Maybe it’s Michael’s fault, but maybe it’s ours too.

As I read tweets from the likes of Adrian Wojnarowski or Chris Broussard, I wonder. I wonder whether the internet has ruined this for the lockout. I wonder whether the anonymous sources the reports of leagues wishes and will’s won’t hamper this last line of negotiations.

I wonder, whether Nazr Mohammed knows that there’s no D-League clause by now. I wonder if all the players are able to  throw the initial bad taste of this “element” of the proposal out of their collective mouths. Are they going to be able to just look at the full proposal, the one leaked by USA Today. Without thinking along the lines of “they’re gonna take our money and our rights, and throw some of us into the D-League.”

Now, with rumours of contraction affecting the deal (once again, a B-List issue that can and should be resolved quickly between the NBA and NBPA) as reported by the aformentioned “Woj”. May once again spread confusion in the players camp, with the player reps getting some very angry phone calls.

The big media, the bloggers, the fans, in all their love to the sport, have managed to build an image of antagonism between the sides based on reports of waving fingers, designer bags and out-of-context “make them suffer” notes.

Before twitter, the players and owners weren’t affected as much by random sources or random tweets as they are now. In the end, false or incomplete information may have been the main pitfall in these labour talks, along with painting the two sides as enemies.

Perhaps it’s time to shut up, and wait for something real. This is not the NBA Draft, and this is not the trade deadline. Rumours out of your back end have an effect on what happens, and the sooner we realize they do, the better.