Alan K. Fox
By Alan K. Fox/The Torch
alankfox@lcctorch.com
Every year as November approaches the sports world eagerly opens to a new chapter —the NBA season usually is starting.
This year the only thing the NBA players are starting is dipping into their bank accounts and spending cash they may have thought would be sitting in savings until retirement rolls around.
The players are not the only people that will be impacted by a loss of funds.
You have to think about the businesses in the cities that these teams play in and represent. There are 41 nights during the season that the businesses get to capitalize on people coming into town from surrounding cities and fans from all-around spending money to watch their beloved teams.
David Stern, the NBA commissioner, and the team’s owners can comfortably sit back on millions and in some cases billions of dollars, while young players that can’t rely on huge contracts like the star players are struggling to get by.
You may ask, “How can someone making over $400,000 a year ever struggle too get by?”
The truth is people become accustom to a lifestyle they live in and when you make a lot of money — you spend a lot of money —whether it be on a house and cars or stuff for your families.
Statistics show that a lot of these players in the NBA come from households that did not have a lot of money growing up, but their dedication to the game of basketball and commitment in the classroom, paved the way for their success.
So when you give someone that hasn’t had a lot of cash growing up a substantial amount of money, it is not uncommon for them to want to spend that money as if it is burning a hole in their pocket.
Coming from a poor family myself — I remember the first high-paying job I had — I could not stop spending the money and I caught myself living paycheck-to-paycheck.
So why would it be different for anyone else?
That’s why I can feel for the guys who were drafted late in the first round and second round of the NBA Draft.
The truth is, if you are not picked in the top-15 spots of the draft there is a good chance that you are going to get paid the rookie league minimum and that doesn’t stretch too far if you are trying to help your family get out of debt or buy them things they may need.
So let’s hope that both sides can come to an agreement soon—that way the businesses in Portland and around the country can get that revenue they expect and the players can get back on the court and out of the bank.
You can reach Sports Editor Alan K. Fox at alankfox@lcctorch.com on Twitter @alankfox or by calling (541) 463-5657
