Remember this? I bet you do.
Who could forget right? Even though LeBron's legacy is yet to be written, I really feel like his place in NBA lore is well on it's way to being complete. Love him or hate him (LeBron's Jersey is the #1 selling jersey afterall), he seems destined for a statistical career elavating him to the top tier of the great G/Fs of all time. The Big question remains if he will win a championship, or how many, but there are some things we know for certain. 1 - LeBron is and may be the most athletically gifted to play in the NBA. 2 - LeBron's Agent (as well as Bosh's and Wade's) helped LeBron make this situation available to him, and while everyone thinks building the super team was in the works all along maybe the agent simply looking at the financial landscape and capitalizing on the salary opportunities while they were still available. Now that the lockout is here, and shit is about to hit the fan on player salaries, sure seems smart that Bosh, Wade and LeBron all became Free Agents the year before a new CBA had to be negotiated right? Right?
Remember how LeBron signed that 3 year extension (player option for year 4) in 2006? Well, thanks to the power of the interweb, this article written by TheClevelandFan.com in July of 2006 provides some interesting quotes:
We did extensive research and with the way the CBA is set up, it makes the most business sense to sign this extension and then look at another new contract in four years. If I didn't believe in this team and this organization and the direction that we're headed, I wouldn't have signed the extension, James said.
Interesting. I wonder what would happen to James in 4 years? Well, according to this espn.com article, I think LeBron/Wade and Bosh picked a good summer to become free agents.
LeBron James: 6 years, $110.1 million dollars.
Chris Bosh: 6 years, $110.1 million dollars.
Dwayne Wade: 6 years, $107.5 million dollars.
Now, admittedly, all 3 could have made more money (a la Joe Johnson) if they didn't care about playing together. But, when you are guaranteed to make over $100 million dollars wouldn't you rather play on a really good team as well? Most people would (except Joe Johnson). And they all can opt out in 2014 if they want. Crazy.
In a 2006 Article about Wade: The same shit appears again...
It was widely reported in recent days that Wade agreed to sign a five-year extension with the Heat, but no such pact was ever in place. Instead, this deal gives Wade the chance to secure another long-term extension before the NBA's current collective bargaining agreement expires...Wade signed a long-awaited contract extension on Wednesday. The deal is for three seasons, beginning in 2007-08, and has a player option for a fourth year -- much like the one agreed to earlier Wednesday by LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers
Bosh, the same thing:
Chris Bosh signed a three-year contract extension with the Raptors on Friday beginning in 2007-08, with a player option for a fourth year. Bosh signed a deal similar to fellow class of 2003 stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, who bypassed five-year deals for three years with an option for a fourth and the chance to become free agents sooner and potentially make more money.
That's right, LeBron first, Wade second and finally Bosh all signed similar deals. Which is why they were all able to sign ridiculous max deals, with salary figures that probably won't be available again for some time. Have you seen some of the projections for contracts AFTER the new CBA? It doesn't look pretty. Even the best players will feel the pinch, not just the Brian Cardinals and Edie Curry's of the world.
Where did it all go wrong? How did we get to this point? In the next piece of this series, we will take a look back at the real reason why Stephon Marbury left Minnesota. And it wasn't all about the cold, or his level of batshit crazy-ness.
Some good news today for sports fans, it looks like the NBA may be making some serious progress in negotiations. Which is weird, right, because the season isn't over yet and there is still some time yet ahead before negotiations become "last minute," which as every college kid knows if the only time anything meaningful gets done. 
Here are a few encouraging quotes from "sources" close to the negotiation (via Espn.com).
Although the players quickly rejected last week's proposal, sources close to the process have expressed mild optimism about the league's increased willingness to negotiate before the current labor agreement expires June 30.
ESPN.com's Henry Abbott reported Tuesday that Stern and NBPA executive director Billy Hunter have been quietly meeting face-to-face to negotiate on a fairly regular basis. The sides, sources said, met last week in Chicago with staffers from both sides present. The two sides are also set to talk this week in New York.
Don't get me wrong, the NBA has a long way (much, much longer from a revenue standpoint than the NFL) to be able to make ends meet. The ESPN article also points out that, despite the great ratings and a 1% increase in ticket sales this year, the NBA still lost $300 million dollars overall and 22 out of 30 teams lost money.
More good stuff from SI's Zach Lowe:
"Sources also said the league's proposal would ban fully guaranteed contracts," he wrote. "All contracts would have limits on the amount of money a player would be guaranteed to receive, and those guarantees would decline during the life of each contract. In other words, a player making, say, $5 million per season over four years would actually be guaranteed less than $5 million in each of those four seasons -- and the amount guaranteed would drop each season. The idea is for teams to be able to get out of undesirable contacts more easily and avoid ugly, Eddy Curry-style buyout talks."
Abhi once dedicated a full article to Eddy Curry, and his crappy ass 100% guranteed contract. In my opinion, this is one of the biggest issues in the NBA today...so if there is a possible solution on the horizon it could eliminate a big expense teams have each year from paying players who no longer contribute on the court.
As Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated adds via Twitter: "Sense I get is though the NBA is playing hardball now, they would settle for contracts being 50 percent guaranteed throughout."
I don't know if I have my rose-colored glasses on too early, but it sure seems like the NBA is taking extra steps to ensure their potential lockout doesn't get ugly like the NFL lockout.
WhiskeyDizzy is a writer and Co-Founder of TheRealShaq. Have more links, tweets or funny articles? Email WhiskeyDizzy here and we'll get them up on the site for you. You can always Email The Real Shaq with general comments or questions about the site. Follow us on Twitter and get the more interesting links and retweets from the NBA and it's players, all in 140 characters or less!
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Very "Bullets-esque" (click here for full gallery)
See any similarities?.jpg)
WhiskeyDizzy is a writer and Co-Founder of TheRealShaq. Have more links, tweets or funny articles? Email WhiskeyDizzy here and we'll get them up on the site for you. You can always Email The Real Shaq with general comments or questions about the site. Follow us on Twitter and get the more interesting links and retweets from the NBA and it's players, all in 140 characters or less!
We haven't done a show in over a month, because Carl is too cool for school. However, enjoy this throwback show.
I don't think he tried very hard, he doesn't really look like Bieber...When has Justin Bieber ever worn sunglasses?
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Here we talk about the Knicks Nuggets trade, Spurs, the awesomeness that is Derrick Rose (and his SAT skillz), the Jimmer (not a condom), and Hakeem Olajuwon performs on Dancing with the Stars!
"...It's easy to see why the owners want to play hardball. Player salaries have soared to 58% of revenues this year, from 43% in 1990. Meanwhile, the league's national TV revenue has skidded from $365 million a year under the four-year contract that expired in 1993 to perhaps $165 million this year, according to initial league estimates. Although two new stadiums and fat product licensing fees have offset some of the loss, the clubs' total revenues still slipped by $50 million this year, to $1.78 billion. Result: a $150 million loss this year..."
"...By all indications, this one could drag on into the fall or winter. The sides, despite meeting almost weekly since late April, made only minimal progress on a new labor agreement to replace the one expiring at midnight EDT June 30.
The old agreement was to run for six years, but the owners had the right to reopen it if the amount of designated revenue being paid toward player salaries exceeded a certain level 51.8 percent of related income.
The owners say they are now devoting 57 percent of those revenues to player salaries, a total of about $950 million. They have promised to resist signing a new agreement that does not include a ceiling on salaries a "hard" salary cap.
Players, meanwhile, have resisted giving up the gains they achieved in past negotiations..."
"...The rest are really side issues,'' the club executive said. "If you drew a circle representing these negotiations, a dollar sign in the middle would be the heart of it. Once that piece is in place, how to fairly split the revenues, the rest of it will come together...The owners are seeking to take roughly another $750 million to $1 billion off the top of the league's $9 billion-plus revenue pool, and it's the fight for that "new money'' that will dominate these labor talks. The players have been getting nearly 60 percent of those dollars, and now they will fight to hold onto as much of the pie as possible...it's about the money, that's the whole deal,'' another club executive said. "They're arguing over at least three-quarters of a billion dollars and that's pretty real money. It's just about how to make the economics work and re-divvy up the pie. But it's scary right now, because we're two weeks out from the CBA expiring, and they're not even talking. Nobody's blinking...''
Those quotes are from the before the baseball lockout in 1994-95, the strike shortened 1998-99 NBA Season, and a recent SI.com article about the NFL Labor negotiations. I bet, though, if the telling dates/figures were taken out, those quotes would become indistinguishable. Money. That is what is at the heart of everything in this world, and why should a big business like the NFL be any different? "If you drew a circle representing these negotiations, a dollar sign in the middle would be the heart of it. Once that piece is in place, how to fairly split the revenues, the rest of it will come together."
(Click 'READ MORE' to see the complete article)
As with any company, and professional sports are big, very popular corporations, wages and compensation are one variable cost the higher ups will try to control whenever possible. However, no person likes to see their salaries or benefits go backward, even if there is good justification for it. Now, in the real world big business would just eliminate struggling lines of business. I speak out of experience here. One week everyone got an email to meet in San Antonio, where they announced they were eliminating my position company wide. Can you imagine if the Kansas City Royals showed up to Spring to pink slips in everyone's locker? "Thank you for your dedication to Major League Baseball. Your hard work and dedication have allowed us to achieve great success here in Kansas City. However, we have to stay competitive in modern times, and we under the current economic environment so you are all fired. Good luck to (most of) you in the minor leagues. Dueces.
- Major League Baseball"
Luckily for the players (and fans), that is not how everything works in the world of professional sports. The Players Union and the Owners Union (or group/mega corporation/whatever) have to agree on a fair revenue sharing model for a set timeframe. Naturally, the owners don't want to give up too much and risk not being profitble. While the players need to be fairly compensated and taken care of for the beating they endure. Sounds simple enough, but clearly the devil is in the details as players and Owners seem to be very far apart on a few key issues. Recently, there have been a flurry of extensions. The players effectively removed the owners "rainy day fund", more commonly known as $4 billion dollars worth of TV revenue the owners were going to survive on in case of a lock out.
Now, both sides have a vested interest in meeting at the negotiating table. What is really stunning about the NFL lockout, though, is how healthy the league appears to be from a financial standpoint. 
The NBA, on the other hand, has some serious issues they need to resolve. Length of contracts, guaranteed money, the so called "soft" salary cap, etc...but the NFL? What do they have to solve? Every team is making money. Ratings and TV revenue are at an all time high. Contract are non-guaranteed. Stadiums are selling out. Help me out here, where are the problems?
I think this negotiation is a lot like buying a house, you never want your first bid to be accepted. That means you paid too much, and probably could have negotiated for a better deal. The Owners are probably willing to explore benefits for retirees, but they want to see what they can get for giving the players those benefits. 18 games? A bigger cut of the revenue pie? I think the owners could get both of those things. At the same time, I do hope the owners do not push too hard and end up with a reputation damaging labor stoppage.
I remember when I was growing up, watching my hometown Minnesota Twins. Kirby Puckett. Kent Hrbek. Jack Morris. Good times. 1987 and 1991 World Series Champions! Still, the only professional championships won by any Minnesota teams during my lifetime. Admittedly, I was rather young when the Twins were winning, so I couldn't bask in the full sports glory of those years. However, because of those years, it made sports conversations like this possible later in my life: "Minnesota, we'll get there again..you know! Yeah, just give it time, EH?" Hey, the Gophers were a HUGE football powerhouse...back in the 1940s and 50s! (Last Big 10 Championship in football? 1969!). We're gonna be good again soon, just give it time. The Twins became winners, the Gophers can again too." And my favorite: "Minnesota! Well, at least we're not Cleveland!"
What was the point of all that, you ask? Well, besides being a good opportunity to make fun of northern accents, I did bring up the Minnesota Twins for a reason. After the 1991 World Series I was hooked. I had a room full of homer hankees, HUGE posters of Kirby and Kent on my wall, and I was signing up for as much little league baseball as I could handle. I would spend hours in the summer playing baseball in my backyard with my brother and neighbor. At that time in my life, baseball was king! However, my obsession with the sport would not last forever. As many of you may remember, some with more detail than I do, the baseball lockout in the 1994-95 cost baseball fans the 1994 Pennant Race and the World Series. The entire offseason was saturated with further negotiations, leaving the 1995 season in much doubt during the early part of the year.
This lockout had such a negative affect on me for a number of reasons. One, as a kid I couldn't fully understand all the complex issues at work with the players and owners. Why wouldn't the players finish the season? I knew, that I loved playing baseball, and given the opportunity, I would play baseball as frequently as Charlie Sheen plays crazy. All the time. So, I couldn't wrap my middle school head around this stuff. Plus, the whole situation created a really negative atmosphere around the entire state (and I'm sure, country) whenever baseball was brought up. "A bunch o greedy crooks." "Ungrateful bastards!" " F@$kers!" "They are all a bunch of doushe bag assholes who wouldn't know reality if it tea-bagged the sh!t out of their foreheads." And so on. 
All this factors caused me to lose interest in baseball. It's an interest I would NEVER regain. I do apologize to all the baseball fans out there, I know there are quite a few of you, and I can appreciate your fan-hood in spite of the '94 lockout. After all, I still really enjoy the NBA even though a third of the 1998-'99 season was cancelled due to labor issues. I do not know the exact reasons why it happened to me, why exactly it is that I lost interest in baseball, and why exactly I never was able to regain that interest. I never seriously followed professional baseball again after that season, hell, I never even played baseball again after that year. I don't know exactly why that strike had such a great affect on me as a young baseball fan, and I probably never will. What I do know is the NFL Owners and Players are putting the next generation of me's (scary, huh?) in a similar position. Are they willing to risk alienating children everywhere in a similar way if there is a strike? Now, there is still a bunch of time left until any serious lockout issues affect the quality of the NFL. I'm sure both sides know this. Also, the recent flurry in "extensions" and such is promising and hopefully will lead to meaningful progress or a legitimate agreement soon.
Fortunately, right now we have the NCAA tournament and a very promising NBA Playoffs ahead of us. Opening day for sport I don't follow anymore (MLB) even has taken attention away precedent. All of these things have crowded out the impending NFL lockout death of 2011 season misery parade, and all the associated media coverage, but that can't and won't last. Let's just hope the NFL and the PA can re-united and figure this thing out before "Shefty" and Chris Mortenson take over Sportcenter full time with 24 hour coverage of the NFL lockout.
Plus, if the NFL locks out, then NBA locks out and I already don't follow baseball because of their previous lockout...what will I watch on TV?
Soccer?
Fuck That.
WhiskeyDizzy is a writer and Co-Founder of TheRealShaq. Have more links, tweets or funny articles? Email WhiskeyDizzy here and we'll get them up on the site for you. You can always Email The Real Shaq with general comments or questions about the site. Follow us on Twitter and get the more interesting links and retweets from the NBA and it's players, all in 140 characters or less!
