Phoenix Suns forward Grant Hill was on hand at Madison Square Garden for Tuesday's Duke-Michigan St. game. Hill came to cheer on Coach Mike Krzyzewski, his former coach from college, as he scored his record-breaking 903rd Division I college basketball victory.
ESPN panned over to Hill at one point in the game, and Hill was asked about the NBA lockout. He responded by expressing his unquestionable hopefulness that a season will take place.
There's a lot to love about Grant Hill- great character, great teammate, great leadership- but this optimism is a little hard to swallow given current circumstances.
The players union has stated that talks with the league have broken down, and players (such as Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant) have started filing antitrust lawsuits against the NBA. These legal proceedings could take months or longer to settle.
The NBA season typically lasts until April, giving the two sides just a few months to come to an agreement before the official 2011-12 season is lost for good. Unless either side budges or changes its tone in negotiation, the two sides are likely to miss the regular season.'
Hill's optimism is admirable but seems unrealistic at this point. Perhaps he knows something that the rest of us don't though: if Hill were to exercise his charm on the other players behind-the-scenes, he could persuade them to further negotiations with the league and agree on a compromise.