. Players want to sign for at least "one dollar more" than the previous guy. (Stephon Marbury is planning to ask for a contract totaling $128M -- $2M than teammate Kevin Garnett's contract.) Marbury will probably get it, too.

Fans are to blame because no matter how much they complain on talk radio and in newspaper editorials; if a team is a legitimate title contender, fans will spend the money to attend a game. Sure the lockout may alienate fans if regular season games are missed; however, the owners and players believe the fans will return. They're right. It may take awhile; but, the fans would return.

Chicago Bulls' fans renewed their season tickets at a rate of almost 100% despite the uncertainty of MJ's return which would guarantee a miserable season for the Bulls.

New York Knicks' fans pay $1100 per game for courtside seats even though the Knicks are nowhere near a championship (despite Patrick Ewing's claims to the contrary)!

Fans may get upset with the indifferent attitudes shown by many players; however, a run at a championship seems to cure a lot of those ills.

Consequently, everyone is at fault. The owners, players, agents, and fans should share the blame. There's enough blame to go around. Now, let's do something about it.