Ben Gordon says the NBA lockout can last for 2 years – NBA Labour Dispute Update
Detroit Pistons star Ben Gordon is not necessarily the most optimistic person in the world.
He certainly doesn’t have an optimistic view about the current NBA lockout and believes that it could last for 2 years. The player does not see a solution arising to the NBA labour dispute any time soon and therefore made the comments
in a telephone interview.
"I think there will be more games missed," Gordon said while on his way to Chicago. "I expect it might be a year or two. I realized that when I was listening to both sides during the negotiations. I think there will be a lot of
games missed and more money is going to go down the drain.”
The NBA lockout began on July 1st as the old Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) expired. Talks to formulate a new one have basically gone nowhere, with the NBA owners and the players, represented by the National Basketball
Players Association or NBPA, both sticking to their demands.
Gordon sat in some of the meetings held in the last few weeks, where, supposedly, concerted efforts were made to get a deal done. The player however was not at all impressed by the intensity of the sessions, calling them a “waste
of time”.
NBA Commissioner David Stern cancelled the first two weeks of NBA games on Monday after another frantic session of talks failed to produce a breakthrough. The preseason and training camps had already been cancelled before.
Gordon believes the NBA owners had it all planned out beforehand, saying they seemed insincere in the negotiations. The guard went as far as to claim that this was indeed what the owners wanted and the meetings were just a show
to fool the public.
"It just seemed scripted, and they were going through the motions," said Gordon, calling it a valuable learning experience. "Sitting there in front of them you could tell they weren't focused on getting a deal. I still don't know
the purpose of those meetings."
That is an assertion becoming increasingly popular, at least among the players. NBPA executive director Billy Hunter had earlier claimed that he didn’t expect an NBA season for 2011-2012 because of the labour dispute and recently
remarked that the owners’ intentions had been visible since a year or two ago.
Many NBA players have pleaded for the league to start the season, with some even launching a campaign on twitter to gather some support.
The players’ stance is simple and as Gordon puts it;
"Every guy is ready to play," Gordon said. "We have been locked out."
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