How many of you oppose unrestricted free agency?

sp6r=underrated · Post #1 » by **sp6r=underrated** » Tue Feb 15, 2011 9:11 pm

Open Disclosure: I'm generally pro-player and oppose things like a hard cap or franchise tag.

I have noticed in a lot of labor threads a real hostility to un-restricted free agency. Many posters just object to the idea that a player can leave their team without the team's consent as they don't feel it is fair for the team. I have read a lot of posts that state it is unfair to the Nuggets that Melo won't sign contract extension or that it was unfair of Lebron to leave Cleveland.

So I want to ask the directly. Do you oppose unrestricted free agency? Please explain your answer.

Gongxi · Post #2 » by **Gongxi** » Tue Feb 15, 2011 9:30 pm

I do, because I enjoy the continuity of teams: a GM trying to craft a contender through the draft and trades. I enjoy players playing for only a very small number of teams for their entire career, ideally 1 or 2, as it adds to the identity of a team.

I understand that this isn't fair to the players, but...I'm a fan, not a player.

chubby_1_kenobi · Post #3 » by **chubby_1_kenobi** » Tue Feb 15, 2011 9:36 pm

If everyone becomes restricted to the teams that had drafted them, expect to see a lot more tanking in the NBA. Why should you hire a good GM if luck is the way to go. Just tank it out and let luck drop a Tim Duncan or a Hakeem Olajuwon and your franchise is going be set for the next 13-15 years.

droponov · Post #4 » by **droponov** » Tue Feb 15, 2011 9:41 pm

Gongxi wrote:I do, because I enjoy the continuity of teams: a GM trying to craft a contender through the draft and trades. I enjoy players playing for only a very small number of teams for their entire career, ideally 1 or 2, as it adds to the identity of a team.

I understand that this isn't fair to the players, but...I'm a fan, not a player.

I enjoy continuity too.

To the point that it starts hurting my enjoyment as a fan by forcing great players to stay with badly run franchises throughout their peak and by constituting a counter-incentive for franchises to build good teams.

I don't give a damn about the players; unrestricted free agency is good for the fans.

andre316 · Post #5 » by **andre316** » Tue Feb 15, 2011 11:46 pm

I'm a big supporter of it, it acts as a check on terribly run organizations. I'd rather the league worry about how bad some owners (like Donald Sterling) and GMs are at producing a respectable product for fans than worry so much about players playing for organizations they like, in cities they like. Nobody wants an unhappy star player using other means (like tanking) to get out of a situation.