NBA Lockout 2011 Twitter Reaction: Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony And Others Tweet About David Stern Canceling Games (TWEETS)

On Monday evening, NBA Commissioner David Stern officially cancelled the first two weeks of the 2011-12 NBA season. The announcement came at the conclusion of several hours of bargaining between the owners and the players' union. Stern described the two factions as being "very far apart on virtually all issues" when he informed the media that he was cutting the opening fortnight from the schedule.

The key disagreement is the revenue split between the players and the owners. Although the players have shown a willingness to drop their share from the previous labor deal brokered at the end of the 1999 work stoppage, they have not come down as far as the owners demand. Other issues include a potential "hard" salary cap and other such mechanisms aimed at ensuring competitive balance between large- and small-market teams.

Although Twitter-using NBA owners like Mark Cuban (@mcuban) and Dan Gilbert (@cavsdan) had no comment on the cancellation for their followers, many of the league's players -- as well as the fans and media members who follow the NBA -- shared their thoughts on the news. The players have embraced the social media platform and used it to directly connect with fans throughout the lockout. Not only have they been adding hashtags like #letusplay and #standunited to their tweets but individuals like Phoenix Suns forward Jared Dudley (@JaredDudley619) have even been answering questions about the specific issues on the table.

Below are some of the most insightful, witty and poignant reactions to the cancellation of regular-season NBA games.

(WARNING: There is some foul language in a few of these tweets)

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Comments

[rogiec123]

10:01 PM on 10/14/2011

Millionaires fighting with billionaires over what amounts to pocket change to them. WAH, WAH, WAH!

[Tater Salad]

12:59 PM on 10/12/2011

Stern and the NBA should have learned to negotiate like the NFL did and not ruin a season like MLB did. Hind sight Stern, pick up a book and read how to settle.

[CraigVale]

12:48 PM on 10/12/2011

If I never see another NBA game I could care less. Boston Celtics tickets on their web site today:Cheap seat $43.00 Floor #7. an incredible $943.00. Individual "personal" pizza $14.00 ,(one slice) bottled water $4.00. This gouging is not unique to basketball but I'll be damned if they will get their greedy coffers filled with my hard earned cash. Players making a gazillion bucks and owners making a gazillion plus bucks ? ...... Screw em"

[LickMyDecalsOffBaby]

08:38 AM on 10/12/2011

looks like there's going to be a surge in posse unemployment

[Batsy01]

04:56 AM on 10/12/2011

There is enough money for both the players and the owners yet even at the status quo, both make more than most Americans. This should not have happened

The fans have bigger things to worry about. Basketball is not a priority when the American economy is in the crapper. Not mention that the fans can always turn to YouTube for their fix.

Badly played gentlemen, badly played.

[cassierwilliams]

04:10 AM on 10/12/2011

I just feel badly for the people that ACTUALLY depend on the NBA for their livelihood...and I'm not talking about the players or the coaches. I'm talkin' about the ticket peeps and the ushers and the food concession workers and the parking attendants and the peeps that keep the place clean and the techs...the 99% AGAIN is getting screwed by a bunch of rich people on both sides who can't agree to make nice. I'm on the side of the players on this one, but seriously, I hope it gets resolved cuz there are people with REAL problems like electricity bills and daycare that they need to take care of. Real sad.

[cameron d]

02:05 AM on 10/12/2011

The NBA owners are clearly to blame for this. They are the ones who rolled over in the last collective bargaining meetings, they are the ones who started signing bench players for way too long for way too much money. They are the ones who made this mess, not the players.

Now they want to take back what they themselves gave away. I say screw em. I hope the players take every single penny they can from these people.

Read Malcolm Gladwell's column on the psychic benefit of owning an NBA franchise on the Grantland site and you'll feel even less sympathetic towards these owners,

[KingGlorious]

12:48 AM on 10/12/2011

I bet that Obama can get this resolved in about 30 minutes, maybe 20....

[rikster]

08:12 PM on 10/11/2011

bring back the ABA...

[onlyThis]

08:54 PM on 10/11/2011

Bring back ABBA!

[Politidelic]

07:07 PM on 10/11/2011

I agree with my man Steph Curry: thissucks!

[Winthorpe]

11:13 PM on 10/11/2011

Why? Do you really need 82 games and two months of a post-season? Maybe you need them to help you go to sleep.

[Politidelic]

03:01 PM on 10/12/2011

Some of us are basketball fans and some of us aren't, so what? You could say that about many sports including baseball that has twice as many games. Go pester someone else Winthorpe....

[Intelligentia]

07:01 PM on 10/11/2011

Good lessons for the players on money management. Don't blow everything you have; that may well be your last paycheck.

[ATLBravesFan]

11:38 AM on 10/12/2011

Tell me about it. I can't even begin to tell you how shocked I am that players are talking about they need money. WTHeck were they spending all that money on?

[CraigVale]

12:52 PM on 10/12/2011

Crack? That would be the only thing that would make sense because with all that money around players are not happy with the millions they make now ? it can only be the smoke coming from that pipe that clouds their judgement!

[Gigity]

04:56 PM on 10/11/2011

As long as it's still football season, or college basketball season, who really gives a damn about the NBA?

[Politidelic]

07:08 PM on 10/11/2011

Lots of people....get real.

[AbeMartin]

04:50 PM on 10/11/2011

No biggie for the fans.  The ticket takers, concession managers and their staff.  Oh, and the valet parking attendants and the cleaners and ushers will lose their livelihood but heck.  They are representative of the New American Reality.  

  As the old joke goes:  "A business man was walking to a meeting at a circus and saw a worker trying to insert a suppository into the back end of an elephant.  The visitor said, "That is a horrible job.  Why doncha just quit.?  The circus worker looked up., and replied, "What!  And give up show business?

The first 41 games of the NBA season are usually snore sessions except for the few teams that will win 50-60 games over the regular season.  Watching these millionaires apply themselves with the same intensity of the old Harlem Globetrotters perennial opponents, the Washington Generals, is not worth the cost of the tickets, parking and $7 beers.