Owners and Players Divided by Push to Restructure the N.B.A.
The N.B.A., like the N.F.L. before it, is embroiled in a full-scale labor battle, in part because professional basketball wants what football has: competitive balance, a healthy distribution of talent and a belief that every team, regardless of market size, should have the chance to win a title.
The National Football League secured those ideals, grew into a booming $9 billion enterprise, then fought with its players for four months this year over how to divide the riches. The league ultimately got the deal it wanted without harming the season.
The National Basketball Association, which generates a more modest $4 billion, sees a model worth emulating and is willing to sacrifice what is regarded as all but sacred — actual games — to get it.
Late Monday, the N.B.A. canceled the first two weeks of the season, which would have started Nov. 1, after talks over a new collective bargaining agreement collapsed. More games will disappear soon if owners and players cannot resolve a conflict that is philosophical and financial. And the prospect of canceling a full season, once viewed as an extreme bargaining tool, suddenly seems a little more plausible.
Not looking good. If they don’t get something done to salvage the season, they can look forward to greatly reduced revenue to argue about.