NBA's Labor Uncertainty Puts '11 Vegas Summer League In Jeopardy

Next Year's Summer League Could Feature Int'l, D-League Players In The Event Of NBA Lockout

The '10 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas wrapped up yesterday, and if the league and NBPA do not reach agreement on a new CBA before the current deal expires next June, "there's probably not going to be a Summer League" next July, according to Steve Carp of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. The NBA could possibly "try to strike a separate deal to allow the Summer League to continue unabated should talks to reach a new agreement fail by the time the league is scheduled to tip off for its eighth season in Las Vegas." The NBA is "pleased with the growth of the Summer League in Las Vegas" -- attendance at Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion "was at an all-time high this week with 40,799 fans showing up" for 10 sessions, up 10% from '09. Carp notes there "might be a way to preserve the Summer League if there is a lockout." NBA D-League players are "not impacted by the CBA," nor are free agents or "players from Europe who have not signed with an NBA team." An amended Summer League "might be pushed back to August." Thomas & Mack Center Dir Daren Libonati said that the "flexibility is there to hold the Summer League either month" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 7/19). But in Sacramento, Ailene Voisin wrote, "Most of these games are unwatchable as it is unless one fixates on a specific player or team. Can't imagine a lot of interest in a competition that doesn't include the future stars" (SACBEE.com, 7/18).