Letter: NBA players are out of bounds

Dean Juipe misses the point about the NBA lockout in his Wednesday commentary. It's the players and their agents who are out of control, not the owners.

Juipe says the owners can't control themselves, and have dug a hole they can't get out of ... specifically referring to the Kevin Garnett contract. Doesn't he understand that with restricted free agency in place, the T-Wolves were all but forced to give Garnett what he wanted, or lose him? The Minnesota front office basically was forced to sign Garnett to a ridiculous $126 million contract, because of the prevailing economic conditions in the NBA, which included unrestricted free agency. And remember, unrestricted free agency is a concession the owners were forced to accept years ago.

The league is suffering. The level of competition has eroded, because teams can't afford quality benches anymore. Some teams can't even afford five quality starters. Why do you think only two teams have won the NBA title in the past eight years?

The players don't give a damn about the overall quality of the product (which ensures the future of the league) and the viability of the hoops pie, which somehow can't be divided to the statisfaction of players who already average a $2 million salary.

Remember, all the owners seek are some economic parameters, not unlike any other business. It's foolhardy for the owners to continue under the present agreement. NBA owners are not talking about lowering salaries, only controlling outrageous contracts.

If the players can't live with that, then let them seek employment in some other field where they can average $2.7 million per year.

Eric Darensburg

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