How The NBA Lockout Hurts Sacramento King Fans
By Bryan Rose
In less than 72 hours, the NBA is set to go into lockout mode – something we as fans aren’t thrilled about but as long as the Kings open their season as scheduled, we’ll be pleased, right?
Well, sort of.
Because of the impending lockout, we as King (and NBA) fans are already being affected. First, the NBA has canceled the Vegas Summer League – so if you had hopes of watching DeMarcus Cousins dominate again or seeing Jimmer Fredette in his first NBA action, tough cookies for you. I know for me, those two early-summer weeks between Orlando and Las Vegas are a life saver for my basketball jonesin’. It’s hard enough to go a couple months without any NBA action – now you want me to go almost five? I’m only so strong….
Secondly, as ESPN’s Kevin Arnotz pointed out yesterday, NBA team websites are set to become zombieland’s, Kings.com included:
"[For] the guys who are in charge of those team websites and NBA.com, the pending deadline is a huge deal.That’s because the moment the clock strikes midnight on the current CBA, all those images and videos of NBA players have to disappear off NBA-owned digital properties. Depending on how you interpret “fair use,” the prohibition could include the mere mention of a player’s name on an NBA-owned site, though different teams have different interpretations of this particular stipulation. […]However strict the boundaries, overhauling the architecture of these sites is a painstaking process that has a lot of talented web people around the league very stressed out. The NBA has built and furnished each team with a website “wire frame” that will take the place of the existing, much more sophisticated site. The wire frame is a rudimentary version of the site, without a lot of the snazzy technology we’ve grown accustomed to seeing. As a result, each of the 30 team sites will look virtually identical.“We’re going back to the stone ages of the internet,” said one team website administrator. “It’s all going to be very dumbed down.”The NFL, who is currently in a lockout has felt the impact across their team websites and NFL.com – Commissioner Rodger Godell making mention of the reduced website traffic earlier this year, something the NBA and respective team sites are sure to feel soon.So enjoy Jimmer plastered all over Kings.com – get your fix of Tyreke Evans’ crossover in the video section – DeMarcus Cousins posterizing Kevin Durant in KingsPix – because in just a few days, they’re gone. At least for a little while.Published on 06/28/2011 at 8:35 AM PDTLast updated on 11/17/2016 at 1:22 PM PDT [For] the guys who are in charge of those team websites and NBA.com, the pending deadline is a huge deal.That’s because the moment the clock strikes midnight on the current CBA, all those images and videos of NBA players have to disappear off NBA-owned digital properties. Depending on how you interpret “fair use,” the prohibition could include the mere mention of a player’s name on an NBA-owned site, though different teams have different interpretations of this particular stipulation. […]However strict the boundaries, overhauling the architecture of these sites is a painstaking process that has a lot of talented web people around the league very stressed out. The NBA has built and furnished each team with a website “wire frame” that will take the place of the existing, much more sophisticated site. The wire frame is a rudimentary version of the site, without a lot of the snazzy technology we’ve grown accustomed to seeing. As a result, each of the 30 team sites will look virtually identical.“We’re going back to the stone ages of the internet,” said one team website administrator. “It’s all going to be very dumbed down.”"