The large assumption in this labor strife in the NBA has been there is something of a divide amongst the owners. Big market teams have been able to spend wildly and rake in cash because of their access and popularity while small market teams have been scrounging to put together a roster, fill the stadium […]

It seems like everything David Kahn has touched since taking over as the general manager of the Timberwolves in 2009 has turned to dust. He acquired two top five picks in his first month on the job, only to spend them on Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn. One is playing for another team now, having […]

As rumors of progress between the players and owners swirl, the latest labor strife for the NBA is just beginning. The players are the priority and that has seen the owners commence a second lockout, this time of the NBA referees. That began September 1. The often-maligned group of NBA officials are never far from […]

Quick, which NBA free agent netted the largest salary in 2010? If you answered LeBron James, Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh… you would be wrong. Dirk Nowitzki? No, not quite. The correct answer, of course is: Joe Johnson! When the Hawks signed Johnson to a six-year, $124 million contract, they cemented their superstar for the […]

Everyone has their pet projects. When you get enough down time, you think about random problems that keeps your brain thinking during idle time. Because idle hands are the Devil’s play thing, right? Players have pro-am games and European offers to entertain themselves during the lockout. What are the owners doing (besides counting the millions […]

Nothing concrete came out of the six-hour talks that took place in Manhattan on Wednesday between the top-level negotiators of the union and the owners. There is still no light at the end of the tunnel.  But they are talking.  And that is more progress than there was all of July. One thing the players […]

It seems like every NBA player is making some flirtation with a team overseas. Well, at least the superstars are. As far as the virtual players are concerned, they will still be on their teams when you unwrap your NBA 2K12 game in October — barring any crazy moves in a sped-up free agency. NBA […]

A league source told Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld that September 15 is the last possible date for the league to reach an agreement before games start getting lost. It leaves a very very short time for the NBA to reach a deal and get itself going again. It probably makes the meeting this week between […]

The NCAA might be the only basketball we get to see for a while (unfortunately). And its world got rocked with a major announcement this weekend. Top recruit Andre Drummond not only committed to Connecticut, he enrolled. This is a pretty rare occasion. Drummond is 19 years old and elected to hang back a grade […]

In the seeming small-market versus big-market conflict of the NBA lockout, one of the concerns has been what happened last summer. Everyone in the league seemed blindsided when word leaked out that LeBron James was taking his talent to South Beach. Small-market owners already claiming loss and hardship suddenly saw their ability to keep and […]

It is done. Problem solved. Lockout over. Let’s get to work. A commenter on TrueHoop on Thursday summarized the various offers and proposals made during collective bargaining so far (seen in the chart above, h/t TrueHoop), you can see a lot of the problems in negotiation. The pink line favors the players too much, the yellow […]

When NBA fans think of teams struggling entering the lockout, the Hornets might be at the top of the list. They still do not have an owner — the NBA has been running the franchise — while their stadium is one of the oldest in the league in a struggling basketball market. Not helping matters […]

The New York Knicks are the poster child for bad decision-making and investments. True, in the last three years Donnie Walsh has turned things around by shedding bad salaries, freeing up cap room and investing in young players. But a lot of the ills of the lockout can be seen through the prism of the […]

Everyone has a theory on the lockout. Even Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell tried to get to the root of the problem with the owners and why some or most of their demands are a little unrealistic, in his opinion. His theory is that owners do not actually gain much financial benefit from owning an NBA team. […]

Larry Bird knows his career as general manager and president of the Pacers is coming to an end soon. He told owner Herb Simon he would like to walk away when they met back in May but was convinced to stick around for at least another year. The Pacers have been preparing to find a […]