Free agent Shane Battier is confident of landing a job – NBA Update
NBA star Shane Battier says he isn’t overly worried because of the lockout and his expired contract. The small forward has enough trust in his abilities to be sure he would be able to get a decent enough contract one the NBA lockout
ends.
The NBA locked out its players on July 1st. Therefore a number of players now find themselves in a complicated situation, just like Shane Battier.
Battier played for the Memphis Grizzlies last season, who incidentally did amazingly well in the NBA playoffs and went farther than they ever have in their history. His contract with the Grizzlies though is up, which means in the
summer he was supposed to hit the shopping window in the free agency, with many different teams vying for his services. That hasn’t been possible because of the lockout and if it ends anytime soon, there is only going to be a very short period of time for
teams to sign free agents like Battier.
The fact that a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is almost guaranteed to have more stricter rules with teams restricted to spending too much on player salaries means that Battier could find himself in a pickle. The player though
doesn’t seem worried.
“Life goes on, it really goes on. I’m fortunate to have played 10 years in the league. I’m secure in who I am. At this point, I’m confident that if the NBA were to never settle, I could go out and get a job and use my brain to
provide for my family. That’s allowed me amazing piece of mind to just start thinking about post-basketball, but at the same time be ready for when we do settle, if we settle, to be ready to go.” He said in the interview according to Sports Radio Interviews.
Instead, Shane was more concerned with the NBA lockout as a whole, with his thoughts going out to the fans who could miss out an entire season, as well as fellow NBA players who were as of this point unemployed.
The National Basketball Players Association decided on Monday to decertify after losing faith in negotiations with the NBA owners and have since filed antitrust suits against them. Battier doesn’t like where the whole thing is
headed.
“It’s the side that normally never creeps up, but in times of collective bargaining negotiation, and I’m sure that you guys are sick of reading antitrust law … but it’s the reality of our business.” He said.
He trusts himself to get a job when the lockout ends, but what is the forward to do if the whole season is wiped out.
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