If the NBA were run like public education...

I read last night that the NBA labor talks have broken down, resulting in a lockout. Two main points I see are that the owners say teams are losing too much money because they have to pay the players so much, and the players are saying the teams are losing money because of shoddy accounting and the recession. Basically, the owners are blaming the players, and the players are blaming the owners. Then there's the issue of the players union calling for an increase in the average player salary, from $5 million to $7 million, even while there are 22 teams that are losing money annually.

Based on my experience as a teacher, I feel as qualified to make suggestions for the NBA as politicians with no educational experience have in making suggestions for public education. In order to avoid the season being cancelled, the NBA must do the following:

1. Get rid of players unions. They are evil. Their members are greedy. They are socialists and probably want your children to vote for Obama.
2. Institute an immediate pay cut for all players. They do what they do because they love basketball, not because it pays well. If they don't like it, then fire them and hire people who will play for lower salaries, even if they're not qualified.
3. Make them play more games. There are only 82 games during the regular season. How can they justify only working 82 days a year? They should be playing more than that!
4. Recruit people who want to play! Why are they wasting all this money to people who can play? All it takes is a five-week intensive training course in basketball to ensure that a player is the best!
5. Demand that teams win 100% of games they play. If the players want their full salaries, then they are responsible for making sure their team wins every game. No exceptions. Sorry, Timberwolves! Looks like it's another ramen noodle year for you!
6. Pay for performance. If you don't play well, tough luck. You don't get your "bonus" salary or endorsements. Note to LeBron James: This does not apply to games of knockout played against little kids at summer camp.
7. Allow the government to take over management of teams who aren't making money and/or winning games. Fire everyone and only allow 50% of them to be hired back. Make it their responsibility to win all the games and pull the team's finances out of the red. 

The way I see it, all of the rules that apply to public schools should apply to the NBA. If senseless rules are good enough for American education, they're good enough for professional basketball. I will happily entertain all offers of consulting positions with NBA teams. As you can see, I am more than qualified to tell you what you're doing wrong.