NBA lockout could benefit Cougars, Utes
Well, here it is, the winter of our discontent.
Barring an 11th-hour reprieve, the NBA lockout arrives tonight, and should last into the snow season.
On one hand, I don’t like a world without the NBA. It took a few years after the Magic-Jordan-Malone-Isiah era to appreciate the league as much as I once did. But new players like Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose have made it a lot more interesting.
If they’re locked out next season, though, there’s always college basketball. With BYU going to the WCC and Utah to the Pac-12, they will be intriguing.
NBA COMMISSIONER DAVID STERN
Seems to me Utah’s good luck is still holding. Not only did it get in the Pac-12 at an opportune time with football, but it could now benefit from the NBA lockout.
Just when Utah basketball attendance was at a modern-era low, there might be no NBA to compete. If the Utes are decent, they might be able to win back some of the fans who left them in favor of the Jazz. BYU was doing just fine with Jimmer Fredette. Still, a lockout could definitely help both teams with their TV ratings, too.
My prediction? The lockout will last just about the same length as the last one, a loss of 32 games. Which means the Jazz could be back on the court in January.
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I got an e-mail from a reader who pointed out that technically the NBA owners could be reporting the truth, but in reality, maybe not.
He mentioned GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) whereby owners can report losses by using non-cash expenses such as depreciation and amortization in its figures. Thus they can report net income losses. However, the EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) would mean a far smaller loss, or maybe even a profit.
My guess is that when teams are laying off coaches and office staffers, they have to be losing something. Still, his point is a fine one. It’s likely the lockout figures are based on the GAAP, rather than the EBITDA.
We can’t know the true figures, unless the owners release them — which they won’t.
I still believe much of the NBA is losing money, though maybe not $300 million. How much? To me it doesn’t matter. Any business that loses money has to change its model.