Flickr Image by Gerald Simmons

“We’re prepared to file this antitrust action against the NBA. That’s the best situation where players can get their due process.” – Billy Hunter

Sigh.

The NBA is blowing up. Or will be entering a “nuclear winter” – Commissioner David Stern’s words, not mine. Isn’t this exciting?

They were so close – or seemed to be close – to a deal to salvage the season and now the players union will be disbanding which will mostly put the entire 2011-2012 NBA season in jeopardy.

From ESPN.com:

Players ignored that warning, choosing instead to dissolve its union, giving them a chance to win several billion dollars in triple damages in an antitrust lawsuit.

“This is the best decision for the players,” union president Derek Fisher said. “I want to reiterate that point, that a lot of individual players have a lot of things personally at stake in terms of their careers and where they stand. And right now they feel it’s important — we all feel it’s important to all our players, not just the ones in this room, but our entire group — that we not only try to get a deal done for today but for the body of NBA players that will come into this league over the next decade and beyond.”

Fisher, flanked at a press conference by dozens of players including Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony, said the decision was unanimous.

Hunter said the National Basketball Player’s Association was in the process of converting to a trade association and that all players will be represented in a class-action suit against the NBA by attorneys Jeffrey Kessler and David Boies — who were on opposite sides of the NFL labor dispute, Kessler working for the players, Boies for the league. That lawsuit has yet to be filed.

Things are even worse for our Knicks.

From the Wall Street Journal:

Madison Square Garden Co., which owns the Knicks, in a November public filing said if cancelled games aren’t rescheduled, the company’s financial results would see a “material negative effect.”

The Knicks are unveiling the first phase of their $850 million renovation this year and planned to raise ticket prices 49% in the lower seating section. The Knicks anchor Madison Square Garden and combine with the New York Rangers and other sporting events at the arena to generate $372 million in revenue in 2010 for its MSG Sports division.

Oops. Bad timing for such a big renovation.

At least MSG has the Rangers!