The first two weeks of the NBA regular season have been cancelled and the prospects for ending the NBA lockout do not appear promising. When will you be able to bet on NBA Basketball again? Let’s take a look at the NBA lockout, the issues and what would happen in a shortened season.
The NBA normally plays an 82-game schedule but not many fans will get too excited as long as the league plays at least a 50-game season. The last time the league had a work stoppage was in 1998-99 and the league played a 50-game regular season. The Knicks actually finished 27-23 that season and ended up in the NBA Finals where they lost to the San Antonio Spurs.
NBA Games Next Year – Maybe
If you are holding out hope that the NBA owners and players will get together and the league will only lose two weeks of the season then you better face reality. Listen to what former NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik said. “Over the next couple of months, I don’t think you’re going to see what is perceived as progress,” Granik said. “Both sides have drawn a line in the sand. At best, you’ve got to hope for a replay of what happened in 1998-99.”
There are two main issues keeping the sides from coming to a new deal, the split of revenue and a hard salary cap. The owners want the players to get 47% of revenue, down from their current 57% while the players are willing to go down to 53%. The owners might be willing to go to 50-50 but that idea was rejected by the players so owners have gone back to the 47% figure. The players are also opposed to any form of a hard salary cap system that the owners say they must have.
The year’s NBA Basketball calendar is quite uncertain as the owners are not going to budge on their demands, especially when it has been reported that more than half of the NBA teams are losing money. Many owners will lose less money by not playing. The only way the NBA lockout will end is if the players give in to most of what the owners demand. That is not going to happen anytime soon. The best case scenario has the two sides coming together in 2012 to save a short season but there is a real chance the entire 2011-2012 NBA betting season could be lost.