Blazer's Edge, a Portland Trail Blazers community

Some updates on the situation. Maybe there's hope after all.

Things that make you go "Hmm."

"Perhaps the biggest shocker: The owners' proposal includes a provision that would require any pre-existing deals to be revised to conform to the new deal's limits." Wouldn't this seem to be a dealbreaker for any negotiations? It seems like a big bargaining chip intended to be pulled in order to gain voluntary concessions from the players association. It would also seem to be an incentive for someone like Amare Stoudemire to opt in on the final year of his deal as he may never see money like that again for a single season, despite the New Contract>2010-2011 Salary argument Seth has made. Either way, if the owners stick to their guns on this one, I smell lock-out or strike. More likely, it's a trial balloon to gauge reactions and fire a warning shot over the bow of the players' association. Either way, it's a development that bears watching.