It's obvious that the players are going to have to give back, but before getting too stuck on your line of thinking, consider the NHL. While players in the NHL still receive about 55% of revenue (per the NY Times article), the league is in good financial shape (obviously, there are a few struggling teams), despite much poorer TV deals and the current recession. With higher revenues in the NBA, and no obvious source of additional overhead (someone may be able to provide additional information here), shouldn't the NBA be able to afford to pay their players more?
eh?