Basketball Never Stops?

So by now, every hoops fan has been wasting away waiting for the lockout to be ended. But in the meantime, there has been some other events going down in the world of non-NBA basketball. So there's the Eurobasket (of course) if you are into that sort of thing. Which, be honest, most of you are not. But there has also been a run of runs going down in places like LA, Baltimore, and New York. You've probably heard names like the Drew League, Goodman League, and the Rucker being tossed about by people who wouldn't (under normal circumstance) have even known their Drew League from Nancy Drew. So what does this all mean really? It means we're bored without the NBA for one thing. But it also means that we get to see things we wouldn't normally get to see. Things like Kevin Durant going up the NYC way and putting 60+ on dudes at the Rucker. Things like Kobe Bryant going one on one against James Harden in a Drew League game in LA. Things like Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, and LeBron James playing on the same team at a game in B'More.

These are all things that don't happen if we have an NBA season, because guys are usually getting ready for training camps or worrying about getting injured at a pickup game and then having their careers and livelihood threatened. But with the lockout in effect, and the threat of a cancelled season looming, heads are considering playing ball in China and Spain if their normal gigs in the L aren't going down. And even though there are guys wearing t-shirts that say "Basketball Never Stops" its pretty obvious to anyone with a brain that basketball HAS stopped. And that means we are in uncharted waters when it comes to players doing things they haven't ever done before and considering things they would never consider before. In a way, its exciting. I mean, how many times will we truly be able to see guys like Bron, Melo, and CP3 playing on the same squad, especially in what amounts to a glorified pickup game? Or see KD go on award tour night after night after night putting on an absolute clinic on how to score at will in cities around the country?

But while these things are new and somewhat of a novelty, it does make you wonder how long events like this can go on. And if the season really is cancelled, will there really be an export of NBA talent to overseas European and Asian leagues? Most of these big name ballers have "out clauses" in their contracts to enable them to return to the League once the lockout is lifted but in the meantime...what? We tune in at 2:15am to watch Deron Williams play in the Turkish League? Or have our DVRs record games in China and Spain that we can't watch live because we are busy at work? How long does the average NBA fan (or even the more hardcore ones) continue to follow their favorite players when the teams they play for don't exist for all intents and purposes? The superstars may be okay...but the majority of the League is made up of non-superstars who need paychecks to survive. Like Cypress Hill once said "Yeah, its a fun job, but its still a job." When the bulk of the league lives paycheck to paycheck, maybe there are some guys who can't get an out from their new Euroclub and can't come back in time for whatever we will get to have left of this NBA season.

Can you envision a scenario where lots of guys in the NBA aren't able to come back this year even if the lockout ends because they needed to get paid and can't take a chance to live on their endorsement money because they don't have any? I can...and the NBAPA is arguing on behalf of these guys right now. But what happens if the players they are looking out for need to look out for themselves and that means they are locked into 1 year deals with clubs that are happy to rent them for the press they will get for as long as they are there? If the lock out continues...the lock in may begin. And then we'll see if basketball truly ever stops...because we may have a bunch of squads who are without key players for quite some time. And the course of the NBA landscape may be changed significantly.