Were the Lockouts really a bad thing?

All three could find themselves on different teams by the time the shortened season begins.

News broke late Tuesday night that the Boston Celtics would be willing to offer up All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo for Chris Paul. A few hours later news of the New Jersey Nets being prepared to send Brook Lopez and two first rounders to Orlando for Dwight Howard. The NBA hasn't even been back for a full week and there is already writing on the wall that suggests this shortened NBA off season will be as exciting as the off season we saw in the NFL after their lockout scare. While the lockouts in both leagues were hard to handle for fans, I think sports should threaten fans with lockouts more often. The NBA and NFL have proven the old saying of, "You really don't know what you've got till is gone."

During the lockouts fans were quick to make villains out of NBA and NFL players and owners and rightfully so. However, once word came that football was back, these villains quickly became beloved heroes again. ESPN and the NFL peppered us with heart warning commercials proclaiming that "Football is back!" People became excited to watch pre-season football. Real NFL teams treated free agency like they were running a team in Madden '12. Bret Favre could have made another come back and fans wouldn't have minded because football was back. After a shortened off season the NFL came back with a bang. Offenses exploded taking advantage of defense without a full off season to prepare. Veterans and rookies were throwing for 500+ yards. After the first five weeks of football multiple quarterbacks were on pace for 5,000 yard seasons. The Lions were here, the Raiders were back, even the way teams underachieved was exciting (I'm talking to you "Dream Team" fans). The potential of losing football for even just a year made fans appreciate it more. I'm 4-7 in my fantasy football league but have probably had more fun this season than ever. As wildly popular as the NFL has become in American, it took almost losing it for fans to really appreciate it. The '11-'12 season has been an enjoyable rollercoaster despite being without the player who has arguably been the face of the league for the past decade, Peyton Manning. The league as a whole is simply more appreciated.

While the effects of the NBA lockout remain uncertain, a new light has already been shun on the game. Despite the NBA's growing global appeal, their domestic popularity has them ranked at 2a, far behind football but seemingly even with baseball. The NBA didn't have the leverage the NFL did. Fans don't watch basketball games if it’s snowing in the arena. Fans don't tailgate for hours leading up to tip off. Americans want their football no matter what; we can get by if we miss an NBA season or so. However, while it remains unclear how NBA fans will embraced this shortened season, one thing is certain a greater appreciation for the game has occurred. When is the last time basketball was relevant in August or September? When have NBA players not named Skip to my Lou flocked to street courts and high school gyms for exhibition games? Outside of this season would anyone care that a past his prime Kenyon Martin signed with a Chinese team? The NBA has remained relevant for an entire summer without a single sanctioned game played. Just like with football, the news of the NBA coming back has swept the national news and Tuesday night's rumors have shown that the NBA free agency with be equally entertaining as the NFL's.

This year's shortened season could be a final stand for some of the league's aging stars

Just as the NFL season started with a huge bang and has been wildly entertaining since, the shortened NBA season shouldn't disappoint either. A 66 game season means veterans on their way out will see this as their final shot. Players like Tim Duncan, Kobe, Kevin Garnett and Steve Nash don't have to keep as much stored up in their playoff reserve tank. They can go all out for 66 games. This shortened off season will see super teams thrown together alla the Philadelphia Eagles. Lesser talented teams with chemistry will be able to hang around for a longer portion of the season. Let’s not forget anything can happen in a shortened NBA season; the last time this happened the Knicks made the finals as an 8th seed.

Last season was one of the more entertaining NBA seasons in a while. The league was riding a wave of momentum after it ended. The lockout has certainly killed some of that momentum. But I'm still excited basketball is back. I'm excited Sports Center won't consist of endless hockey highlights. I'm bummed that I might have missed my chance to buy a couch from Delonte West. But mostly I'm excited to have what I almost wasn't going to get.

Roger Goodell and David Stern went full on Jigsaw on us and tortured us with lockouts and pictures of Drew Brees and Derrick Fisher in large office buildings. But ultimately we survived their game and came out with a better appreciation for life... I mean the NFL and NBA