And the owners want to take it out on the players? One team’s TV contract almost covers 22 teams’ losses, and the players have to give up? I realize not every team is the Lakers, but if it weren’t for the other teams, the Lakers wouldn’t have that fat contract. In short, before the owners start talking about being business partners with the players, they need to become business partners with each other.

1) Long, big money guaranteed contracts. The NBA needs to follow the lead of the NFL; only guarantee signing bonus money, then every year of your contract if you don’t make the cut, you don’t get paid your salary. That way fat, lazy slugs like Eddie Curry couldn’t just go out and party all night long without regard to the club; and

2) The new “La Bum” trend of the best players in the league colluding to all go to the same big market team at the expense of small and mid-market teams. How do you fix that? Easy. By only allowing one ‘full boat’ contract for any player that you didn’t draft on a roster at one time. That way La Bum and Bosh would have had to “settle” for oh, say “only” a max deal of $10M/year, which I’m sure would have driven them elsewhere.