The Kings and the next CBA
Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 1:15 am
We already have a draft thread and free agent thread somewhere but I think the biggest thing that will shape this team's future (other than the arena situation of course) is the new CBA. The major changes that we're likely could see will almost definitely swing in the Kings' favor. So ... what do you expect to see? What do you want to see? What parts could be good [and bad] for the Kings?
I'll start
What do I want to see in the next CBA:
From a high level perspective something that creates a level playing field and the parity of football. While the NFL may have 2-3 teams that contend nearly every year for a decade they also tend to have a bunch of teams that contend out of nowhere or make the playoffs out of nowhere. I think this should be the NBA's goal. So here's what I'd like to see implemented to get there:
1) Set a hard cap. This is the #1 priority to achieving the dream scenario. A hard cap does a number of things:
a) It limits the amount of talent that any one team can acquire.
b) By removing Bird rights and the exceptions (MLE, LLE, etc.) it means that contending teams cannot continue to hoard talent every year by passing out 5 year/$40mil deals (which is roughly what the full MLE comes to). Now, if you're Lebron, Bosh, & Wade would you have teamed up and taken nearly the ENTIRE cap up by yourselves knowing full well that the team CAN'T go out each summer and sign a mid-level player? Doubt it.
2) Implement a far bigger revenue sharing system. The NFL shares what amounts to every single dollar that comes in from all teams. Why do they do this? Because the teams collectively make the league together. The Giants & Jets couldn't function (i.e. they'd have no one to play) if the Jags, Raiders, Packets, Steelers, etc. didn't exist. The NBA should do the same thing here and share [almost] all revenue between all teams.
3) To deal with the Donald Sterlings of the world with respect to #2 above: remove the minimum team salary requirement as it currently is (75% of the cap). All teams could be required to spend 100% of the cap. Every dollar under that should either be distributed amongst the players on the team or go into a giant pot to be distributed to all the players in the league equally. This way owners can't pocket revenue from the revenue sharing model.
4) Remove the max player salary. The max player salary is a partial cause of the "super team" thing we're currently seeing. It screws up the market place.
5) Create a franchise player tagging system so that teams can keep the players they invest so much in. There are many ways to do this but I'd do it the following way:
I'd base the tag on restricted free agency (which actually is a great give and take between a team and a player). Before a player hits free agency a team would have 3 options:
a) Do nothing--letting them become a free agent
b) Sign them to an extension at any yearly salary allowable under their cap
c) Tag them. Tagging them would immediately make the player eligible for a multiyear contract of X dollars (where X would be a % of the cap based on the number of years the player has been in the league).
If a player is tagged then he is free to go out and talk to other teams. If he signs an offer sheet with another team then his previous team (who tagged him) may match the offer .... but at a price: whatever deal the player is offered must be 1 year longer (with the extra year being a player option) and a certain percentage high (let's say 15%).
So let's say Deron Williams is about to be a free agent and NJ tags him. The Knicks come along and offer Deron a 3 year, $60mil deal. If NJ wanted to match that offer they'd have to give Deron a 4 year, $92mil deal.
Doing this allows smaller markets to keep their talent but at the same time allowing players to get market value AND allowing for player movement.
6) Contracts continue to be guaranteed (well, teams have the option of making contracts non-guaranteed but rarely take the option) for the life of the contract. However, players may be cut at any time so that a team can remain under the cap. Doing so creates a cap penalty equal to some % of the player's salary (let's say 50%).
7) No contracts can be longer than 4 years (when a team resigns it's own player) or 3 years (when a team signs a free agent from another team).
8) Flopping is now punishable by fine &/or suspension and is fiercely regulated. This may not DEFINITELY be a CBA issue but I think that it would help to get this into the CBA so that there isn't a **** when the league starts fining and suspending the Manu's, Kirilenko's, & Wade's of the world.
What do I think will get into the new CBA? I think a hard cap is almost certain at this point and if that's the case then some form of #6 (cutting players to create space) MUST be there. I'm fairly certain that we see some kind of solution for franchise tagging and we also see a shortening of player contracts (though I think it'll go from its current 5/6 to 4/5 instead of to 3/4 like I'd like to see).
The one thing I'm skeptical of is the revenue sharing. That's the 1 big thing that I could see being left out of the deal even though it's one of the most paramount things that this league needs.
I'll start
What do I want to see in the next CBA:
From a high level perspective something that creates a level playing field and the parity of football. While the NFL may have 2-3 teams that contend nearly every year for a decade they also tend to have a bunch of teams that contend out of nowhere or make the playoffs out of nowhere. I think this should be the NBA's goal. So here's what I'd like to see implemented to get there:
1) Set a hard cap. This is the #1 priority to achieving the dream scenario. A hard cap does a number of things:
a) It limits the amount of talent that any one team can acquire.
b) By removing Bird rights and the exceptions (MLE, LLE, etc.) it means that contending teams cannot continue to hoard talent every year by passing out 5 year/$40mil deals (which is roughly what the full MLE comes to). Now, if you're Lebron, Bosh, & Wade would you have teamed up and taken nearly the ENTIRE cap up by yourselves knowing full well that the team CAN'T go out each summer and sign a mid-level player? Doubt it.
2) Implement a far bigger revenue sharing system. The NFL shares what amounts to every single dollar that comes in from all teams. Why do they do this? Because the teams collectively make the league together. The Giants & Jets couldn't function (i.e. they'd have no one to play) if the Jags, Raiders, Packets, Steelers, etc. didn't exist. The NBA should do the same thing here and share [almost] all revenue between all teams.
3) To deal with the Donald Sterlings of the world with respect to #2 above: remove the minimum team salary requirement as it currently is (75% of the cap). All teams could be required to spend 100% of the cap. Every dollar under that should either be distributed amongst the players on the team or go into a giant pot to be distributed to all the players in the league equally. This way owners can't pocket revenue from the revenue sharing model.
4) Remove the max player salary. The max player salary is a partial cause of the "super team" thing we're currently seeing. It screws up the market place.
5) Create a franchise player tagging system so that teams can keep the players they invest so much in. There are many ways to do this but I'd do it the following way:
I'd base the tag on restricted free agency (which actually is a great give and take between a team and a player). Before a player hits free agency a team would have 3 options:
a) Do nothing--letting them become a free agent
b) Sign them to an extension at any yearly salary allowable under their cap
c) Tag them. Tagging them would immediately make the player eligible for a multiyear contract of X dollars (where X would be a % of the cap based on the number of years the player has been in the league).
If a player is tagged then he is free to go out and talk to other teams. If he signs an offer sheet with another team then his previous team (who tagged him) may match the offer .... but at a price: whatever deal the player is offered must be 1 year longer (with the extra year being a player option) and a certain percentage high (let's say 15%).
So let's say Deron Williams is about to be a free agent and NJ tags him. The Knicks come along and offer Deron a 3 year, $60mil deal. If NJ wanted to match that offer they'd have to give Deron a 4 year, $92mil deal.
Doing this allows smaller markets to keep their talent but at the same time allowing players to get market value AND allowing for player movement.
6) Contracts continue to be guaranteed (well, teams have the option of making contracts non-guaranteed but rarely take the option) for the life of the contract. However, players may be cut at any time so that a team can remain under the cap. Doing so creates a cap penalty equal to some % of the player's salary (let's say 50%).
7) No contracts can be longer than 4 years (when a team resigns it's own player) or 3 years (when a team signs a free agent from another team).
8) Flopping is now punishable by fine &/or suspension and is fiercely regulated. This may not DEFINITELY be a CBA issue but I think that it would help to get this into the CBA so that there isn't a **** when the league starts fining and suspending the Manu's, Kirilenko's, & Wade's of the world.
What do I think will get into the new CBA? I think a hard cap is almost certain at this point and if that's the case then some form of #6 (cutting players to create space) MUST be there. I'm fairly certain that we see some kind of solution for franchise tagging and we also see a shortening of player contracts (though I think it'll go from its current 5/6 to 4/5 instead of to 3/4 like I'd like to see).
The one thing I'm skeptical of is the revenue sharing. That's the 1 big thing that I could see being left out of the deal even though it's one of the most paramount things that this league needs.