Yesterday, the NBA was supposed to open its doors, allowing teams to participate in their training camp activities. Of course, the ridiculous and contentious lockout continues unabated as the two sides — players and owners — try to split a pie that’s about 4 billion dollars in size.

As it stands, the signs are pointing more and more to the 2011-12 season not happening anytime soon, regardless of how many times commissioner David Stern approves the release of preseason schedules — was that petty move an intentional slap in the face or simply accidental? — and with that realization, the NBA’s true reason for success, the fans, are getting louder with their backlash, especially now that training camps are not open.

The emptiness of various training camps was captured perfectly by The Basketball Jones blog, and such posts only help feed the growing dissension fans have towards the owners. It’s important to remember the owners are solely responsible for locked doors on NBA facilities, not the players.

Commissioner Stern deserves his share of the blame too, especially now that the only side he seems to care about is the owners’. While this article’s goal is to capture the reaction of NBA fans and players, an article written by Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski gives readers great insight as to where they should lay the blame:

All hell’s going to break loose on Manhattan’s East Side Tuesday, and David Stern has been asking for this agent uprising from the beginning of these labor talks. He’s been asking for the fight of his life, and maybe, the implosion of his sport when this should be a golden time. So, stop the preening, stop the end-zone dance and make those rich guys start to stare at their shoes again. For once, be the commissioner of the NBA, not just the owners. Enough’s enough, bully. [Emphasis added]

Apparently sensing the backlash towards the owners and Stern building, a few players took to Twitter to adeptly stir the pot and continue the fan revolt against the establishment empowering the lockout. One such player who experienced an incredible growth in popularity –Blake Griffin — spearheaded the Twitter responses with the following expertly-timed tweet:

Griffin’s blast was retweeted by Dwyane Wade, which helped spearhead the responses:

Other players joined in as well:

It’s unwise, however, to think the hardline owners who support the lockout, or David Stern for that matter, give one damn about public perception or what the players think. They just care about lining their pockets with as much dough — at the expense of players (you know, the reason the league exists at all?)– as they can.

Unfortunately, it sounds like it’s going to get a lot uglier before we have a resolution. That hasn’t stopped people from issuing common sense responses to the NBA nonsense, like the following:

Too bad the lockout supporters don’t care about the fans, otherwise, these talks would’ve progressed a long time ago.

Thoughts on potentially losing the NBA season? Will the league be able to recover if they shoot themselves in the foot so severely? Let us know what you think.