Lockout League proves to be productive for NBA players
The National Basketball Association’s (NBA) owners have locked the league’s players over the labour dispute with their representative body. The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and the NBA owners were failed to sign
on the new collective Bargaining Agreement with-in the required time and eventually resulted in work stoppage in the league. And until these two parties come on a mutual understanding to sign on the new CBA, no game will be played in league.
However, Joe Abunassar’s impact basketball gymnasium is the only place where these professional basketball players are playing now-a -days and challenge each-other like they used to do in the NBA.
Abunassar is a long time Las Vegas based basketball trainer who opened his gymnasiums’ doors for all NBA players who are really frustrated about the current lockout and wanted to play some competitive basketball.
According to Abunassar, “This isn't the NBA, The Lockout League. But this is as close as these players are going to get for now. There's no other place they can go to play against 35, 50 NBA guys on a daily basis, now we've just
invited more people and made it kind of an event.”
Some two weeks ago, he has also briefly explained about the impact this lockout league will create on the players. He said in an interview, “This is an effort on our part to get these guys as ready for training camp as they can
get, without going to training camp, that’s the allure of it. The way we’re going to play — with all the N.B.A. guys, these guys are here to get the best basketball they’ve gotten.”
About 40 NBA stars are playing in the lockout league especially some top names like Zach Randolph, along with Stephen Jackson, Chauncey Billups, and John Wall. The lockout league has been also given the name of Impact Basketball
Competitive Training Series which is proving very fruitful for the professional NBA players.
Since the beginning of the tournament, some eight teams are playing each-other having eight players each on their roster. The championship game is scheduled on Friday 23th
September.
Though, this idea of bringing NBA players on the basketball court is very impressive, but every basketball lover around the world wants a proper NBA season to be stared soon. Already, this lockout has entered in its third month
and further delay in the season will hurt the league and every player, both financially and psychologically
The owners and the Players Association are still not reaching on any mutual understanding to resolve this issue. The two clauses which are the main causes for this lockout are still untouched by any of both these parties. Hard
salary-cap and less revenue sharing from the NBA’s entire income are the two main clauses suggested by the NBA owners to include in the new CBA which are not acceptable to all the league players and their union.
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