​There Might be an NBA Lockout After All

From near and far, important deadlines approach. Christmas is fewer than two weeks away. The new "Star Wars" movie opens Thursday night. And that same day, in a confrontation of earthbound stars and an empire, the NBA collective bargaining agreement is supposed to be agreed-upon. This deadline kind of snuck up on everybody, with both sides going on about how optimistic they were that a deal would be reached, not to mention Adam Silver's smooth tenure as NBA commissioner.

Yes, about that. Call it posturing or postulating or just possibly depressing, but players association vice president Carmelo Anthony told ESPN he is "skeptical" that a new deal will get done in time for Thursday, when owners or players could opt out of the current CBA. What could happen then? The fifth work stoppage in NBA history, is all.

"Do I think something could happen by the 15th? Yeah, I think something could happen. But I think this kind of put a dent in conversations. We had something so close. We were supposed to have a deal done weeks ago, and for this to happen at the 25th hour is tough."

It is possible come Thursday that, if there's no agreement but the parties are close, both sides could agree to extend the current deal and put the opt-out on hold.

What's the problem? A "snag," ESPN also reports, that has to do with licensing of player images, T-shirts, video games, and other merchandise. The little Carmelos and LeBrons and Darkos you see depicted everywhere. The players want a bigger piece of that pie.

The NFL Players Association, for example, has control over licensing and the use of player likenesses. In the NBA, licensing control is maintained by the league in exchange for an annual flat fee in the millions, but the NBPA has been known to covet an arrangement more in line with the NFL's.

Others, among players and media, seem to think Carmelo's sudden pessimism is a bit much, and that a deal will get worked out. Chris Paul, the president of the NBPA, was a little more optimistic, for instance, saying they're "working tirelessly" to get it done. Perhaps they will, but Anthony is, at the very least, playing the Bad Cop to Paul's Good:

At one point I asked Melo what would have to happen to get a new CBA done before Thursday's opt-out deadline. He said, "A miracle"
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) December 10, 2016

It is a time of miracles, as Hans Gruber famously noted, but nobody wants to use up Santa wishes on averting an NBA lockout when we don't have to.