Ray Allen lashes out at all parties responsible for the lockout – NBA Update
Boston Celtics shooting guard Ray Allen has described the current NBA lockout as “embarrassing”. The player, who is one of the best shooters to ever play the game, remarked that it was ironic that the players and owners were wrangling
over money when they already make unprecedented amounts of it.
The NBA lockout has stemmed from the dispute between the basketball players and owners of the NBA franchises over a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, or CBA. The older CBA expired on June 30th and the two sides failed
to reach an accord on a new one in time.
Under the previous CBA, the players enjoyed a number of perks including a major portion of all basketball related income, BRI, and a soft cap that allowed players to be signed by teams even if they were exceeding the limit set
on wages. The owners now want to take away the soft cap altogether and bring the players share of BRI down from the current 57 percent to somewhere in the lower forties. Understandably, the players won’t stand for it.
Hence the NBA has entered a lockout that looks set to drag on for quite a while and could cost the league some games, or even a whole season.
Ray Allen spoke of his disappointment at the lockout and also at the factors that brought it about. He said both sides needed to come to terms with reality, stating that the astronomical figures that they make these days were unheard
of when great players like Michael Jordan and Larry Bird played the game. Hence it was astounding that they still wanted more money,
“I look at Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Dr. J, and . . . the money we make, not only us as players but as owners, the money that’s in the loop is so outstanding it’s almost embarrassing that we can make this type of money and we
still haggle over what we haggle over.”
Allen stated that it was those players and that era that saw basketball become a major sport worldwide. The popularity of basketball hit unprecedented heights when Jordan & Co. were playing, and it was a result of their efforts
that players nowadays are adored as much as they are and are paid as much as they are.
Ray believed that the lockout was harming the image of the game and at the end of the day both parties should remember that the game comes first and their salaries or share of profits come afterwards,
“We just have to always remember that we have to take the game to the next level, we gotta know that this is bigger than us, and we gotta make sure the game continues to grow.”
If a few more people would think as Ray Allen does, maybe this lockout can end sooner than expected..
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