[chemainus]

I think all pro sports players have to realize how f'ing lucky they are that they get paid anything to play a sport that they love. Lets be serious. That it's even a possibility to get paid to play a game for a living. I'm not very familiar with the circumstances around the lockout but i'm sure money is involved somehow. Quit complaining and go play a game for millions of dollars a year while everyone else struggles to pay their bills. (Jealous rant!)

[southpaugh2002]

I think all pro sports players have to realize how f'ing lucky they are that they get paid anything to play a sport that they love. Lets be serious. That it's even a possibility to get paid to play a game for a living. I'm not very familiar with the circumstances around the lockout but i'm sure money is involved somehow. Quit complaining and go play a game for millions of dollars a year while everyone else struggles to pay their bills. (Jealous rant!)

You have to consider these guys basiclly gave up their childhood for this meaning to make it to the nba, you have to be the best of the best (exception taylor griffin, etc.). They gave up parties, a big part of their social life by spending countless hours in the gym and traveling aau ball. I do think the players get paid an ridicolous amount to play but the owners make a killing off of them, so without them, they wouldnt be where their at finacially. I wished all the players would put in their own money and come up with their own league (the jordan symbol could be the logo). Just a thought.

[antriarc]

LET THEM PLAY! LET THEM PLAY! LET THEM PLAY!!!

I agree with carmelo anthony.. he said let the players play and they will work out a cba while the games are taking place FOR THE FANS!

[lridgey]

I'll make this simple. People forget, for these guys Basketball is a job, not just something they do in their spare time. What do you do if you got laid off or don't have a job? you go looking for other work. In the case of these guys they dont have a job and they need to make money, so theyre looking for other work. They have offers from other employers, so if they're going to make money they're going to do that job. It's great that they can still make money during the lockout to support themselves as well as their families, and lucky for them, they'll be able to return to the NBA at some point. Basketball is a job for these guys and since they're unemployed they need to make money too.

[xstreaminsanity]

I'll make this simple. People forget, for these guys Basketball is a job, not just something they do in their spare time. What do you do if you got laid off or don't have a job? you go looking for other work. In the case of these guys they dont have a job and they need to make money, so theyre looking for other work. They have offers from other employers, so if they're going to make money they're going to do that job. It's great that they can still make money during the lockout to support themselves as well as their families, and lucky for them, they'll be able to return to the NBA at some point. Basketball is a job for these guys and since they're unemployed they need to make money too.

I will pay someone $100 (not really) for the first picture of an NBA player bagging groceries or pushing carts until the lockout is resolved. The European leagues can't bring everyone over there, so I'm sure we should see Taylor Griffin and others working at our local grocery stores soon, right? I mean, Melo and Bosh just did an episode of SVU, but even they could go to the Euro leagues if they wanted to.

[leadmetogreatness]

delante west I read was recently hired by regency furniture he also applied at the home depot, sams club and bjs. His situation is a bit different though as he can't go over seas to play.

[crimedawg47]

Done Jason, now i have to go find the store Delonte West is working at.

---

delante west I read was recently hired by regency furniture he also applied at the home depot, sams club and bjs. His situation is a bit different though as he can't go over seas to play.

lol dangit you beat me to the punch

[chemainus]

I'll make this simple. People forget, for these guys Basketball is a job, not just something they do in their spare time. What do you do if you got laid off or don't have a job? you go looking for other work. In the case of these guys they dont have a job and they need to make money, so theyre looking for other work. They have offers from other employers, so if they're going to make money they're going to do that job. It's great that they can still make money during the lockout to support themselves as well as their families, and lucky for them, they'll be able to return to the NBA at some point. Basketball is a job for these guys and since they're unemployed they need to make money too.

Going to be a bit of a shock when they go from making millions to minimum wage. Maybe then they'll realize how good they have it strike/lock out and wanting more money isn't better than no money at all.

[quavis]

Im not supporting the players at this moment, but we have to realize that most of these players careers are only going to last around six years if they are lucky except the superstars. So the millions that they make almost have to last a lifetime unless they have a backup plan for after they are done in the NBA. Thhey committed their life to this and do want the most out of it. On the other hand, they are passing up paychecks and hurting the small people who make the games happen. They are acting like kids. But, if you havethe chance to play a full court game, go ahead and you will see why they get paid so much. Its pretty hard.

[xstreaminsanity]

When I first heard of the possibility of the lockout as well as some of the details, I was on the players' sides. I thought that it was just like the owners to get as much money as they can and jip the players. Now, I'm not saying that they aren't trying to get as much as they can, nor am I saying I'm on the owners' sides, but I am no longer on the players' sides. In fact, I have 0 sympathy for them at all right now.

I'm not sure how familiar some of you are with the poverty level income, but when I was growing up, my mom's income (dad wasn't in the picture) was way below the poverty line. Thanks to my determination to not live like that for the rest of my life, also encouraged by my mom, I currently make more than 3x the poverty level income for my size of family. And yet, there are some months I barely make bills. I have student loans, two kids, a housewife, two cars, pets, and other bills but am still able to make it and save a little here and there. So for a basketball player, who gets paid way more than football players who risk greater life threats (brain trauma, bodily injuries even more than basketball players, etc.), to argue that they want to go from $5,000,000 on average per player to $7,000,000 on average per player, it really kills me.

While the player does contribute to the community by bringing in customers and therefore vendors are at work and other arena personnel are, they are also driving up the prices the owners have to charge for tickets, taking the money right back out of the community. If I'm lucky, in the life of my career, I'll have made $3,500,000. And that's with a great house, and everything I need. Basketball players are looking nothing but greedy right now. What also makes me more upset about it, is all of the kids not paying attention to their school work thinking they're going to play professional sports some day and make millions of dollars. Some will, but not all of them, not even close. A kid (last I remember) only needs a C average to play on the sports team, so they don't even strive for an A, they just want to play a sport. And some parents encourage this. Anyone see the commercial about a couple struggling financially so they taught their kid how to dunk? Great message huh? Why not sit down with the kid and make sure you're teaching them what they need to be taught so they can get a scholarship for their smarts, not their physical ability?

I would trade in my job, this instant, to play 5 years in the NBA at the veterans minimum right now. If I could play 10, I'd play 10. And if I needed to practice more and be in the gym 4 hours a day, be in the weight room 2 hours a day, watch film another 2 hours of the day as well as play a game or practice with the team, I'd do it all day long. Sorry for the long rant, but I just can't stand to think of how they think they need to make more money than they already do.

Which, going back to the original question, do I think they should play overseas, my answer is no, they should have been able to save up enough to where they could go without playing for a year if need be or be willing to accept the owner's term and be happy with the average $5,000,000 a year. Is that really not enough? I know it's not just about salary, but in the long run, it's about more and more money. Even the argument about the term of the CBA, the cap, and BRI, all about money.