Easy solution: prorate their salary by percentage of games played, down to a minimum threshold to account for legit injuries. I'm sure the NBPA would love that... You'd also need to punish teams somehow for holding players out when they're healthy. Forfeiting games would be too extreme, but I could see penalizing draft assets by losing lottery odds or moving back in the selection order. Okay, so it's not such an easy solution.
The NBA is a Marketing Machine which allows these youngsters to make millions, thanks to TV contracts. The amount games played and playoff games equate to salaries/revenue generated. If they reduce the amount of games played ticket prices will increase and viewing cost will increase. There are people in all professions that work 60/70 hour weeks. Im all for reducing btb games, but the league has played 82 for 50 plus years. There are players like Davis and Zion that dont come into camp in shape and get hurt, and you have guys like Bron & Dame that takes care of their bodies and stays fit that extends their careers.
as mentioned: start the season a couple of weeks earlier; make that 72 game season format from last year the new normal; get rid of B2B's and 4-games-5-nights don't prohibit 'rest games' for the stars but require that the rest games be at home. That way, it's that team's fans who are 'cheated'
He isn't going to get far. The NBPA will put a stop to that. Can't force people to play if they are injured. And questioning the validity of a sickness or injury is a sticky situation that could get the NBA in trouble if they aren't super careful.
