Chris Paul Charity Game More Evidence Players Don't Need Owners

It's time for NBA players to cut out the middlemen.
Image courtesy of http://youtu.be/Rwv98gGN-no

Tim Reynolds from the Associated Press tweeted that 1.1 million people watched the live video stream of the CP3 All-Star Pickup Game starring Chris Paul, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, John Wall, Kevin Durant and Rudy Gay. Basketball stars should cutoff negotiations with the NBA and cutout the middlemen between them and the fans.

If over a million people watched an Internet feed of basketball stars in an exhibition game in early October, then how many people would watch a television broadcast of basketball stars in a competitive game during the season?

The number of viewers for CP3's charity game just reinforces the suggestion by several bloggers that basketball players should start their own league instead of collectively bargaining a new agreement with the NBA. A few examples are listed below.

• The Free Market Alternative
• Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Derrick Rose Create the NPA
• Do the Players — and Cities — Really Need NBA Owners?
• Another Call for the NBA Players to Start a League of Their Own

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum stated on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal that this generation won’t be able to look for a job like previous generations of Americans but will have to create a job instead. It’s time for this generation of NBA players to realize that reality after another tough round of negotiations with the NBA owners.

Since so many Heat players are fans of boxer Floyd Mayweather, maybe they should follow his lead instead of haggling with NBA franchises about how to split basketball revenue. Mayweather realized he needed to create his own job a long time ago and formed his own promotion company. As he said in the press conference after his last fight, he doesn’t split his revenues with anybody. He gets 100 percent.

Friedman and Mandelbaum were discussing their new book, That Used To Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back. Maybe it should be required reading for the National Basketball Players Association. If not, then viewing their appearance on C-SPAN would definitely be a good start.