Page 1 of 5
Lowe / Windhorst: Inside a tense NBA owners meeting
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 4:34 pm
by dTox
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/27243621/inside-tense-nba-owners-meeting-change-free-agencyLots of meat in this report by Lowe / Windhorst
• One item discussed openly and explicitly: frustration that family members of players were almost acting as agents and asking for benefits outside the scope of the collective bargaining agreement. Vague reports in the local Toronto media that Leonard's uncle and adviser, Dennis Robertson, asked for such benefits clearly sparked the discussion, but it was pointed out that he would not have been the first family member to do so -- and would not be the last.
Silver appeared to reference this in his remarks to the media after the meeting when he mentioned that "frankly, things are being discussed that don't fall squarely within the collective bargaining agreement."
Some suggested that any family member acting as a player's de facto representative should have to pass through the union's certification process for player agents, sources said
Buchanan, sources say, distinguished any situation in which a team were to circumvent the salary cap to provide star players with extra benefits: The league would use all investigative tools at its disposal and use its immense power to punish any team caught doing that. He reminded the governors of this, even though there are no credible allegations of circumvention at this time, sources say.
Other tidbits:
Among the specific issues discussed during the Las Vegas meetings and since:
• The possibility of allowing teams to talk to free agents and their representatives immediately after the end of the Finals or a few days later, even if there is still some moratorium on striking official deals until some set time after the draft.
Team executives and agents report that free agency now unofficially begins at the draft combine in May, when those days of meetings with agents over draft picks often expand to their coming free-agent clients, despite the rules.
So if some teams are talking to players days or weeks before June 30, then just let everyone do that openly, the thinking goes. Of course, some teams might then be tempted to start even earlier than the end of the Finals.
• A more extreme version of this same general change: conduct free agency, signings and all, before the NBA draft. But this change, while practical, may not be in the immediate offing.
The Houston Rockets formally proposed this change last year. When the league polled the 30 teams on Houston's proposal this month, only 10 supported it, though several responded that they did not care either way, sources familiar with the poll results say.
Re: ESPN: Inside a tense NBA owners meeting
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 4:37 pm
by tradejosehesux
I'm sure Silver has no plans to address any of this.
Re: Lowe / Windhorst: Inside a tense NBA owners meeting
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 4:42 pm
by RyderMike
They could adopt the NHL free agency where negiotiations with free agents can start a week before free agency starts (basically after the draft) and then become official on July 1st, but I guess that's what the moratorium from July 1 to 6 is supposed to be.
Re: Lowe / Windhorst: Inside a tense NBA owners meeting
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 4:46 pm
by J-Roc
After reading all that, I can hear Windhorst basically explaining why nothing can change. Those ESPN guys love the way it is.
Re: Lowe / Windhorst: Inside a tense NBA owners meeting
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 4:54 pm
by Raptorfan2012
"The possibility of allowing teams to talk to free agents and their representatives immediately after the end of the Finals or a few days later, even if there is still some moratorium on striking official deals until some set time after the draft."
Never understood why they have that moratorirum when it is clear negotiations have already begun well before June 30th; how do you have some players agree to a contract already like 1 minute into the official negotiation period.
Re: Lowe / Windhorst: Inside a tense NBA owners meeting
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 5:08 pm
by Moon Walk
J-Roc wrote:After reading all that, I can hear Windhorst basically explaining why nothing can change. Those ESPN guys love the way it is.
Love it till Giannis comes our way
Re: Lowe / Windhorst: Inside a tense NBA owners meeting
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 5:11 pm
by J-Roc
Raptorfan2012 wrote:"The possibility of allowing teams to talk to free agents and their representatives immediately after the end of the Finals or a few days later, even if there is still some moratorium on striking official deals until some set time after the draft."
Never understood why they have that moratorirum when it is clear negotiations have already begun well before June 30th; how do you have some players agree to a contract already like 1 minute into the official negotiation period.
KD agreed to a deal to join Brooklyn without Sean Marks even knowing.
Re: Lowe / Windhorst: Inside a tense NBA owners meeting
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 5:15 pm
by 6ixSideSniper
The easiest way to approach it is let FAs become FAs the day after their last end-of-season media obligations.
Talks and negotiations obviously happen even before this, but this is more realistic than setting up these waiting periods where players aren't technically allowed to negotiate new deals but do it anyways with no repercussion.
Make the rules more lenient, and make the punishments harder for those caught cheating the rules when they are already so lenient.
Re: Lowe / Windhorst: Inside a tense NBA owners meeting
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 5:15 pm
by Johnny Bball
And people still debating that it's just sour grapes.... this is 100% a real huge issue.
And this was my question yesterday. How did Dennis not have to have to be certified by the union. And how did he not lose that certification.
Re: Lowe / Windhorst: Inside a tense NBA owners meeting
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 5:30 pm
by galeon110
6ixSideSniper wrote:The easiest way to approach it is let FAs become FAs the day after their last end-of-season media obligations.
Talks and negotiations obviously happen even before this, but this is more realistic than setting up these waiting periods where players aren't technically allowed to negotiate new deals but do it anyways with no repercussion.
Make the rules more lenient, and make the punishments harder for those caught cheating the rules when they are already so lenient.
Do these not take place on different days for different players depending on how far each teams go in the season?
Re: Lowe / Windhorst: Inside a tense NBA owners meeting
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 7:04 pm
by dTox
TBH, I don't see a situation out of this loophole, unless players, team's are willing to forfeit their privacy and allow their communication to be monitored by the league
Re: Lowe / Windhorst: Inside a tense NBA owners meeting
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 7:20 pm
by Morse Code
dTox wrote:TBH, I don't see a situation out of this loophole, unless players, team's are willing to forfeit their privacy and allow their communication to be monitored by the league
Exactly. Unless the NBA has the right to listen in on LeGMor anyone else's calls to other players who are under contract, they'll just communicate privately and pass messages along like they do now.
Re: Lowe / Windhorst: Inside a tense NBA owners meeting
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 7:33 pm
by C Court
Johnny Bball wrote:And people still debating that it's just sour grapes.... this is 100% a real huge issue.
To those people I'd say....

Re: Lowe / Windhorst: Inside a tense NBA owners meeting
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 8:04 pm
by kj_
The negotiations early will never be stopped and I suspect the rules will be changed to reflect that. “Why have rules you can’t enforce.”
However, I could see the next CBA including stronger language that prevents teams from providing benefits of monetary value to the player or family members outside the salary cap. I could also see that just asking becomes the violation. This would include the Clippers attempting to purchase the Klaw rights from Nike and any asks or offers from any team or player about anything that is not a discussion of contract and basketball.
The agent certification should already have been in place.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Re: Lowe / Windhorst: Inside a tense NBA owners meeting
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 8:09 pm
by scopy
I agree, an Unlicensed Family member meddling should not be allowed. Therefore the Kawhi Clipper contract is null and void and by default he must play for the team he was with for the previous season.
Re: Lowe / Windhorst: Inside a tense NBA owners meeting
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 8:12 pm
by YelloC
That figures. They’ll enforce or create a new rule after(and only after) the Raptors have already been screwed over.
Re: Lowe / Windhorst: Inside a tense NBA owners meeting
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 8:13 pm
by 2019nbachamps
I don't see how the league can resolve this issue. Fact of the matter is players are always thinking about the futures and when they are interested in going somewhere, they can figure out a way to get a member of their camp to surreptitiously contact a prospective club. Do we really think guys like KD and Kyrie decided on June 30 they were going to the Nets? Those guys spoke about it during the season and figured out a way to have contact with the Nets to sort things out before free agency officially began. No matter when free agency begins, those sorts of backdoor conversations will always occur.
Re: Lowe / Windhorst: Inside a tense NBA owners meeting
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 8:21 pm
by scopy
Johnny Bball wrote:And people still debating that it's just sour grapes.... this is 100% a real huge issue.
And this was my question yesterday. How did Dennis not have to have to be certified by the union. And how did he not lose that certification.
You know, the world is going to crap when Trump blatantly uses nepotism for his daughter, son-in law and his sons, to parade around the world to meet with world leaders and have zero right to be there. What is more mind boggling is that no one holds him accountable for this and allows it to happen.
Seems like we are at a point in society where some people feel like they can do whatever they want without any consequences.
I am grateful that other professions such as engineering and the medical fields are governed better than this. (at least I hope they are)
Re: Lowe / Windhorst: Inside a tense NBA owners meeting
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 8:29 pm
by carlosey
They have to do something before the FBI steps in.
The salary structure, trade requests, all of that can be modified to give ownerships control again.
But the side payments through family members, thats a very bad look that stinks of corruption.
Re: Lowe / Windhorst: Inside a tense NBA owners meeting
Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 8:50 pm
by RapsFanInOhio
The next CBA negotiations are going to be a nightmare.