RealGM

Has anyone heard anything about getting rid of the MLE with the new CBA? I know the owners want to get rid of it. (The penny pinching ones, which is majority in the this league). But as a Bulls fan, this is definitely something I'm interested in, because I think the bulls could possibly fill their SG hole (and become a true title contender) by using the MLE to sign, say, Jamal Crawford.

Jamal Crawford currently makes $10M a year playing for the Hawks. Why do you think he would want to play for the Bulls for the MLE?

They can't get rid of it all together as teams like the Heat, Lakers, Magic, Celtics, etc would find it damn near impossible to continually retool and add to their teams. Especially regarding the Heat and how much publicity they created for the NBA this past off season, I don't think Stern or the other owners are going to get in the way of them becoming a complete team (without the MLE they could not be complete).

I imagine it will be restructured in some manner, likely lessening the value, but it will likely still be around.

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Dunkenstein wrote:Jamal Crawford currently makes $10M a year playing for the Hawks. Why do you think he would want to play for the Bulls for the MLE?

I'm not saying the Bulls will go after Crawford or that Crawford will want to play for the Bulls again, but his $10m contract expires after this season and he surely won't be making nearly that much money on his next contract. I certainly think it's within the realm of possibility that he signs for MLE type money next season, although there are still bad GMs in the league that could offer him more I suppose.

Dunkenstein wrote:Jamal Crawford currently makes $10M a year playing for the Hawks. Why do you think he would want to play for the Bulls for the MLE?

What above said. And also, if he signs with the Bulls, they're the second best team in the league next year behind the Heat.

The MLE has been used stupidly over the years by a large number of teams. Owners want to idiot-proof the new CBA so that even idiots make money, so it could be severly reduced or eliminated (players would likely bargin away the MLE if they can keep the total BRI number in play from dropping much).

At best, it's probably down to just allowing 3 guaranteed years on an MLE deal, which would have greatly reduced the damage teams have done to themselves with it.

I think the MLE will still be there. My thing is if the will agree on having a franchise tag like in the NFL. I do see some good in the franchise tag but i also see some bad in it to. If they do agree on a franchise tag in the new CBA I hope they make a non-exclusive franchise tag. A non-exclusive tag is better because the other teams can still attempt to sign that player but if he signs they have to give up two 1st rd picks to his former team.

giberish wrote:The MLE has been used stupidly over the years by a large number of teams. Owners want to idiot-proof the new CBA so that even idiots make money, so it could be severly reduced or eliminated (players would likely bargin away the MLE if they can keep the total BRI number in play from dropping much).

At best, it's probably down to just allowing 3 guaranteed years on an MLE deal, which would have greatly reduced the damage teams have done to themselves with it.

The MLE has been used stupidly on a lot of players. However that is not the fault of the players. Owners should look at their GM's and than themselves for signing off on those stupid MLE contracts they offered to players not worth the MLE.

As I noted, owners want to idiot-proof the new CBA, rather than just not hiring idiots to run their teams.

Sam Smith of Bulls.com is really adamant that he thinks there won't be an MLE. The Heat would be screwed if that happens. As a Bulls fan I'd be fine with that just because the Bulls are probably in the best shape with no MLE of all the teams over the cap. No soft cap would be a different beast entirely though...

I think they should get rid of the mid level. It's probably the main culprit behind teams operating so far beyond the salary cap. There will still be plenty of dumb, excessive contracts, but not nearly as many as there are right now. Later draft picks and other "cheap" players will become a lot more important if teams can't add a decent player every year, regardless of payroll. Sounds more interesting to me.