Millionaires Reach Deal With Billionaires

The NBA strike/lockout is apparently on the verge of being over:

NBA owners and players reached a tentative agreement early Saturday to end the 149-day lockout and hope to begin the delayed season on Christmas Day.

Neither side provided many specifics but said the only words players and fans wanted to hear.

“We want to play basketball,” NBA commissioner David Stern said.

After a secret meeting earlier this week, the sides met for more than 15 hours Friday, working to try to save the season. This handshake deal, however, still must be ratified by both owners and players.

Stern said it was “subject to a variety of approvals and very complex machinations, but we’re optimistic that will all come to pass and that the NBA season will begin Dec. 25.”

Barring a change in scheduling, the 2011-12 season will open with the Boston Celtics at New York Knicks, followed by Miami at Dallas in an NBA finals rematch before MVP Derrick Rose and Chicago close the tripleheader against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

The league plans a 66-game season and aims to open training camps Dec. 9. Stern has said it would take about 30 days from an agreement to playing the first game.

“All I feel right now is ‘finally,'” Dwyane Wade told The Associated Press.

I can’t say I even really noticed the NBA was missing from the sports menu, though I suppose this will be good news for the people whose salaries and businesses are dependent on there actually being professional basketball. And, no, I don’t mean the players.

FILED UNDER: Sports, , , , , ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. Ernieyeball says:

    Go Bulls!!!!!

  2. de stijl says:

    Actually, Christmas is a good time to start NBA games anyway. The NBA, NHL and MLB regular seasons are way too long. (From this fan’s perspective anyway; if I were owner I’d probably think differently.)

  3. Just nutha ig'rant cracker says:

    Good! I’m glad that’s over. Now we can get on the the more important question: Why did Obama rile up this whole dispute in the first place? What does he have against professional basketball?