HCP, what will local sports TV fill their time with? Find out and start making contacts. Lots of interesting sports out there just waiting for a man of your talents. Meanwhile, you better start training Michelle and the Mrs. Get them walking a few miles a day. Buy them soft shoes. Also, you could pitch Denny to pay for your posts.
I disagree. Teams are losing money. Teams as investments are losing money. Stadiums have lost value. The owners are losing large amounts of money- but the players are doing just fine with their guaranteed contracts and soft salary cap that forces teams to pay more. And that would be fine if teams were making money. Why do you think the NFL is the #1 most successful league? A league where both the players and owners do well and the players bust their bums every game? They have non guaranteed contracts and a hard salary cap. To be sure, a certain percentage of the salary is guaranteed, which is good, but if a player gets injured or decides to "retire on the job", they're gone. Fair enough. Hard caps keep most salaries equal and within sanity. If the NBA is going to continue and survive, the players are going to have to face facts that the financial model is broke and cannot be repaired.
im totally in support of non guaranteed contracts in the NBA. christ, just think about the amount of people who have signed big and basically delivered nowhere near that contract year performance ever again.... tons of them! at the very least people will a hell of a lot more aware that their continued employment @ $x level is actually based on current performance, not on one great season they had 4yrs ago.
I think it's important that teams be penalized for making stupid decisions. I also feel it's not the fault of the organization if a player gets hurt after he signs the contract. Somehow it would be great for there to be provisions in each contract that can be made for non pre existing injuries. For example, it wouldn't be Portland's fault if LA went down with a knee injury and wasn't the same player who earned the contract he did. It would be Portland's fault, though, that they extended Roy with his bad knees. A few things I would like to see implemented in the new CBA. 1. Roster expansion. There is no reason teams shouldn't be able to "own" more players and play them in the D league. 2. 1/2 guaranteed contracts. If a player is waived or bought out, only 1/2 of that players salary counts against the cap. 3. Hard cap. I'd like to see this in the form of two numbers. A hard cap for active rosters, and another for minor league players.(No grandfather clause) 4. Raise the age of entry candidates to 20, or 2 years removed from your high school graduating class.
There's plenty of reason. When each team hogs players to prevent them from being picked up by other teams, it dilutes the talent in the NBA.
I'm not so sure about that. If teams had, say 18 players, they're hogging players from the bottom of the barrel. And who needs them? All they do is either play D-league or be used as practice dummies.
I can get on board with 1,2,4. Not on 3, NBA players are the most spectacular athletes to watch on any given night, I don't believe the amount they are compensated should be hindered. I do fully agree with your non-guaranteed contracts sentiments though. The players really need to take some responsibility and get paid for what they do, not what they could of done, or have done in the past.
I don't see a problem with half guaranteed contracts, players are reluctant to give in to anything right now but when push comes to shove I could see them agreeing to those. It would also free up money for owners to spend on guys playing well so some quality players would benefit from it.
That might and I'd also like to see guaranteed contracts not be so long, perhaps a max of 3 years and a partial in the 4th?
I agree with everything but this one. Why not let guys come into the league when they are ready instead of wasting two good years of making money slaving away for some bullshit NCAA program that makes millions off of their efforts? Not to mention the additional possibility of injury fucking them up for life. If someone can join the military at 18 and vote at 18 they can play in the NBA at 18. Frankly, I am of the mindset that the European model is best. Batum has played semi-pro and pro basketball since he was 14. So has Rudy, Tony Parker and the like. Imagine how much better a player a guy like LeBron would be if he didn't have to waste his time following horseshit high school rules limiting the amount of time he could practice with his coach.
On the one hand, your post makes perfect sense. On the other hand, it fails in a few areas. First, we've seen a LOT of 18 year olds not make it in the NBA. With few exceptions, most are simply not mature enough- both physically or mentally, to play professional ball with all that is involved with it. The bling lifestyle... Second, as we have also seen, the overall talent level of these 18 year olds is low. Very low. That drops the talent level in the league when the more gifted of those youngsters are played. And since they have low overall skill levels, it creates other problems- especially for those who don't play much. A couple of years of starting for a college program helps them with skills to make them more NBA ready. And that's important. Third, The majority of the 18 year olds didn't become an asset to their team until the 3rd or 4th year- or about when they would be getting out of college. By then, teams have a bit more better grip on the player and then they are free agents. The team that drafted them often doesn't get to use their talents when NBA developed. Fourth, and maybe this is part of the top 3, it's a lot easier to draft a kid who's 20 with respect to true skill level. That's better for the team. Fifth, there is such a thing as respecting the NCAA programs the NBA is raping. I enjoy college ball as well as NBA and to be able to count on players being there for 2 years is important. That second year also helps keep crooked deals (like Mayo) as that player is there for 2 years and not just one. It's easy to control a player who doesn't even have to go to class. Lastly, don't think I'm dead set against letting 18 year olds play in the NBA- I'm not. But it seems to do more harm than good for both players and teams and hurts the NCAA as well. Sometimes ideas are good on paper, but as a practical matter don't work out.
I'd propose a compromise: no high-schoolers in the 1st Round. No 1-year players in the Lottery. You aren't flat-out barred from making cash as an 18-year old, but like many high schoolers with no college experience, your wages will be lower. The more experience you gain, the better your opportunities.
Interesting concept. Blazer Prophet raises some valid points about why these kids have less value to their employer. Let me add another: if a kid spends a year or two starring in college, they are more marketable when they hit the NBA. Sure, there are exceptions (eg LeBron).....but most high school draftees aren't well known enough to put butts in the seats. Nobody bought a Blazer season ticket to watch Outlaw, Webster, or Telfair. In framing this debate, people need to remember that the NBA will do what is in *their* best interest. They aren't a charity, and they do not exist to make 18 year olds insanely wealthy.
All valid points except helping the NCAA. That organization is an absolute joke with all their bullshit about amature status. They make tons of money off these kids and give them nothing of any worth at all. At least give them a stipend of some kind. If the kids got even a small amount of the profits then the NCAA would have a leg to stand on. I would be all for kids being able to go into the D-League for a couple of years before hitting the NBA so they can make money while learning the game. That's pretty much the only fair way to handle an age limit in the NBA. I like watching college ball but the NCAA can suck my dick.
NBA coaching staffs used to have one assistant. Now they have many because of all the kids in the league. Raise the age to 21. Players used to have to know how to play to get into the league. Now all they need is raw jumping ability or raw shooting in HORSE. 14 year olds in Europe are in specialized youth pro leagues. The adult pro leagues there would go insane if they had to put up with kids.
I like many of the ideas in this thread. I do hope that the NBA continues some kind of fixed salary for rookies...seeing the Jamarcus Russell fiasco really solidifies the idea that no rookie should be making more than a proven veteran. Also, I don't like a hard cap but only because it seems to encourage player movement. I like players to have some longevity with their team.
