While basketball fans watch the NBA playoff races start to take shape, baseball fans are feeling left out. The MLB lockout has officially caused the cancellation of regular-season games. With the league's group of owners negotiating in bad faith with the players association and crying poor despite seeing tons of growth in the past years, professional baseball is in a very bad state of affairs.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski explained on NBA Today the ramifications that the league might see from MLB's lockout. He said that the NBA has a stronger financial structure, though that may be tested when CBA negotiations ramp up.
The NBA, they could both opt out of their deal later this year. The deal is through 2023-24, but there is a mutual opt-out in the NBA and the players' association this December. I think they would love to have a deal in place by then. The other fact: baseball's financial structure — there is great disparity between what he players want and the owners are willing to do.
There's a financial structure in place in the NBA that both sides feel works. They're really negotiating around the edges of that, and that's what will ultimately make it likely that they get to a deal without having [a lockout].
Basketball has already overtaken baseball in popularity in the United States by a wide margin and should do so as long as MLB's ownership group continues to lock the players out. The NBA should take in the full picture of what MLB has done and learn how not to conduct itself in negotiations.
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