Celtics Title Town

Time is running out. The league faces a lockout for the second time since 1999. It's odd timing. The last lockout started after one of the highest rated NBA finals in league history. The 98 finals showcased Jordan's Bulls against the duo of Stockton and Malone. It was a rematch from the season before. This was dubbed the last dance,but the window wasn't shut all the way on this Bulls team. We didn't know that it was going to be the end of the Bulls run.

The NBA hit it's peak as Jordan was leaving. If Jordan wasn't a blow to the ratings. A lockout,and loss of games would impact the NBA even further. The NBA has recovered,but it's been baby steps.

With the league hitting all time numbers once again in this years finals. The league has been growing some interest with Lebron James this season,and the latest Celtics and Lakers Finals match-ups. The league is in good hands right now in terms of star power. The growth of the NBA world wide is at a all time high as well. The NBA is at risk of losing some mojo from this years season,and NBA playoffs.

Will already miss the free agent flurry,and we have already seen less trades made on draft night. What the league runs a risk of is wasted time on NBA player careers. The NBA could be hurting the record books,and player legacies. What if Kobe misses a whole year,or if Lebron does? Kobe won't creep up to the 30,000 point total,and Lebron will miss out on another chance for a ring. They both will be a year older. It's lost time,and it will hurt the NBA without question.

Hell even with a 50 game regular season it will effect all time NBA totals for players playing today.

The Clock it ticking on the NBA,and it's ticking on all time great players like Nash,Duncan,KG,and Kobe. Here is latest before both sides meet Thursday.

 

"There's always time to make a deal," Stern insisted.

Yet one source close to the negotiations told ESPN.com that "it's a sign" indicative of the wide gap between the sides that no talks were scheduled for Wednesday, leaving only Thursday's deadline-day bargaining session in New York as the last hope to strike an agreement before the deadline.

Union head Billy Hunter told the Sports Business Journal on Tuesday that the deadline can be extended "if both sides demonstrate a willingness," but Hunter expects the worst if the divide between the parties doesn't get any narrower during their Thursday sitdown at the bargaining table in Manhattan.

"If no progress is being made by the two sides," Hunter told the Sports Business Journal, "then the NBA will impose a lockout."

I never get why the sides meet only a few times a week if that.

"We were prepared to (meet) over the weekend," Stern said Tuesday. "They said they knew we were meeting (in Dallas), (so) can we meet Wednesday or Thursday? We said, 'Fine, we can meet either or both.' And they said Thursday. We said, 'Great.'

"I sure would like to see us make a deal," Stern said. "And not making a deal should give everybody apprehension, because the way to continue our growth is to come up with a deal that ... keeps our union as the highest-paid union in the world, gives all of our teams the opportunity to make a profit and makes us a more competitive league.

"It sounds like the tripod for a win-win-win, and we'll have to see whether that's a possibility when we meet again with the players on Thursday."

Thursday's meeting is expected to feature just a handful of negotiators on each side, most notably Stern and Silver representing the NBA and Hunter and union president Derek Fisher of the Los Angeles Lakers representing the players.

It's going to be a boring summer in the NBA. The summer has been all about free agent signings,and big trades.We won't see any of it,and it sucks. The past few summers I have gotten spoiled with all the action in the summer time with player movement. Look at this years crazy free agent period after July 1st. We all know what Lebron did.

The league will change,but the league needs to take care of it's fans. They need an NBA season this year plain and simple.