Ignoring that hyperbole, it probably won't be much of a party atmosphere for the players after their scheduled negotiating session with the owners to discuss a new collective bargaining agreement. On Friday, CBSSports.com reported the details of a memo the owners sent to the players this week outlining their initial proposal.
In addition to a reduction in current salaries and maximum contracts, the Web site reported the owners are seeking a hard salary cap, not unlike what the NFL has in place.
Currently, the NBA has a "soft" salary cap that can be exceeded under certain "exceptions." Along with a luxury tax that penalizes teams that far overshoot the salary cap, the system has worked for more than a decade.
The owners' demands have a wave of potential consequences, the foremost being an increased likelihood of a lockout following the 2010-11 season.
The players are already facing two years of salary cuts because the salary cap, which is determined by the league revenues each year, is going to decrease in back-to-back years for the first time in the 26-year history of the system. So the threat of a hard cap is a change the players will dig their heels in to fight.
The implications on the Cavaliers could be significant, and not in a good way. If a hard-cap system happened in Major League Baseball, it would be the greatest thing that could happen to the Indians. But it may take away one of the Cavs' biggest weapons.
Forget for a minute that the warnings on the max contracts could impact what LeBron James does this summer. The Cavs are a mid-market NBA team but one that is feasting on the current system because they are generating record-setting revenue and have an owner willing to spend it.
James is the biggest reason the Cavs have the best record in the NBA over the last two years. But the other is how General Manager Danny Ferry has been able to leverage his owner's deep pockets to acquire star players like Mo Williams and Shaquille O'Neal in money-centered trades.
Even Daniel Gibson's presence on the team has roots to this kind of deal. The Cavs got Gibson because back in 2006 they were willing to make a trade that saved the Philadelphia 76ers money and it led to them getting Gibson.
A hard cap levels the entire playing field and, in fact, could penalize a team that has a player like James. Teams who have players making huge money -- James will likely be one of the league's highest-paid players for the next decade (right now he's just the 19th-highest paid, believe it or not) -- may not have the options to surround that player with as much talent.
In the short run, the threat of these measures virtually guarantees that James and his fellow big-name free agents like Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade will opt out of their contracts this summer. It also may change what they're looking for when they do sign somewhere. There was a belief that they may all want to again sign three-year deals, as they did back in the summer of 2006 together, to increase flexibility.
With the danger of new, less favorable max contract rules, they may instead look to sign for longer terms to stay grandfathered into the current system. O'Neal and Kevin Garnett did this before the lockout in 1998, for example, and it saved them tens of millions when the term "max contract" was created after that lockout.
Also, they will probably all seek provisions that would guarantee their salary be paid if there is a lockout. The owners already have a guarantee to get their money from multi-billion dollar TV contracts if a lockout takes place.
No matter what, though, the NBA is headed for some turbulent times.
AROUND THE ASSOCIATION
The Bosh factor: No matter what is said publicly or privately, it seems that few general managers can get their minds off Chris Bosh.
With the trade deadline nearly in sight, the market remains frozen despite the presence of numerous players being dangled and several teams looking to make significant moves with players who have large contracts.
There may be a couple of reasons why there's such a trend at the moment. One is human nature, no one wants to be the first to jump in. But another, say league executives, is the continuing fascination with the Toronto Raptors' star forward.
Bosh has said he doesn't want to be traded. Raptors General Manager Bryan Colangelo has said he's not trading him. The Raptors have played well over the last month and moved into the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference. Yet, apparently, teams are holding their cards tight just so they don't miss out on a chance in case there is a last-minute change of heart.
Cut and run: Last week, the woeful and potentially history-making New Jersey Nets brought in a motivational speaker after a 4-40 start to the season. So they hosted Joachim de Posada, who put a needle in his face to make the point that pain is mind over matter.
Insert your own punch line here. Actually, let Nets center Brook Lopez insert one.
"They've taken sharp objects away from me," Lopez said. "We have to use safety scissors and everything. We're pretty close to getting helmets too."
It must have made some impression on veteran assistant coach Del Harris, who came to the team in December to be interim head coach Kiki Vandeweghe's top assistant. Harris, 72, had come out of retirement to help first-time boss Vandeweghe. Harris apparently had enough after the Nets' recent homestand and resigned -- saying nice things on his way out the door about how much the Nets are improving.
There were several reports that Harris really had just had enough. Maybe it was the needle guy or the fact that Vandeweghe went along with an ESPN promotion that allowed a fan to design an out-of-bounds play for the Nets. They actually ran it, but it didn't work.
Or maybe it was his final homestand. The Nets got to play the Clippers, Wizards, 76ers and Pistons all at home. That was four teams with losing records and a vital chance for the Nets to get something going. Instead, they went 1-3.
Now go through a stretch where they play 16 of 19 games against teams currently in position to make the playoffs. Two games are against the Cavs, two against the Celtics.
Perhaps it just drove home the point that the Nets are headed toward breaking one of the NBA's legacy records, the 9-73 record of the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers. Having that as the last line on his career resume probably didn't seem to appealing to the proud Harris.
It is symbolic of what is going on in Jersey, where the Nets obviously have a dreadful team but there are feelings throughout the league that they shouldn't be this bad. The team has quite a few injuries, but their roster has significantly more talent that their record shows.
From Yi Jianlian having the best season of his career to having All-Star Devin Harris on the roster to Lopez, who is one of the league's best young big men, it would seem they could accidentally win at least 12-15 games. But for various reasons, both real and imagined, they are not, and Harris' departure is just another signal that the record has little to do with talent.
Wade keeping it real: The Miami Heat's plans seem quite clear. They are banking everything on the future and sacrificing the present. Star guard Dwyane Wade, a free agent this summer, has been dealing with it all season as he's struggled to get any sort of consistent support from teammates while the Heat practice self control on making any moves that would add to future payroll.
Recently, however, as the team dipped below .500 and fell to the eighth seed, Wade seems to be showing frustration. After a loss against Celtics, he was asked whether he has the patience to wait around for the team's young players to develop.
"We'll see," Wade shot back. "There's nothing else to that. It's going to be 'we'll see' for a while."
Then after a loss to the Cavs and friend James, Wade spoke about the gulf between the two teams. Wade already has a title, but admits he and James are now on different paths.
"You have to be realistic," Wade said. "I understand this team has NBA championship aspirations. We don't have that. We're focusing on trying to get to the playoffs and this team is trying to get to the championship. It's totally different."
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