Finally

This could have been done several weeks ago if the players had thought this through. They followed the lead of union officials and ended up without a job. You can't negotiate when the opposition (owners) holds all the cards being played. I figured the players were going to have to strike a deal before long. That standing by each other wasn't going to last another month. Some of them have already signed binding deals in other leagues and they haven't missed  six months yet. They need the money already.

If you notice most of the players in the union are black. All of the players involved in the lockout aren't though. A significant factor in the big picture. There are more Tony Allens and Shannon Browns than Zach Randolphs and Kobe Bryants. After a career in basketball some of them will still have to get a job. They wanted to cry racism, but wiser minds thought  better. There was a sense of  loyalty to the union and it's leaders during negotiations. They wanted the  same thing for different reasons. Except for greed and selfishness.  They were going in different directions.. Derek Fisher wanted one thing, and Billy Hunter wanted something else. Which ultimately worked against them as a whole. In the end it was divide and conquer. The owners got what they wanted.