<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">At least two names came to mind when Lorenzen Wright thought about the importance of avoiding an NBA lockout. Shawn Kemp and Vin Baker lived as poster children for the ill affects of a work stoppage. Those players fell out of shape physically during the 1998 lockout. The league's finances fell out of whack, and the game fell out of favor with most fans. In other words, nothing good happened the last time the NBA and its players union couldn't strike a deal in collective bargaining. Nothing. So Wright, the Grizzlies' player representative and a nine-year veteran, is grateful that there will be business as usual next month. After four consecutive days of negotiating, NBA commissioner David Stern and union director Billy Hunter announced Tuesday a deal to replace the one set to expire June 30. "That was crazy," Wright said when asked to recall the 1998 lockout. "I thought the whole season would be over with. It ruined players' careers and they never recovered. Shawn Kemp and Vin Baker never recovered. And we lost a lot of fans. "It was smart on both ends to come to an agreement. Nobody wants to go through that again. It ruins the image of the players. It ruins the image of the owners. It ruins the image of the league." </div> Source
