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NBA Lockout: NBA Cancels Games, Players Miss Paycheck, File Antitrust Complaints

By Tom Lewis Updated

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Give attorney David Boies credit, at least he's a man of action. The high-profile lawyer stepped in Monday to help represent the NBA players with an eye on resolving the NBA labor stalemate. By Tuesday, the players were already pursuing their legal options by filing antitrust lawsuits against the NBA in both Los Angeles and Minnesota.

In reading quotes from Boies, it sounds like he doesn't expect these lawsuits to result in a trial, instead expecting them to result in some form of settlement that eventually results in an agreement between the players and owners to end the lockout.

Meanwhile, the NBA officially canceled scheduled games through December 15th which was merely a formality. Teams also saved their first chunk of cash by not paying players on the season's first payday which was yesterday. According to this report, teams normally pay roughly 1/12th of a player's salary on November 15th.

Some players have different payment schedules built into their contracts, but assuming the 1/12th estimate, the Indiana Pacers saved just under $3 million yesterday. If that number seems low, remember that the Pacers only have 10 players under contract with a total player payroll of $35.5 million (according to Sham Sports).

Plenty more details in the links after the jump on the legal issues involved here along with Josh McRoberts weighing in with his frustration. I thought wading through the CBA particulars was tedious and mind-numbing, but now we're into full legal analysis which is even more painful.

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