It is eerily familiar how this NBA lockout is to the one that took place 13 years ago -- the first one of its kind in NBA history to include lost games. Both lockouts started on July 1st. Both lost their entire preseasons. Both took a mid-October day to announce the canceling of the first two weeks of the regular season.
And that is where we are now in 2011.
Are we headed for another 923 regular season games lost? Will a resolution not be found until the entire season is threatened to be nixed?
The drop dead date in the last situation was Jan. 7. The two sides came to an understanding on Jan. 6 and a 50 game season got underway in early February.
The biggest sticking points 13 years ago were: basketball related income, salaries escalating more than the revenue the game was generating and a desire on the part of the owners to implement a hard salary cap.
Does any of that sound vaguely familiar? It should. It is everything the two sides are now arguing about again. A gulf remains between them on almost all issues.
One day after the first two weeks of the season was canceled, many players utilized their Twitter accounts to express a multitude of emotions. Some apologized to fans. Others talked about what they are doing in the absence of basketball. And a faction expressed anger toward the owners and those who believe the owners are in the right. Here is a sampling:
NBA
embedly_twitter_70711233background:url(http:a2.twimg.comprofile_background_images68111429twitter_nash9-1.jpg)0d0102; padding:20px; embedly_twitter_70711233pbackground:fff;padding:10px 12px 0px12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:000;font-size:18px;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5pxembedly_twitter_70711233.embedly_tweet_contentbackground:fff;padding:10px 12px 10px12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:000;font-size:18px!important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5pxembedly_twitter_70711233 pspan.metadatadisplay:block;width:100;clear:both;margin-top:0px;height:40px;padding-bottom: 12px; embedly_twitter_70711233 p span.metadataspan.authorline-height:15px;color:999;font-size:14pxembedly_twitter_70711233 p span.metadata span.authoraline-height:15px;font-size:20px;vertical-align:middleembedly_twitter_70711233 p span.metadata span.authorimgfloat:left;margin:0 10px 0 0px;width:48px;height:48pxembedly_twitter_70711233 p a color: 574c4c; text-decoration:none;embedly_twitter_70711233 p a:hovertext-decoration:underlineembedly_twitter_70711233.embedly_timestampfont-size:13px;display:inline-block;margin-top:5px; embedly_twitter_70711233 .components-abovespan.embedly_timestampfont-size:10px;margin-top: 1px;line-height:12pxembedly_twitter_70711233 a color: 574c4c; text-decoration:none;embedly_twitter_70711233 a:hovertext-decoration:underlineembedly_twitter_70711233 .tweet-screen-name font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold; embedly_twitter_70711233 .tweet-full-namepadding-left: 4px; color: 999; font-size: 12px;embedly_twitter_70711233 .tweet-actionsmargin-left:10px;font-size:13px;display:inline-block;width:250pxembedly_twitter_70711233 .components-abovespan.tweet-actionsfont-size:10px embedly_twitter_70711233.controlsline-height:12px!important embedly_twitter_70711233.tweet-actions a margin-left:5px embedly_twitter_70711233.tweet-actions a bfont-weight:normal embedly_twitter_70711233.components-above span.tweet-actions abvertical-align:baseline;line-height:12px embedly_twitter_70711233.components-above .tweet-textfont-size:13px;vertical-align:baselineembedly_twitter_70711233 .tweet-image float: left; width: 40px;embedly_twitter_70711233 .tweet-user-block-image float: left; width:48px; height: 48px embedly_twitter_70711233 .tweet-row margin-left:40px; margin-top: 3px;line-height: 17px; embedly_twitter_70711233.tweet-user-block margin-left: -40px; embedly_twitter_70711233.stream-item padding-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 12px;embedly_twitter_70711233 .simple-tweet-image img margin-top: 4px;embedly_twitter_70711233 .simple-tweet-content margin: 0 0 13px 0px;font-size: 14px; min-height:48px; embedly_twitter_70711233.in-reply-to-border border-color: EBEBEB; border-style: solid;border-width: 1px 0 0; embedly_twitter_70711233 .in-reply-to-textmargin-left: 4px; padding-left: 8px; padding-right: 10px; color: 999;font-size: 12px; embedly_twitter_70711233 .tweet-actions ibackground: transparenturl(http:a2.twimg.coma1306889658phoeniximgsprite-icons.png)no-repeat;width:15px;height:15px;margin:0 4px -3px 3px;outline: none;text-indent:-99999px;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline-block;position:relative;embedly_twitter_70711233 .tweet-actions a.retweet-action ibackground-position:-192px 0; embedly_twitter_70711233.tweet-actions a.reply-action i background-position:0 0;embedly_twitter_70711233 .tweet-actions a.favorite-action ibackground-position:-32px 0; @SteveNash
SteveNashThanks for the overwhelming support today guys. You know we want toplay & you understand the propagandamisinformation from theowners.
Oct11 via webFavoriteRetweetReply
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AndreIguodalapackin up to head down to memphis with @uofmtigershoops and continue this lockoutgrind....
Oct11 via webFavoriteRetweetReply
embedly_twitter_88286654background:url(http:a3.twimg.comprofile_background_images37461458CHILL.jpg)9AE4E8; padding:20px; embedly_twitter_88286654pbackground:fff;padding:10px 12px 0px12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:000;font-size:18px;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5pxembedly_twitter_88286654.embedly_tweet_contentbackground:fff;padding:10px 12px 10px12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:000;font-size:18px!important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5pxembedly_twitter_88286654 pspan.metadatadisplay:block;width:100;clear:both;margin-top:0px;height:40px;padding-bottom: 12px; embedly_twitter_88286654 p span.metadataspan.authorline-height:15px;color:999;font-size:14pxembedly_twitter_88286654 p span.metadata span.authoraline-height:15px;font-size:20px;vertical-align:middleembedly_twitter_88286654 p span.metadata span.authorimgfloat:left;margin:0 10px 0 0px;width:48px;height:48pxembedly_twitter_88286654 p a color: 0084B4; text-decoration:none;embedly_twitter_88286654 p a:hovertext-decoration:underlineembedly_twitter_88286654.embedly_timestampfont-size:13px;display:inline-block;margin-top:5px; embedly_twitter_88286654 .components-abovespan.embedly_timestampfont-size:10px;margin-top: 1px;line-height:12pxembedly_twitter_88286654 a color: 0084B4; text-decoration:none;embedly_twitter_88286654 a:hovertext-decoration:underlineembedly_twitter_88286654 .tweet-screen-name font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold; embedly_twitter_88286654 .tweet-full-namepadding-left: 4px; color: 999; font-size: 12px;embedly_twitter_88286654 .tweet-actionsmargin-left:10px;font-size:13px;display:inline-block;width:250pxembedly_twitter_88286654 .components-abovespan.tweet-actionsfont-size:10px embedly_twitter_88286654.controlsline-height:12px!important embedly_twitter_88286654.tweet-actions a margin-left:5px embedly_twitter_88286654.tweet-actions a bfont-weight:normal embedly_twitter_88286654.components-above span.tweet-actions abvertical-align:baseline;line-height:12px embedly_twitter_88286654.components-above .tweet-textfont-size:13px;vertical-align:baselineembedly_twitter_88286654 .tweet-image float: left; width: 40px;embedly_twitter_88286654 .tweet-user-block-image float: left; width:48px; height: 48px embedly_twitter_88286654 .tweet-row margin-left:40px; margin-top: 3px;line-height: 17px; embedly_twitter_88286654.tweet-user-block margin-left: -40px; embedly_twitter_88286654.stream-item padding-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 12px;embedly_twitter_88286654 .simple-tweet-image img margin-top: 4px;embedly_twitter_88286654 .simple-tweet-content margin: 0 0 13px 0px;font-size: 14px; min-height:48px; embedly_twitter_88286654.in-reply-to-border border-color: EBEBEB; border-style: solid;border-width: 1px 0 0; embedly_twitter_88286654 .in-reply-to-textmargin-left: 4px; padding-left: 8px; padding-right: 10px; color: 999;font-size: 12px; embedly_twitter_88286654 .tweet-actions ibackground: transparenturl(http:a2.twimg.coma1306889658phoeniximgsprite-icons.png)no-repeat;width:15px;height:15px;margin:0 4px -3px 3px;outline: none;text-indent:-99999px;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline-block;position:relative;embedly_twitter_88286654 .tweet-actions a.retweet-action ibackground-position:-192px 0; embedly_twitter_88286654.tweet-actions a.reply-action i background-position:0 0;embedly_twitter_88286654 .tweet-actions a.favorite-action ibackground-position:-32px 0; @JChillin
JoshChildressWe players get hit with about 40-43 taxes from the government and thenanother 8 in escrow tax from the owners. That's 50 of salarygone
Oct11 via EchofonFavoriteRetweetReply
Social media did not play a role in the negotiations or how they were perceived in 1998; it did not exist. But raw thoughts and emotions get tweeted or posted quite often these days, especially by celebrities because they know they have such a broad audience.
During the NFL lockout earlier this summer, some players had to do serious damage control as a result of putting thoughts out via twitter that a large sector of society could not resonate with -- namely the athletes crying about their financial situations.
Social media can be a great PR tool, but it can also stir a pot. It will be interesting to watch the tone of tweets as the lockout drags on.
By the way, how many fans follow their teams owner on Twitter and, for that matter, how many of those owners are actually on twitter? I am guessing that Mark Cuban is certainly the exception. The Dallas Mavericks owner has more then 52,000 followers, but he does not use his account often and he mostly tweets about business ideas and politics.
There is a gag order imposed by the league on all its employees keeping them from discussing anything related to this work stoppage, but being told no in the past has never stopped Cuban.
The point is this: the players are putting their message out ad nauseam while the owners allow NBA Commissioner David Stern and Adam Silver, NBA Deputy Commissioner, to speak for them and do so in traditional press conference form every now and then.
Yet the players just dont appear to be building an overwhelming backing for what they are fighting for. Furthermore, the NBA game will suffer with more and more fans losing interest.
The last lockout left fans with a bitter taste in their mouth and they made it known when the game returned by ignoring it. One could argue the most recent playoffs showed that fans finally had forgiven the league with record TV ratings during the postseason.
History is repeating itself in so many ways -- holding a grudge I suspect will be another indication of such.
No meetings are scheduled at this point. The lockout is now 103-days old.
E-mail Dei Lynam at dlynam@comcastsportsnet.com