Welcome to Hell

[Nikolokolus]

http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/64370/20100130/league_wants_hard_cap_in_2011_cba/

Some NBA team executives believe that the league office will seek to institute a hard cap -- a total salary number which no team may exceed -- in the next collective bargaining agreement.

Such a firm cap could be phased in over a period of years, allowing teams to gradually shed payroll after the 2010-2011 season ...

"Teams might say, 'I don't want to give $15 million to $20 million to one guy because that might lock me out of a hard cap,'" said a team executive. "It could change everything."

A hard cap would drive player salaries down considerably.

"In the new deal, $8 million is going to be star-player money," predicted one GM.

Chew on this for awhile.

 

[illmatic99]

That would certainly lessen our advantage of having the richest owner in prosports. But they've been talking about this for a while, and nothing significant has resulted from it. Even if the league wants it, the NBAPA would raise a stink, and make it nearly impossible to actually carry out.

 

[Luther]

Lockout

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

The Union is going to raise hell over this.

I like it, though. It'll prevent this kind of trash:

Jermaine O'Neal: $22.9m this season
Shaq: $20.0m this season
Tracy McGrady - $23.2m this season
AK47: $16.4m this season

 

[e_blazer]

I'd be surprised if they can get a majority of owners to go for this. Too inflexible.

 

[DaRizzle]

Russian billionaires are cheering everywhere.... "Hey Lebron! Come over here for (only) $18 million tax free! Live in one of the owners mansions, pick out 2million dollars worth of cars for your driveway, and a driver, cook, masseuse, multiple mistresses. and a private jet at your disposal.

Or you can chill in Cleveland for 8 million taxed to death and media that scrutinizes your every move

 

[the ob]

this would make playing outside the U.S. a more viable option

 

[Blazer_Hippie]

There are a lot of things like this on the owners "wish list". I can't fathom how something this drastic would happen. I think some form of non-guaranteed contracts is slightly more likely but definitely something that could provoke a long strike/lockout.

 

[THE HCP]

It would def level the playing field, but that would suck for us!

 

[maxiep]

A hard cap would by necessity create non-guaranteed contracts with massive up-front bonuses. When you cut a player, any non-amortized bonus would accelerate to that year, thereby adding "dead cap" money. In other words, it would be the NFL model with a rookie scale.

That being said, it's not going to happen.

 

[The Sebastian Express]

Yeah, it wont happen. With prominent owners overseas I could see the 'good' players leaving for higher contracts, maybe not necessarily the stars (for the competition they think is in the NBA) and it'd really waterdown the league.

 

[mook]

Why not just do away with guaranteed contracts? A team should have the right to kill any contract it chooses between, say, July 1st and July 31st. If you did that, team salaries would drop pretty quickly. And even if you were one of the stars who gets cut, at least you got a year of your fat contract before it got axed.

 

[oldmangrouch]

I've been saying this for months. Stern is certifiable, and most of the owners have either no cajones, or are blinded by greed. The 11-12 season is going to be wiped out by a lockout, and what emerges from the other side will not be the NBA we know.

This, along with PA's health, is why I am so frustrated with the "let it bake, wait till next year" type argument. If the Blazers don't win the 2011 title....they won't win a title...period.

 

[MARIS61]

It's pretty clear the NBA has peaked in popularity, and really has nowhere to go but down.

The greed of team owners will be their downfall.

I expect another league will eventually be formed by a consortium of players to provide a choice for players who do not wish to go overseas to be paid fairly.

European ball will continue to draw more and more talent to their leagues.

 

[Sug]

They will end up with the NFL model IMO.

 

[julius]

They should have a "grandfathered in" clause, so that way the teams who do have huge salary commitments don't all the sudden have to start cutting players. Like, the new salary restrictions kick in on contracts after the year 2012, or whatever.

They could some kind of pro-rated thing. For example, if the cap is set at 60M, and you have 15 players, that's an average of 4 each. If you have 8 players under contract, you'd have access to 28 million dollars max you could spend for the remaining 7 players you were going to sign. And you couldn't go above the cap no matter what.

 

[Shapecity]

Maybe they can give each team another "Allan Houston mulligan" and go from there?

 

[Entity]

Say goodbye to that season. Say hello to European basketball for those free agents.

 

[Entity]

The only way this might work is if they set the hard cap at the luxury tax line, and remove the luxury tax altogether, keeping the soft cap at it's relative level. There's no way players are just going to stick around the NBA for 2-3x less money than they were making.

 

[Minstrel]

Yup, no way this happens. The NBA's real advantage over European leagues is that they pay a whole lot more. If the NBA artificially limits salaries, they'll kill their advantage. Players will definitely start defecting to the uncapped European leagues.

 

[drexlersdad]

this is fucking stupid.

if the owners want smaller contracts, maybe they should try giving players smaller contracts.

 

[oldmangrouch]

this is fucking stupid.

if the owners want smaller contracts, maybe they should try giving players smaller contracts.

The whole point, is to "protect" the Sterlings from the big bullies like Cuban and Allen. It isn't enough for them to cut spending - they want to force *everybody* to cut spending.

 

[Entity]

The whole point, is to "protect" the Sterlings from the big bullies like Cuban and Allen. It isn't enough for them to cut spending - they want to force *everybody* to cut spending.

Well, the current system hasn't helped either win a title, so maybe they should be reminded.

 

[Natebishop3]

I actually enjoy watching Olympic basketball much more than the NBA. If most of the stars went over to Europe and those games were televised, I would watch. Of course, those guys would get a rude awakening about officiating.

 

[Public Defender]

Well, the current system hasn't helped either win a title, so maybe they should be reminded.

Right. And Sterling is the only idiot who outright refuses to pay good players decent money.

The NBA is pretty dumb if they're going to follow the lead of the Clippers' owner.

That being said, I might not mind a hard cap considering - as a Trail Blazer fan - I know that eventually, Paul Allen will not be the team's owner. I don't know who the subsequent owner will be, but it's very possible it'll be someone with a lot less money. If that happens, I like the idea of a lower salary scale. But for right now - it sucks!

 

[BlazerWookee]

I actually enjoy watching Olympic basketball much more than the NBA.

Really?

 

[Natebishop3]

Really?

It isn't as biased. Yao Ming sucks in Olympic basketball. The refs don't influence the game as much. I really enjoyed watching Spain in the Olympics.

 

[BrianFromWA]

Stern wants to redefine BRI and limit salaries to 45% (currently, players get 57% of BRI).

I think that, more than any "hard cap", is going to be what sends Hunter and the NBAPA through the roof.

 

[Entity]

So what are the NBAPA's demands, since we're hearing about what the brass wants?

 

[Minstrel]

So what are the NBAPA's demands, since we're hearing about what the brass wants?

Not to be beaten up too badly.

It's a pretty passive union, to this point.