Locked Out: The economics of the NBA Remix
Well, as most of you readers know the NBA lockout is now over. After 149 days the NBA is set to resume. Free Agency and training camps are both set to begin on December 9th. Every team will play just two preseason games both against the same team. Finally and most importantly the NBA season will begin on Christmas Day. I remember talking in my introduction about how important it would be to start on or before Christmas. This was the target date for the NBA but before Christmas NBA teams must do lots of things to have their teams ready to start the newly formed 66 game season.
A lot of young players who were told not to expect to have a season have become out of shape. It is unfortunate but it happens to a couple of guys every year that there is a lockout that carries on into the season. Most people just hope that it doesn’t happen to players on their team. Next there will be an extraordinary amount of player movement that will occur between December 9th and December 25th. Everyone must have 15 guys ready for the start of the season and a majority of team’s roster right now coming out of a lockout only have a single digit number of players on their roster. Free agent players have a better idea of where they are going then most people think. Agents have been talking to teams about some of their clients for a few days now and a lot of players will signed on the first day (December 9th) that they are allowed to officially sign on. That way the new players can get associated with their new teammates, city and coaches. Some players will try to find the best one deal they can get with their old club so they don’t have to get use to completely new surroundings so quickly. That way next year when everything is back to normal, and training camps and free agency aren’t son condensed the player with his agent can take his time in trying to find the perfect fit in terms of salary, number of contract years, location and last but not least, how close the team is to winning.
It will be a hectic time in the NBA and after all the quiet we had during the lockout this is obviously much more exciting for NBA fans. A couple of teams will make big moves in either free agency or via trade that will help bolster their team to get them to the next level. Some teams are looking for that missing piece to get them over the top while other teams are looking to strip down their rosters and start over. The most interesting two teams to start this NBA season would arguably be the Orlando Magic and the New Orleans Hornets. Both teams have superstar player who no longer what to be part of the franchise and are demanding a trade. Dwight Howard and Chris Paul will both be moved, possibly before the season starts on Christmas Day. Whoever acquires one of those two superstars could be deemed favorites going into this NBA season. Whatever happens it should be very entertaining with a couple of surprises due along the way.
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