Had Enough of the NFL Lockout Drama? Here's the Even More Dramatic NBA Lockout!

About a decade ago, in a sports league not so different from this one...

NBA LOCKOUT
Episode I: Departing Heroes

It was a time of great change. The Bulls Wars had just ended, the great hero Michael Jordan had decided that he was done saving the sports world from the clutches of the evil ones known as Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, and the Portland Trail Blazers. It was a time of great change and uncertainty as none was sure who would lead the NBA to prosperity. In the time of the NBA's greatest triumph, the evil one known as David the Stern, NBA commissioner, reared its ugly head.

David the Stern had once been a mere messenger for the commissioner's office, working as a lawman, but when the previous commissioner decided that the heroes of the galaxy deserved no rights, David demonstrated his incredibly lawyer powers by utterly losing his case in a landslide victory for the players. Because of his total ineptitude as a lawyer, it was obvious that he should be given a promotion and become the assistant commissioner. Shortly after, the commissioner, Larry of Brien, died a tragic death, long overdue. David the Stern became the new "leader" and proceeded to do all he could to ruin everyone's lives.

This time, David the Stern decided that the heroes should be paid less money and the ones paying the heroes deserved more money and that more heroes should be allowed, despite an already excessive amount. The heroes decided they would not agree to this, waging a strike, and thus, the Lockout began. Many moons later, the Lockout finally ended, but not without casualties. 32 battles needed to be cancelled, never to be made up. Legions of heroes who had no business in a battle of champions fought due to the missing 32. In the end, a new legion of heroes was crowned, the Spurs of San Antonio, led by David, son of Robin.

Peace seemed to return to the NBA, but that peace was only short-lived....


Yes, the NBA lockout has officially begun, for the 2nd time in 12 years. Is this really going to happen every time a CBA expires in the NBA? The NBA and NBPA are so far apart on the issues that we may realistically lose an entire season of basketball because the NBA owners want a hard salary cap instead of a soft salary cap. The way things work now, every dollar paid over the salary cap is doubled and comes out of the owner's pocket. Because of this, very wealthy owners can afford to pay over the salary cap and assemble super-teams like the Miami Heat. Miami's ease of recruiting talent and making it to the NBA Finals in just 1 season seriously scared the owners of every other team, knowing that-that was possible in any franchise with a rich owner unafraid of spending money, like with the Lakers, Knicks, Celtics, Mavericks, and Wizards.

The players want to maintain a soft salary cap because under the hard salary cap rule, the owners would end up making more money and taking salaries away from players. For veteran players, this isn't really a big deal, but for people barely entering the NBA and bench players, this can have serious repercussions. Even though we all hear about how many millions of dollars Kobe, LeBron, and the rest make, bench players and newbies don't make that much money if they don't have an endorsement deal with anyone.

Let the battles begin, because by the end of this thing, David Stern is very likely to no longer be commissioner.