NBA Lockout

The NBA is considering a lockout for this season and probably also for some time in the next season. They have been considering this move for a year already. So what does a lockout mean? Revenue cannot keep up with the salaries that are given out to players under a contract with an NBA team. So that is why cutbacks have to be made, in order to even it out, lowering the salary cap per team. Players that are under a multimillion contract are forced to receive less, yet to my opinion the amount they receive is still tremendous and way beyond reality, though the decline in player salaries is due to conservative spending by owners during a poor economy.

European basketball teams though see this as an opportunity, thinking about getting NBA players to sign a contract with them. German teams such as Munich, Bamberg and Berlin have been interested in putting Dirk Nowitzki under contract for the time of the lockout, or maybe longer depending on what his decision is and what the contracts offer. This would probably open a market in Europe as basketball is still a rising sport. More and more people start to show interest in it and this would open a lot of windows as it is still unpopular.

My opinion on this is split. On the one hand I think the lockout is unfair towards the players as they have been promised to receive a certain amount in a year, according to their contract, which would result in a breaking contracts (unless I have overlooked something), though on the other hand I see this as a good idea due to the reason that Athletes receive a ridiculous amount of money per year anyway. Whereas half of their salary is still enough to make a good living.