Welcome Back NBA

ITS OVER!!!  The NBA Lockout ended just in time to salvage a season which starts on Christmas day.  The lockout ended so abruptly that it seems the players and owners decided that having a season is more important than actually fixing the issues at hand.  I'm not complaining in fact I support the decision to remember the fans and give them something to cheer for.  The funny part is that since the league was so eager to end the lockout and salvage the season, some of the new rules set in place aren't clearly defined.  Take the new amnesty clause as an example.  This clause allows teams to choose one existing contract to eliminate so that it doesn't affect there salary cap or luxury tax.  The player is then bid upon by teams under the salary cap with the highest bidder getting the player.  If nobody bids on the player they can then go anywhere.  This is a timely rule which saves the owners from over paying underachieving players, but nobody has any clue how the bidding is supposed to work because the league is still working that out.  Also both sides basically agreed to put off the lockout until a later date because the players are required to give back very little of their BRI (Basketball Related Income).  Another huge fact is that both sides have the option to opted out of the contract after 6 years of the 10 year contract.  This foreshadows an even nastier lockout in the near future, but lets try not to dwell on that.

I am excited to see how the free agency situation ends up this year because we have already had many trade rumors and a vetoed trade.  This vetoed trade is something unprecedented in any other sport because it is rare that the league owns a team going into the off-season as the NBA owns the New Orleans Hornets.  Stern said he rejected the three team trade that would send Chris Paul to the Lakers because he wants younger players or draft picks for the Hornets so they are a more appealing team to potential buyers.  This is a baffling situation where the commissioner has the ability to dictate whether a trade is allowed to happen even when the trade fits the guidelines set in place.  In a league where players are pretty much allowed to dictate where they want to go this move is a step in the right direction in my eyes.  The new labor deal also did a good job of limiting this in the future by cutting down on teams ability to sign and trade.  There are three big free agents in this year's free agency pool:  Nene, Tyson Chandler, and Marc Gasol.  This may seem relatively unexciting, but with Chris Paul and Dwight Howard supposedly wanting out the trade possibilities are numerous for any team with a valuable trading chips.  I would like to see the Warriors go after a big free agent center with their newly freed up cap room (gained by the Biedrins amnesty) but they can also trade for one with their numerous trading chips.  With some fancy off-season maneuvering the Warriors can set themselves up nicely for the upcoming season.  Let the games begin.