It appears that the NBA was able to get rid of the union and was able to end their lockout of the players.
That is:
The league thought they were playing hardball with the union, then the union freaked out and moved to decertify. Whatever its true intent, the players turned the table on the owners, deciding through their actions to cancel the season on the owners.
SI.com:
"For us the litigation is something that just has to be dealt with," Stern said. "It was not the reason for the settlement. The reason for the settlement was we've got fans, we've got players who would like to play and we've got others who are dependent on us. And it's always been our goal to reach a deal that was fair to both sides and get us playing as soon as possible, but that took a little time."
Read more: SI.com, NBA owners, players reach tentative deal to end lockout
You don't have to be a reader of China Daily newspaper to know what isn't is, and the motivation cited false.
Regardless, the NBA owners and players had a black Friday sale in more ways than one. Together it must be becoming pretty clear that nobody but owners, players, and idle beat reporters, gives a ratsass about the equitable division of revenue between millionaires and billionaires. The "news" of negotiations drawing less media interest than the MLS hot stove league.
Another month if this and the rest of the fans would be rewatching Sonicsgate, waiting for March Madness. There is basketball being played now. Fans of the game would find alternatives to professional entertainers.
The threat of losing $6 billion dollars and the sports fan attention getting Christmas Day games is an expense worth risking on paper, but not in reality. The conversation between the league owners and Goldman Sachs must have been interesting.
What the actual fans get out of this is the season trimmed down to a more meaningful number, 66 games, starting on Christmas day.
The league plans a 66-game season and aims to open training camps Dec. 9, with free agency opening at the same time. Stern has said it would take about 30 days from an agreement to playing the first game.
The other part of this the fans might be interested in is that the luxary tax is supposed to ensure some parity, and a chance for smaller market teams to have a chance to compete.
If they have resolved their economic model enough to keep every game from being a taxpayer funded charity game then we will have something to work with here.
We need more details.