Compared to the NFL, the NBA owners are making very little money and I think a lot of franchises are losing money. I think the owners have very little choice than ask for a bigger piece of the pie.
but the problem is also that the numbers from the owners are compromised, the nba makes around 4,2 billions and pays 2,2 billions salary so they should be able still to make profit.
And se of the loses are come through missmanegement, Sacramento is bought on credit only with 3 casino as safety, who doesn't make profit too ;) Cuban uses his looses in the company to reduce his tax payments.
To see it realistic, the merchandise income is on the top, and the interest in the games too. So you could expect them to make a lot of money, and hey you ain't even forced to pay the maximum slalary if you ain't making profit.