NBA Locks Out Players as Talks Fail

The NBA, after record setting television ratings and attendance, will shut down for the first time since 1998 after talks between the owners and players union broke down Thursday afternoon. The players association leaders told reporters that the league would lock them out as of midnight, the end of the six year old collective bargaining agreement.

As MarShon Brooks tweeted from California, where he and Jordan Williams have been training, "At 12am tonight, I'm unemployed #lockout"

No one can predict how long the game will be shuttered, but few are predicting a short lockout and some are suggesting  the entire 2010-11 season could be lost.  After 16 months of talks failed to produce any progress, let alone an agreement, the two sides met in a midtown Manhattan hotel for three hours before calling it quits, billions apart.

Players will no longer be able to use team facilities for off-season training.  Nor can players continue in-house rehab of injuries.  Even the team websites will take on a different look this weekend. Without a new agreement, teams will not be permitted to use players' images.  "We tried to avoid the lockout," Matt Bonner, vice president for the players association, said. "Unfortunately we did not reach a deal. We’re going to keep working at it and hopefully get something done."

• NBA heads into lockout after sides can't get deal done - Steve Aschburner - NBA.com
• With Talks Deadlocked, N.B.A. Heads for a Shutdown - Howard Beck - New York Times
• The NBA lockout promises to make the NFL's longstanding lockout look like child's play - Michael Wilbon - ESPN
• A CBA/lockout FAQ: Understanding what's going on - Royce Young - CBS Sports
  
• How the Nets are affected by the work stoppage - Colin Stephenson - Star-Ledger