Pacer players anticipate lockout by owners, hope it doesn't happen

The NBA's collective bargaining agreement expires June 30, and there's a strong possibility the league is headed for its first lockout in 13 years.

"The climate surrounding the situation hasn't changed in the past two years, so a lot of players have been preparing for a lockout since then," Pacers swingman Dahntay Jones said. "You hope there's not going to be one, but you prepare for the worst and hope for the best. That's all you can do right now."

The possible lockout comes at a time when interest in NBA games has increased.

First-round playoff games on ABC, ESPN and TNT were watched by an average of 4.15 million people, up from about 3.2 million last year.

"I'm definitely concerned about it, worried about it," forward Danny Granger said. "I expect it to happen, from everything I've heard. It'll be bad for the league. It's going to happen, so we're going to have to try to get through it."

Jones and some of his teammates spent the season preparing for it financially.

"You have to think that way," he said. "You don't want the lockout to come and you're not ready for it from a financial standpoint. That's something we always talked about."

Veteran Jeff Foster wants to return for his 13th season in the league but doesn't want to have to wait an extended period of time before playing. He hopes the NBA is paying attention to what's going on with the NFL's lockout.

"You just hope the powers that be and the people who are making the decisions on both fronts see what's going on with the NFL and decide we don't want to do that," Foster said. "We don't want to go down that road. Hopefully there's not a lockout, and if there is, hopefully it's not long and we can come to some sort of agreement that benefits both parties."