NBA is back officially, but the system still fails

What's good. This is Disraeli and I'll be providing guest commentary from time to time on all sports. Shout out to AK for the opportunity. My first blog: Why the NBA still fails as a system.

By time you read this, the players would have approved the new 10 year (but really 6 year ) CBA where they were hammered by the owners. They are taking less BRI, are subjected to a harder system to move, and the middle class has even less ways to truly maximize its income. Nevertheless, the NBA as we know it has not largely changed. Teams will have to spend more of the cap, which opens the door for average players to still get paid. The mini-mid for tax paying teams allows vets to take less money to win a ring (Hello Miami). Much has been written about the new CBA, so I won't bore you with the details. Rather, I want to point out the biggest flaw: The lack of revenue sharing among the owners.

The lockout was not about money, it was about power. Power the owners wanted over the players for creating their own teams (Miami) and to protect themselves from giving out crazy contracts (Eddy Curry). They argued change was needed, but failed to share among themselves. The Lakers new TV contract will pay $250 million per year, while the Bobcats will earn $9 million. Despite the lockout, the Lakers will continue to outspend the Bobcats and it won't be close! Owners didn't want to share, so they squeezed the players for every dime possible. The NBA lost a golden opportunity to model the NFL. Instead, we have bruised egos, the haves still having (with more rules to restrict them), the have-nots still not having (with a little more money to boot), and a guarantee we'll see another labor fight in 6 years, where teams will STILL claim they lost money. The reward for missing 16 games of basketball should be more competition. Rather, we have the NBA--where money still wins.