NBA OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES LOCKOUT OF THE PLAYERS EFFECTIVE 12:01 ET

THIS IS BREAKING NEWS...While the news has been passing through sources all day that the owners had the votes to do so, the National Basketball Association has now announced that it will commence a lockout of its players, effective at 12:01 am ET on July 1, until a new collective bargaining agreement is reached with the National Basketball Players Association. “The expiring collective bargaining agreement created a broken system that produced huge financial losses for our teams,” said NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver. “We need a sustainable business model that allows all 30 teams to be able to compete for a championship, fairly compensates our players, and provides teams, if well-managed, with an opportunity to be profitable.” “We have made several proposals to the union, including a deal targeting $2 billion annually as the players' share -- an average of approximately $5 million per player that could increase along with league revenue growth,” said Silver. “Elements of...