Chicago Bulls guard Kyle Korver not upbeat on the NBA lockout
Chicago Bulls shooting guard Kyle Korver talked NBA lockout recently and what he had to say, did not make for good listening for NBA fans. Korver was not enthusiastic at all about a resolution to the ongoing labour dispute and
said he failed to understand the financial dynamics of the league.
Korver was part of the Chicago Bulls side that finished first in the NBA regular season. The Bulls then surged through the playoffs and reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since the glory days of Michael Jordan
and Scottie Pippen. Therefore Korver, and other Bulls players, are particularly upset as their momentum is under threat because of the work stoppage.
The NBA and the players have vast differences on the details of a new CBA. The players want to keep the old model but are willing to take some pay cuts. NBA owners however are not satisfied by that, they want drastic changes to
the financial system of the league and want the players to cat massive cuts in salaries and other benefits.
Since there is no way the players would agree to such a proposal, we are stuck with the lockout that began on July 1st. According to Korver, it could continue for quite a while still.
"It's not going well ... for sure, it looks like the season's not going to start on time. It's really frustrating because the NBA's never been more successful. It's never made more money.”
NBA Commissioner David Stern claimed when the season ended that the league had suffered losses to the tune of $300 million this year. He also said that around 22 or 23 of the 30 NBA franchises were operating at a loss. The league
have blamed it on high player salaries and are using the losses as an excuse for the lockout.
This despite the fact that, the NBA raked in record revenue last season. The ratings were high throughout the season and the highest in around a decade for the NBA Finals, which was contested between the Miami Heat and the Dallas
Mavericks.
Under these circumstances, Korver said he cannot get his head round to how the league could still suffer losses,
“From [the players'] standpoint, you don't understand why ... how do you lose money? I don't understand. The NBA made like $2.4 billion this year. So that's frustrating. Especially coming off a year where your team did well and
you want to keep building on that, and you're being locked out and not being able to play."
He does have a point; let’s see what direction the NBA labour negotiations take in the coming weeks.
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