The NBA players and owners held one last meeting today in what could probably be best described as a half hearted attempt to avoid a work stoppage. Obviously that meeting didn't go well as the owners informed the players that they would be locked out starting at 12:01 this evening.
↵Unlike the NFL, these two sides didn't even see fit to push their deadline for an extra week before blowing it up. Clearly, they're so far apart they felt it was not even worth continuing to talk. Also unlike the NFL, the NBA players association will not elect to de-certify and instead will try to continue negotiations.
↵Having been through an entire summer of the NFL lockout, us sports fans are pretty clear on what this means. There will be no free agency or trades, no player movement of any kind. Players will not be able to meet with coaches or workout at team facilities.... Basically all business stops. It's really not going to be any different than what we've seen with the NFL this summer.
↵After sports fans have suffered through an entire summer of dealing with the NFL lockout, I suspect that any patience they may have had is long gone.