NBA Lockout is ON

By David Shiele

5 Rights | staff writer

Around 12:01 A.M EDT on July 1,the NBA locked out its players due to a failure to come up with a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Despite a three-hour meeting on Thursday, June 30, the players and the NBA owners could not close the huge gap between them.

The two sides will meet again in the next two to three weeks.

They’ve been discussing reducing the players income percentage from 57% down to 54.3%. That would add up to players losing $500 million over the course of five years. But 90% of players get paid from Nov. 15 – April 30, so a percentage change won’t have an imediate effect.

“We’re going to stand up fro what we have to do no matter how long it’s going to take”, says Thunder gaurd Kevin Durant about the issue.

Because of the lockout now being in effect, Free agency, which would have started July 1, is now on hold. The NBA’s summer league has also been cancelled.

NBA commisioner, David Stern, and NBA leaders are willing to give a $1 million fine and a loss of draft picks to anyone who violates the lockout.

The previous NBA Lockout was before the 1998-1999 season, and reduced the season to only 50 games. That was the first time the NBA had ever missed games due to a work stopage.

This would be the second lockout of 2011, as the NFL locked out its players in March. The NFL is still in talks to renew their Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Filed Under: Sports