League executives are expected to push for major changes in super-max contracts and medical evaluations for draft prospects, among numerous other issues, in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.
The Ben Simmons saga has shined a light on the general failure of super-max contracts to keep star players on their current teams, Fischer writes. League executives are expected to seek stipulations in super-max contracts that would penalize players if they are granted trade requests. There are also concerns, particularly in small markets, of surrounding those players with enough talent to contend, since those contracts can eat up as much as 35% of a team’s cap.
The fact that Simmons requested a trade only one year into his five-year, $170MM contract from one of the league’s top Eastern Conference contenders has raised concerned among league officials, Fischer reports. Those executives have recently discussed the possibility of salary repercussions for such players who want out.
The proposals could include a “reverse trade kicker,” where those players would lose 15% of their salary when they’re dealt; a forfeiture of upwards of 70% of their salary; or losing a chunk of their guaranteed money.
To encourage the cooperation of the Players Association, the owners may give up a bigger slice of the BRI (Basketball Related Income).
League officials have also expressed frustration that players such as Kyrie Irving don’t have a vaccine requirement, yet basketball and business operations staffers have a vaccine mandate. They’re hoping that discrepancy could lead concessions by the union.
Another major sticking point is that draft prospects are not mandated to provide medical information to teams. Some agents have withheld a prospect’s medical information from certain teams to steer their clients to a preferred destination, Fischer notes.
Luxury-tax structures, the buyout market, G League exclusivity rights, two-way roster spots, the calendar order of the draft and free agency, and restricted free agency could also be topics of discussion during the next CBA negotiations, Fischer adds.
The current Collective Bargaining Agreement runs through the 2023/24 season, with a mutual opt-out date in December 2022.
When does the current CBA expire?
2024 offseason, and option for both sides in 2023 offseason
So I guess in 2023-24, but both sides can cancel and renegotiate it after next season, 2022-23. I’m sure both sides are ready to start negotiations asap since that is what it sounds like.
My number one desire for something the NBA should add to the CBA would be for some type of Injury reserve. If a player tears their ACL, the team should be allowed to keep him and add another player.
It could work where if a player is injured and designed for IR, they are ineligible for 41 games, and a roster spot is opened up. Maximum 2 (3?) IR players. As always you can always add a minimum contract player, or there could even be a stipulation where you can call up an additional G league player besides your two-way guys for no cost or hit to your cap.
I don’t know. I just don’t understand why it isn’t in this sport. Please tell me if there is anything I am missing that explains why this isn’t in the NBA. It would be a win for players and teams, right?
Injured player exception, look it up on Google
Not even close to the same thing bud. You have to have 4 players injured to get one extra spot, look it up on google
Reverse trade kicker seems sensible, although not at the penalty levels suggested. And I wish they would scale it by market size, ie the kicker would be bigger for larger markets trying to acquire such players. It would give the smaller markets a bit more of a chance to land them.
But what if there is no trade request. Then players just loss money and have to move themselves and families. Players rarely make formal trade request and they would just not announce it if they want to be traded.
I’m pretty sure it means the reverse kicker would only apply if a player goes to the team and asks to be traded,and then is.
If they wanna do a reverse trade kicker for a player that asks for a trade, they should do an automatic trade kicker for a player that doesn’t wanna be traded but his team trades him anyway against his will, which happens probably in 99% of trades in the league, bet you teams wouldn’t like that one, right?
El Don I 100% agree. Players union should push for that. What clips did to Blake was horrible, Kendall left him for that))
@ElDon
A lot of contacts already include a trade kicker and im surrrrre team management would agree to it. but the boss IS paying for the right to trade you. if a player gets hurt or fails off he gets every but of thr guaranteed money paid regardless. hardly, a hardship.
KFCF trade kickers wind up going to players who do not need it and often dismiss it at trade time. It would be better being automatic for wider dispersal… so-called regressive even better. 5% for stars is still even bigger than 15% for the bottom half.
“The boss is paying for the right to trade you” yuck.
The salary should adjust to what that player could have signed for as a free agent with that team at the start of their super max deal.
That’s actually a pretty good idea. I like it!!!
The reverse trade kicker idea is so awful. Typical overreaction to a fairly rare situation with Ben Simmons. Him and Harden had years left on their deals when they demanded trades, but every other superstar the last few years was entering their final season. (Jimmy Butler, Anthony Davis)
Loyal superstar players stuck on teams unable to build around them correctly now get unfairly punished if the team decides to trade them to rebuild. The Timberwolves with Garnett, for example. He would’ve had to take a pay cut because the Wolves were incompetent at building around him, even though he never demanded a trade.
Damian Lillard, who has been extremely loyal to Portland, could end up getting traded if Portland struggles in the next few seasons, even if he decides he wants to stay.
The reverse trade kicker would only work if every player that would be forced to take the pay cut was also given a no trade clause so they can nix any trade. But we all know the league giving any kind of transactional control to the players is a dealbreaker for the league, based on how they’ve reacted to players using leverage finally to get where they want.
I read that as it would only apply if the player requested a trade.
Yeah but nobody would request a trade and instead do back stabby stuff to let it be known.
@DaBlow
and they’ll be judged and dealt with as such.
Paul George on the phone….
Let players choose their Supermax market. If say, Giannis chooses Milwaukee and then resigns, he gets the Supermax. If he’s then traded, for whatever reason to whatever team it automatically goes down to the normal max. Obviously, it’s a one-time-only choice.
it’s only if they DEMAND to be traded.
Definitely need changes. Glad they’re going to try fixing these problems to make a better overall product.
Told yall. Players can thank Ben Simmons for the future of non-guaranteed contracts.
Please move FA to start prior to the draft!
Hysterical. Small market owners proposed and pushed for the supermax. It wasn’t their first counter-intuitive idiotic proposal, and (apparently) it won’t be their last. Now (like all their proposals over the years) it’s not working as (they) intended. What a shock! As a large market owner here is what I would agree to: Repeal it. This group of owners is responsible for all the idiotic provisions in the CBA over the past decade. They can no longer be placated.
You are so right DXC… I never understood why you need to help small market owners, there is no need to do so, if they do a good job players will come, the problem is that they are useless.
It really should be a fair playing field, that is how you show who’s the best, not doing communist tactics to try to falsely level the playing field!
If small markets are not supported then the NBA will become like college basketball with the same teams vying for the championship each year.
This is not baseball. Teams that consider themselves small-market are the vast majority— pretty much all but LAteams— and the freemarket/ laissez-faire/ WallStreet-Yankee fans get bulldozed.
Any NBA policy will be one-off to the NBA; there is no revolution.
The CBA is mostly what any possible presiding judge is going to care about when ruling on lawfulness in the NBA.
I like most of the ideas presented except for the numbers— (70% forfeiture of income sounds high). A player should have to pay for the right to break out. There should be a “breakout fee” of some kind. There is none now (except for mystery fines) because nobody is supposed to be doing it— but they are, and it is not good for reputation.
My proposal to fix the buyout market madness.
If a player is bought out, his cap hit to his original team stays as is: his salary less the buyout.
He can sign with a new team for the vet min, but his cap hit for the new team will be 1/2 the cap hit to his original team.
This would obviously make it harder to sign these guys after they’ve been bought out, so you have a buy out trade market. After the player passes through waivers and the buyout becomes binding, the original team has one week (or however long) to work out a trade where the receiving team would need to match 1/2 the cap hit. This allows the original team to recoup some of the value (if any) in the player.
If a trade can be worked out, great. If not, too bad.
After a certain date, any bought out player not yet signed can sign for the vet minimum (w/ a vet min cap hit) but he will not be eligible for the playoffs.
Your proposal penalizes only the players, the only fair way is to always penalize the teams, as soon as you make it harder or unfair for the players it just is a much worst system than now, at the end of the day with the actual system everybody wins, players go wherever they want, which is their right, the old team saves $, which they are happy with, new teams get some reinforcements, all happy you see.
Don’t come up with the excuse for small market teams, really tired of hearing them complaining about their lot in life, if players don’t go to their teams is because they ain’t good, or not willing to spend big like other teams, as simple as!
No player is worth 35% of team cap. Just insane. 25% tops. You want to win. Then know more max guys are not in finals every year.
This will make it easier for teams to become super teams and sign more stars making more have-nots in the league. The higher the % the less likely that is to happen but obviously there is risk involved.
Meanwhile the median salary for teachers is $32,000
If they want to do this then abolish the draft.
Think about it, if you’re a player entering the league you’d have zero choice in your destination. Drafted to a dysfunctional franchise or a location geographically you’re not fond of, too bad. But now let’s also tie your future earnings potential to staying there? No, that’s wrong.
If you’re going to tie players to a franchise, let them pick the franchise out of the gate. That’s fair.
ok so let’s just get rid of every single team except for the ones based in Los Angles, NY, Miami, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Bay area and maybe Chicago. Silly idea. it’s for 3 to 4 years. pay your dues. that’s how every team sport does it. otherwise, you’ll be down to maybe 10 teams in the sport.ooohhhh exciting
In 1960, there were 8 NBA teams and the pop’n of the US was 181 million or 23 mill per team. In 2020, there are 30 teams and 330 million people…11 million per team. There is a much larger foreign component to the NBA (about 25%) which probably will get larger in the future. In know soccer is more popular elsewhere but there is not a lot of overlap in body type between NBA and pro soccer players. So keeping small market teams competitive will help in efficiently utilizing the global talent pool for the NBA.
But it’s not for 3 to 4 years because to make the most money you have to stay with the team that drafted you to get the biggest deal, and under this proposal you’d be docked pay if you then asked to be traded later.
Terrible idea
No type of contract will prevent people from saying stupid things or getting their feelings hurt…I mean getting disrespected.