For Sixers, a stop and a start

THE NBA lockout has put the sport on the back burner like an overcooked burger at a summer barbecue.

Meetings, such as the ones yesterday and Tuesday in New York among the owners, players and a federal mediator, have gone on for endless hours, with little progress reported. Two weeks of the regular season have been erased, with more of the schedule apparently set to be scratched.

Professional basketball, though more popular at the end of last season than it has been in quite some time, is heading toward an abyss.

Unlike other pro basketball cities, however, hoops was the big story in Philadelphia on Tuesday as billionaire Joshua Harris and his group of investors took over ownership of the 76ers from Ed Snider and Comcast-Spectacor.

The new owners vowed to make this an NBA town again - slashing ticket prices, talking of rekindling a connection between the fans and the team, and even creating a website for the faithful to vent their concerns, promising to read every comment. As of yesterday, more than 4,000 comments had been sent, a team spokesman said.

While Harris and new CEO Adam Aron have flooded the radio airways, some Sixers players tweeted yesterday about their excitement over the new ownership.

Sixers guard Jodie Meeks tweeted, "A huge welcome to Joshua Harris and the entire ownership group. Excited for our team and can't wait to get back to work."

Is pro basketball really reaching relevancy in this city again, coming off a 14-win improvement from the season before and a return to the playoffs? Perhaps Tuesday was a step in that direction, but it really was a sliver of sunlight busting through the dark, given the ominous clouds cast by the lockout.

Just how has this work stoppage, which began on July 1, affected this city and its basketball team?

To gauge how much the lockout is hurting the Sixers, consider second-year swingman Evan Turner, the second overall pick in last year's draft.

Consider his first season a year without the necessary filter that comes from experience. Imagine sitting at a dinner table with a large family around the holidays. Football is blaring on the television; food is getting passed all around the table; three or four different conversations are going on at the same time; the phone rings; the dog barks. In order to focus on one subject, a filter is needed to drown out the other distractions.

Last season, Turner had to deal with trying to learn from professorial coach Doug Collins. Turner had to get used to the nonstop travel; cope with slumps, the lack of playing time and confidence, not to mention an 82-game schedule. Now, going into his second season, the filter is in place.

Better learning his role and place in Collins' system is paramount on his list of to-do's. It certainly would have been a lot easier for Turner if he had benefited from playing in the summer league in Orlando, had contact with the communicative Collins and enjoyed a full training camp.

He is the primary example, but other young players such as Spencer Hawes, Thaddeus Young, Jrue Holiday, first-round pick Nikola Vucevic and Meeks will certainly suffer without the chance to absorb another round of Collins' preseason tutoring.

Collins and his staff went on a whirlwind tour in the days before the lockout to meet with each player, letting them know what he expected during the lockout, presumably including what they should be working on and what their roles might be.

What could work in the team's favor is the fact that this is a young group. Should this lockout end, after a time period for free agency, a training camp most likely would be about a week or 10 days. A season would have to be crammed into a shorter time frame, meaning less time off between games. That is an advantage for young legs, of which the Sixers have many.

Although the Sixers likely will add some new pieces, the lack of roster turnover could be beneficial. Most players are familiar with the complexities of Collins' schemes and what he is trying to get out of each and every one of them. One thing the Sixers cannot afford is a start like the 3-13 beginning to last season.

Collins is barred from talking about specific players during the lockout, but has been clear that his team will be ready when the time comes. "There cannot be any wasted time," he said.

This lockout has not benefited many people, yet. If you were to make a list of those who have profited (non-monetarily) thus far, the new Sixers owners could be at the top of a very short list.

Managing owner Joshua Harris is not a basketball man, nor is new CEO Adam Aron, nor a majority of the other investors. They are businessmen who have done exceptionally well in their varied professional endeavors. This is another business move for them.

But had they made this deal in July, and it got approved by the NBA Board of Governors not long after that, training camp would have been upon them with the regular season to follow. No matter how good a businessman you are, that is a short time to get plans in order, much less implement them.

The lockout has given the group time to map out strategies - which began with slashing single-game ticket prices for much of the Wells Fargo Center and a new marketing campaign. They have had an opportunity to listen to Collins, take in president Rod Thorn's ideas, ponder the suggestions of many in the organization on how to upgrade the practice facility to make the daily grind of a season easier on the players.

Harris indicated he thought the time between July and this week actually helped the owners take a deep breath - something they don't plan on doing from here forward.

"We are moving 100 miles an hour on all fronts and we will be ready with something fabulous," Aron said of management's plan for when the lockout ends. "We will set out to be world class and cutting edge in everything we do."

It was clear early in Tuesday's news conference at the Palestra that the first goal is to bring the fans back to the arena. Are their ideas going to work?

"Cutting prices should certainly increase attendance from what it would otherwise be this season," said Joel G. Maxcy, an associate professor in Temple's School of Tourism and Hospitality Management. "If there are a lot of empty seats and this is exacerbated by resentment from the lockout, it makes financial sense. However, gate revenue, not attendance, is the objective and with the substantial 50 percent cut the increase in attendance will need to be significant to offset the lower prices."

Maxcy said lowering ticket prices will generate goodwill, something that is especially important in the aftermath of the lockout and could reap long-term benefits.

"Over the long run, fans will remember that these guys are not gouging them even if prices are raised in the future . . . In my opinion, they stressed goodwill, a singular focus on the Sixers, improving the quality of the team and the fans experience, lower ticket prices, which are all PR positives."

One of the last things Harris said on Tuesday was that "one of the reasons we didn't put any time frame on our goal is because we can't."

Funny, the same can be said about the lockout, which in some ways has probably worked in his favor.