The sports betting world was bracing for an NBA lockout as early as December of last year. As the lockout deadline loomed, NBA fans were not encouraged by the seemingly disconnected rhetoric coming from Commissioner David Stern. Up until the July 1 deadline, Stern was insisting that a deal would be done in time. Yet, he made no effort to talk to the players’ association. Bad planning has brought the NBA to a lockout that could last well into 2012.

Online casino basketball fans watched as, even with a salary cap, players’ salaries spiraled out of control. The NBA front office did nothing to address the situation. Now there is a contingency of well-paid NBA players with large bank accounts that could survive an extended lockout. The players are prepared to sit out the season until a hard salary cap and limitations on contract terms is taken off the negotiating table.

The league claims that 22 of the 30 NBA teams lost money in 2011. The players currently get 57 percent of basketball-related revenue, and the owners say that percentage is causing a lot of financial problems. The players offered to lower the percentage to 54.3 percent, but the owners want something closer to a 50/50 split. The players are reluctant to give up those extra percentage points.

Both sides are saying that there will be little movement on a new collective bargaining agreement for some time. The players are speculating that it may be January of 2012 before any kind of real progress is made in negotiations. NBA teams are preparing breeders cup betting fans for the possibility that there may not be basketball in 2011-2012.