If the NBA players decertify and are declared free agents...

[parson]

... do we laugh or cry?

On the one hand, I notice that we've the 7th highest salary.
On the other, I remember our history.

If they were free, would Dwight Howard and Josh Smith run to us ... or do they have another favorite? Do they even have the same favorite?

Would there be a league-wide draft when the new CBA came into effect?
Would it be a regional draft?
Would major markets simply pick and choose?

[azuresou1]

I can't imagine why decertification would nullify team contracts. It didn't hold true for the NFL, not sure why it would for the NBA.

[parson]

Read the "NBA Files Suit Against NBPA" link above. Particularly notice this:

The NBA also says it wants to void existing player contracts if the NBPA sheds its union status.

[theatlfan]

I can't imagine why decertification would nullify team contracts. It didn't hold true for the NFL, not sure why it would for the NBA.

Uh, that case was in court and very well could have ended up with several NFL players having their contract nullified.

To cancel a legally binding contract, one of the parties still in the contract has to ask for the contract to be cancelled and if the other party doesn't want to, then the case generally ends up in court. The NFL owners themselves didn't want to cancel the contracts, since in the NFL, the only "guaranteed" money currently in at least 95% of NFL contracts is the signing bonus. Hence, if the NFL owners asked to cancel a contract, then they'd lose the $$ they already invested (the signing bonus) whereas all the players lost was years where the NFL team may or may not have wanted to pay them anyways.

In the case of the NFL, since the owners didn't want to cancel all their contracts and there was no union, then it would be up to the individual players to ask for their contract to be cancelled. I'm pretty sure that one of the points in Brady, et al vs the NFL was to get some of these bigger contracts nullified, so that the player could become a free agent. One of the points of the NFL's new CBA was that the players in that case would drop the suit.

[theatlfan]

... do we laugh or cry?

On the one hand, I notice that we've the 7th highest salary.
On the other, I remember our history.

If they were free, would Dwight Howard and Josh Smith run to us ... or do they have another favorite? Do they even have the same favorite?

Would there be a league-wide draft when the new CBA came into effect?
Would it be a regional draft?
Would major markets simply pick and choose?

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about this until this one plays out. This is one of the most confounding maneuvers I've seen in the history of following professional sports. In any lockout, the leverage the owners have over the players is a) the fact that the players aren't getting paid, and in the 1st time I remember, b) that the player is actually still roped into a big $$$ contract.

In an attempt to circumvent point a), many players are looking at overseas opportunities. The problem is that that have 2 big points against them: the first is that they are already under a contract and would have to have an out clause from the overseas team in the case that there is a resolution to the lockout; the second is that FIBA stated that the players themselves are responsible for any insurance against their current contracts with the NBA. Hence, the fact that the NBA has them under contract means that the players would have to lose some money from the overseas team since their value overseas is lessened due to their contract with the NBA... and now the owners want to lighten that load?!?! It just seems preposterous to basically tell the players "don't worry about making less $$, we'll take some of the burden in your negotiations off your hands".

The other corollary would be that some players could just go and nullify their contract. The court doesn't want to hear a case in which both sides agree that to a resolution - that isn't what the courts are for. I see no reason why the players negotiating overseas (or the ones who are really underpaid), doesn't simply withdrawl from the case and nullify the contract. Basically, the owners are giving an out to those who want it to pressure the ones who don't.

[Ruhiel]

If they were free, Dwight Howard and Josh Smith would run to us (fans) and run away from ASG, Larry Drew, etc.