u/Young-Jah

On July 4th, 2016, Kevin Durant published the "My Next Chapter" article on The Players' Tribune. In the article, he announced that he would be leaving OKC to play for the Golden State Warriors for a two-year, $54.3 million contract. Upon the announcement, the decision was the most controversial free agency moves in NBA and professional sports history, as he left the Thunder to join the team (that had a win loss record of 73-9) that beat him in 2016 Western Conference Finals a month prior.

As a Sonics fan, when did you guys heard of the news during that time in Seattle, and what was your reaction 10 years ago?

On July 1st, 2011, NBA and NBPA went into a standoff after the 2005 CBA expired, with The main issues dividing both sides were the division of revenue, the structure of the salary cap and luxury tax. Owners proposed to reduce the players' share of basketball related income (BRI) from 57% to 47%, but the players countered with 53% of BRI. Owners wanted to implement a hard salary cap and a harsher luxury tax, hoping to increase competition among teams, whereas players wanted to keep the current soft salary cap structure intact.

As a result of this, teams could not trade, sign, or contact players. Players additionally did not have access to NBA team facilities, trainers, or staff.

This led to players signing contracts to play in other countries during the summer, mostly in Europe and Asia, with most of them having the option to return upon the lockout's conclusion.

The work stoppage lasted for 161 days, coming to an end on November 26 when both sides came an tentative agreement, with the new CBA calls for a revenue split of 49-to-51.2% and a flexible salary cap structure with harsher luxury tax. After the tentative deal was reached, owners allowed players to have voluntary workouts at team sites starting December 1. After the deal was ratified on December 8, training camps, trades, and free agency began the next day, and shortened the 2011-12 season to 66.

What was your memories of the labor dispute stoppage back then, as well as your memories of how it affected your favorite teams and players during that time frame?