Sporting in America is in a gloomy place. On June 30, the National Basketball Association (NBA) joined the National Football League (NFL) by allowing its collective bargaining agreement to expire. The first outlook is that a new agreement will not be coming any time soon leading many analysts to speculate the 2011-12 season could be in serious peril. I am largely inclined to agree.
When the last NBA lock out occurred in 1998 it led to a shortened season which harmed the reputation of the league. Although the NBA has risen in popularity somewhat thanks to rising stars in the past decade such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, the NBA is shaky lacking parody and enough talent to spread across all (especially the small market) teams.
If the NBA misses games or a season all together, the league may find it difficult to overcome and win the market back. Other North American sport leagues have made the mistake of missing games/seasons recently. Baseball crippled itself for years after canceling the World Series of 1994 and exactly one decade later, the National Hockey League (NHL) did the same. In short, all the big sports besides the NFL have done so. But have they learned their lesson?
The only league that could afford some sort of missed games would be the NFL. Yet even the mighty football league seems to understand the risk of cancellations as the sides seem poised now to strike a deal. The NBA however, doesn't come anywhere near the revenue, ratings, and popularity of the NFL, nor does it have the parody and mass appeal. Another potential problem for the NBA which the NFL doesn't have to face are the options that players have in playing in overseas leagues.
One part of the world that wouldn't mind a vacation by the NBA would be the international leagues in Europe. Many former NBA players have made the jump to Europe at points in their careers. Josh Childress and Alan Iverson are two notable examples of players who have done it. Many other collegiate stars have played overseas directly and simply skipped the NBA all together. Still other notables players have thrown the idea out in the media at points in the past including some of the leagues biggest names like Kobe Bryant and Paul Pierce.
Now with the lock out begun, another NBA star, Deron Williams of the New Jersey Nets is seriously flirting with the idea of singing a contract overseas, and he claims he isn't the only one. With enough big name players and sponsors to help fund the deals, is an exodus of sorts from the NBA really such a far fetched dream? We will just have to wait and see. But if the NBA can't get its act together soon, Deron Williams thinks you will see many players heading overseas. Permanently. For my buck, I wouldn't disagree.
