TRUST - My Prescription for the NBA Lockout

J.A. Adande, noted ESPN columnist and commentator, published "Tarnished Legacies ... RIP NBA."
Adande's central thesis is that if the principal players involved in the lockout saga were more selfish and concerned about their legacies, then the NBA lockout would be over and the players would be balling.

"They didn't have to be altruistic, although that would have been nice. Had they resolved the differences on the periphery of an agreement that would bring $2 billion to each side, it also would have brought money to the arena workers and team employees who can't afford to go without paychecks in order to prove a point. It would have brought enjoyment to the fans whose interest and money make this league possible in the first place. But the NBA and its players didn't have to consider any of those things. Simply being self-centered would have done it. A little more concern for which adjectives would be used around their names in the historical record could have kept them and their league from one of its darkest episodes. Had they cared more about preserving their own images, the ancillary benefits would have been enormous, to use one of David Stern's favorite words."

After reading Adande's article, which I recommend reading in it's entirety, I decided to challenge it's central premise. Adande has been around too many basketball coaches in purporting that the deal would have been done if the key players had been more selfish. This is a common refrain that coaches utter to players of great talent who don't always realize that basketball is not an equal opportunity game. A great player has to learn when it's in the team's best interest to be selfish vs. selfless. Michael Jordan never had this problem in the NBA; in fact the Bulls weren't able to get over the hump until MJ learned to TRUST in his teammates ability.

One being concerned about their legacy is not the way to get things done. Once you start worrying about your legacy and doing what you perceive will put you in the best future light, you're in big trouble. Instead, just worry about "playing present," checking the egos at the door, listening intently with the objective of hearing others viewpoint, and find a way, "by any means necessary," to get the job done.

Being selfish and worrying about one's legacy is not a prescription to finalizing an agreement between the two warring parties in the NBA lockout. The prescription is for the players and owners to remember they've been partners, not real adversaries, in bringing the NBA to its current heights. Once they remember that, then maybe the players, owners, and their front line representatives can begin to respect the other's position and find some commonality in them.

TRUST is the word I would like to emphasize to get this deal done, not selfish or legacy. TRUST the process and give one another a reason to start TRUSTING one another again, because that's what real PARTNERS do!

                                                    Alan Stein on "Play Present"