Today is likely the biggest day professional basketball’s seen since Michael Jordan hung it up. As asinine and knee-jerk as that might feel at first glance, at what other moment in this sport’s history has the game teetered so delicately between prosperity and irrelevance? Even as hellfire rained in Detroit on that fateful night in 2004, no one paid enough attention to do anything other than dismiss that night as another example of those tattooed thugs further blemishing a game that had already been ruined by people who just weren’t and couldn’t be Magic, Larry and Mike. No, today’s proceedings will either present the NBA with its oh-so-necessary segway into a continuation of last year’s return to glory or provide the rest of the non-hoops-obsessed heads with a reason to once again bury the game that evokes such fickle bandwagon-ness already. And at such an important moment, only a $100 million strands between such terrifyingly divergent paths (and what’s a hundred million between ballers and billionaires, right?). Thankfully, each side of the lockout talks understands the gravity of this moment, and that’s why everything will be settled today. Right?
Actually, despite all of the talks of “nuclear options”, “blood issues” and “supertaxes” (well, that last one just sounds like fun), neither side of these negotiations has acted like much is at stake besides revenue and cap regulations, an almost dementedly narrow view of an imbroglio that could turn several subcultures on their heads. Those of us who often dabble in the even seedier, grubbier world of American politics are quite familiar with the feeling of helplessness that currently seems to be wafting through NBA fan circles; the political heads have all more than gotten used to the idea that someone with more power may be deciding something that appears to gravely affect us with the flippancy of someone turning a light switch, but for sports fans, this is somewhat new. Yes, teams make trades and changes and fire coaches, but every summer or fall or spring, our favorite comes rolling back around with the same familiar faces doing the same amazing things that make us smile and point and guffaw and wonder how the **** he just did that. NFL fans, a much larger contingent than our clan of dichotomous, bickering few, similarly felt the tightening screws of a lockout, but because football’s profit margins rise so much higher than those of the roundball, even their nukes seemed somewhat defanged because, no matter what, FOOTBALL WOULD BE BACK. No doubts; just a matter of when and what quality.
It is that very urgency that doesn’t just appear to be missing from these NBA lockout negotiations; it seems like these guys think there are more pressing matters than putting basketball back on the court. And with a group like this, who can feel security that today’s verdict will be in our favor, that not only this league’s image will be saved, but that we can just go watch some damn pro ball, regardless of initial quality? Not I, and I don’t think too many (even Vegas odds are currently on no games at all) stand in disagreement as those two intractable sides stand in disagreement. Tomorrow is the day; even two weeks gone will leave an indelible stain on this league, like marked bills that just don’t hold value any longer. Let’s just hope these “blood issues” and dirty money don’t keep us from our beloved any longer than they already have.
