It’s like the NFL Lockout all over again, except you just can’t care as much because it’s the NBA and not the NFL, the undisputed king of sports to gamble on in North America. That said, the gambling industry is still keeping an eye out on the negotiation talks for the NBA, which is still a viable gaming industry revenue stream.
In short, it’s not looking too good right now.
Negotiators for NBA owners and players after accomplishing next to nothing, will likely meet again next week and the league will have to put an offering on the table that the players won’t want to wipe their pampered arses with.
The league is seeking significant changes to the salary structure as a way to eliminate its losses, which David Stern has often remarked totalled upwards of $300 million last season.
Players’ association vice president Maurice Evansof the Washington Wizards told The Associated Press in a phone interview Wednesday,”When we’re able to explain exactly what David Stern is asking for, it becomes so clear and evident that we cannot take this deal, and guys would be willing to not participate, to not play, if that’s the offer to us.”
We’re now approaching a critical point in the negotiations. Unlike the NFL, the NBA doesn’t have enough time before the season to go through all the stages of decertification and court rulings without compromising the season.
Stern said during a podcast with ESPN.com earlier this month that progress needed to be made by the end of Labor Day weekend or “we may be headed to a bad place.”
