This CBA sucks

[guldakot]

Solution? Players you draft don't count against cap. Have a salary cap that only applies to players aquired through trade or free agency.

[the sea duck]

Solution? Players you draft don't count against cap. Have a salary cap that only applies to players aquired through trade or free agency.

i've always liked this idea (yes, i know it's not realistic). but i'd also add that someone traded for on draft day or even the summer before their first season would count as a "drafted player" for these purposes. punish teams that buy players, not the ones who draft them.

as for the "teams will need to be smart" argument, sure that's always the case. but the current rules make certain quality players available to dumb teams as well that otherwise wouldn't be.

[Hoop Hunter]

I look forward to the NBA having a hard cap. Like the NFL. The NFL doesn't have "destination cities". Half the league is not farm teams for others.

I'll admit that if this ever happens, I could be wrong, and not like the outcome.

[JujitsuFlip]

I look forward to the NBA having a hard cap. Like the NFL. The NFL doesn't have "destination cities". Half the league is not farm teams for others.

I'll admit that if this ever happens, I could be wrong, and not like the outcome.

The NFL hard cap is such a fallacy, take the New Orleans Saints as an example. The cap is easily circumvented, constantly.

[jbk1234]

Solution? Players you draft don't count against cap. Have a salary cap that only applies to players aquired through trade or free agency.

Neither the owners nor players get less than 50% of BRI. So if you set the cap at 50%, and then have certain players not count against the cap, every player who doesn't stay with the team who drafted him will have their salary reduced in oder to hit the 50% aggregate number. The players won't go along with that. If your solution is for the owners to take less than 50%, I'm afraid I have bad news.

[DaddyCool19]

Solution? Players you draft don't count against cap. Have a salary cap that only applies to players aquired through trade or free agency.

I think thats too extreme. Maybe something like, players who you drafted only count for the 25% max as long as they stay with their 1st teams, even if they sign a 30 or 35% max once they are available.

Rewards loyalty and drafting well. Hell you could overpay your guy a bit to make him stay, as it would only count 25% towards the cap anyways.

Once they ged traded, the cap count increases from 25% to 30 or 35%

[guldakot]

Solution? Players you draft don't count against cap. Have a salary cap that only applies to players aquired through trade or free agency.

I think thats too extreme. Maybe something like, players who you drafted only count for the 25% max as long as they stay with their 1st teams, even if they sign a 30 or 35% max once they are available.

Rewards loyalty and drafting well. Hell you could overpay your guy a bit to make him stay, as it would only count 25% towards the cap anyways.

Once they ged traded, the cap count increases from 25% to 30 or 35%

How about players you drafted don't have the bonus amount from being all nba or what have you counted against the cap? That way for instance Jaylen Browns contract wouldn't be killing Boston so much.

I don't like the fact that teams are penalized for drafting well. OKC is gonna run into the same issue soon enough. Plus it makes ALL draft picks a hell of alot more valuable.

[morosis]

i agree the current cap situation needs some tweaking. but i also think the "superteam" era was horrible, and if this keeps us out of that, it is the lesser of two evils.

i say this realizing that the interests of someone who is a genuine basketball fan and a person who is a casual are not aligned. its a hard problem to solve considering the nba ideally wants to cater to both

[GeorgeSears]

I get that the league wanted to avoid another KD-Warriors superteam from being assembled, but after seeing it in action, I'm convinced that the introduction of the second apron was a total disaster. It does the one thing you don't want it do: it penalizes success, potentially discouraging long-term team building and affecting the league's competitive balance.

It makes it close to impossible for teams to create dynasties. Which is the ultimate goal. The one-off championship doesn't excite anyone. People want to see dominant champions. To have dominant champions, you need to be able to keep your core and rotational players.

[NiceLikeChrist]

I get that the league wanted to avoid another KD-Warriors superteam from being assembled, but after seeing it in action, I'm convinced that the introduction of the second apron was a total disaster. It does the one thing you don't want it do: it penalizes success, potentially discouraging long-term team building and affecting the league's competitive balance.

It makes it close to impossible for teams to create dynasties. Which is the ultimate goal. The one-off championship doesn't excite anyone. People want to see dominant champions. To have dominant champions, you need to be able to keep your core and rotational players.

Pretty sure people want to see THEIR team win. Not some dynasty super team whose roster is well above the rest of the league. I don’t give a damn about any NBA dynasty. It wasn’t my team so why would I?

One team winning 3x in a row is no different from 3 different teams winning if you aren’t a fan of any of those team. They’re all just seasons your team didn’t win.

[GeorgeSears]

I get that the league wanted to avoid another KD-Warriors superteam from being assembled, but after seeing it in action, I'm convinced that the introduction of the second apron was a total disaster. It does the one thing you don't want it do: it penalizes success, potentially discouraging long-term team building and affecting the league's competitive balance.

It makes it close to impossible for teams to create dynasties. Which is the ultimate goal. The one-off championship doesn't excite anyone. People want to see dominant champions. To have dominant champions, you need to be able to keep your core and rotational players.

Pretty sure people want to see THEIR team win. Not some dynasty super team whose roster is well above the rest of the league. I don’t give a damn about any NBA dynasty. It wasn’t my team so why would I?

One team winning 3x in a row is no different from 3 different teams winning if you aren’t a fan of any of those team. They’re all just seasons your team didn’t win.

I thought the same way, and then it happens to your team. Your team wins a title, you think you're poised for another run, then realize they can't keep key rotational players without blowing up their core.

You don't just want one title, you want multiple, especially if you have to players to make it happen.

I also strongly disagree with your point about:

Pretty sure people want to see THEIR team win. Not some dynasty super team whose roster is well above the rest of the league.

Dominant teams set the standard for others to try and reach. You tune in to see who can stop them. I look back at those Warriors teams fondly.

[Chuck Everett]

The Nuggets have had their core 4 of Jokic, Murray, Gordon and Porter for the last four seasons. Two of them they were injured. One of them was a championship. Four years as legit title contenders is good. Sorry, the team couldn't close the deal more than once. Thems the breaks.

[Warspite]

So what exactly are you calling the "right thing"?

they want you to cut salary by design but they don’t give you any way to actually do it

You cut salary by not resigning your own players and letting them walk. If you go 2nd apron you have to win the championship and then rebuild. First to worst style. The object is to eliminate dynasties (except the Lakers)

[Statlanta]

Yeah I know obviously a celtics fan,

but why is it so hard to cut money even when you're trying to do the "right" thing? They should just make the second apron essentially a hard cap and you can spend up to it how you wish. From what I read, they even made it so you can't trade a guaranteed contract for a non guaranteed contract over the apron, why are they trying to lock you into the apron?

Honestly don't know anyone who enjoy this CBA. It kind of took a lot of fun out of trades and even killed the buy out market which was 99% hype and 1% production (almost always somebody washed up who makes zero impact).

This is why we have the CBA so teams can never put 5 All-Star lineups like this again.

This team needed a torn quad, an ACL and an Achilles injury in their starting lineup just to stop to a championship.

Read on Twitter

[GrandTheftRondo]

People keep going on about parity but the reality is the NBA people have loved for decades isn’t about that.

I do agree there should be some mechanisms to encourage some parity but going down a path of wanting contending teams to be constantly forced to get rid of highly paid players is ridiculous.

How can people grow emotional attachment to players/cores and rivalries build if we’re seeing a team go deep into the playoffs and just a few years later the CBA dictates they ship off core pieces?

It’s cheapening the product having a revolving door of players being traded, moving via free agency etc.

Take Boston and NY for example. Let’s imagine Tatum was healthy. That’s maybe a great rivalry in prior years that could last a number of years. Instead one basically has to completely blow apart their team because of the CBA.

Same goes for the Nuggets. We should have been watching a generational period from Jokic in the playoffs. Instead the CBA dictates that the Nuggets ownership can’t feasibly do ****.

[GrandTheftRondo]

Yeah I know obviously a celtics fan,

but why is it so hard to cut money even when you're trying to do the "right" thing? They should just make the second apron essentially a hard cap and you can spend up to it how you wish. From what I read, they even made it so you can't trade a guaranteed contract for a non guaranteed contract over the apron, why are they trying to lock you into the apron?

Honestly don't know anyone who enjoy this CBA. It kind of took a lot of fun out of trades and even killed the buy out market which was 99% hype and 1% production (almost always somebody washed up who makes zero impact).

This is why we have the CBA so teams can never put 5 All-Star lineups like this again.

This team needed a torn quad, an ACL and an Achilles injury in their starting lineup just to stop to a championship.

Read on Twitter

The Warriors only became the dynasty they did because of a series of fluke events.

The hysteria around future Warriors like dynasties was ridiculous and led to some ridiculous stuff in this CBA.

They had an all time great perennial MVP get signed early in his career on the cheap because his career was in serious danger.

Thompson and Draymond signed on the cheap with the Warriors not really knowing what they were, right before a huge cap spike.

Then you had a perennial MVP candidate available on the open market at the time to a cap spike.

That’s not something the NBA has seen before and almost impossible to see it happening again.

[Ryoga Hibiki]

Solution? Players you draft don't count against cap. Have a salary cap that only applies to players aquired through trade or free agency.

this is a solution to exactly nothing.
the point is to have a level playing field on spending

[AbC?]

I hated it from day 1. Parity is awesome if it comes about naturally, it should not be a goal of the CBA. I want to see elite teams go at it full strength, not see them have to water down their rosters because the money doesn’t work anymore. Like sure, make it very expensive after the 2nd apron, but all the other restrictions that force your hand were unnecessary.

[pepe1991]

Parity is only interesting on paper.

Way more fans tune in to (hate) watch big market teams and biggest stars on big market teams are when NBA thrives. Mainstream audience does not care about Pacers- OKC finals.


Aprons are very problematic for everybody, especially smaller market teams. Most teams will have to split their core after several years due second apron looming, along with repetitive luxury tax. That's why what Presti did was so brilliant. He pushed chips before J Will & Holmgren sign new deals (and they are now title favorites ).

Aprons will just team raise and fall in matter of 3 years what in past lasted multiple years. Lot of rebuilds will go nowhere, or be in constant retool mode.
And stars will still leave for big markets.

Whole super max concept was terrible idea and brought nothing good to nba as well, but aprons make league and especially rebuild- through-draft way harder.


GMs have to stop giving up max contract extension to players that aren't at least top 15. However, that's easier to say than do.
2022 draft class can sign extension this summer. 3 are locked for max contract. Two play for same team.

[NoStatsGuy]

Solution? Players you draft don't count against cap. Have a salary cap that only applies to players aquired through trade or free agency.

i've always liked this idea (yes, i know it's not realistic). but i'd also add that someone traded for on draft day or even the summer before their first season would count as a "drafted player" for these purposes. punish teams that buy players, not the ones who draft them.

as for the "teams will need to be smart" argument, sure that's always the case. but the current rules make certain quality players available to dumb teams as well that otherwise wouldn't be.

as you said its unrealistc. but i thought about this a bit because i thought its an interesting idea aswell.

the question that i just cant get over tho. whos gonna pay the rookies and what impact would that actually have for the owners? it basically would mean they pay people that dont count towards their books. thats it. people that dont want to get into the high tax brackets and dont wanna lose money on their nba franchise will not be willing to pay anyways. in theory they would have more freedom to build a good roster like this. but what franchises are actually gonna go out of their way and use it? the ones we already see on top regularly and big markets. And in the end, if you pay the rookies, that dount count towards your books or you pay an extra tax. its still money that needs to be paid.

the biggest problem of this cba for owners are the restrictions they get for being in the 2nd apron. thats what actually makes trading hard.

now if you work something out, like teams have 2 pools. like 1 cap for the rookie contracts and lets say vet mins and 1 cap for the traded and signed players and all the midlevel exceptions and what not. and let them have different kind of ristrictions, so that you cant go out and sign 3 supermax players and keep them for 10 years. or whatever these guys deem as fair and reasonable. im just spitballing but i think something like that could actually be realistic.