NBPA Executive Director Explains Opposition To Second Apron
David Kelly, the new executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, spoke out last week against the second tax apron rules in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, arguing that the second-apron restrictions should be removed or at least “softened.”
In an interview with Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, Kelly reiterated that the NBPA is opposed to the second apron.
“It’s not good for fans. Not good for players. I don’t think the (general managers) love it, although they may not say it on the record. Coaches don’t love it. The only people who really seem to really love it are the owners,” Kelly told The Athletic. “Then, I think it’s gone too far. So whether it’s an unwinding of it, or a softening of the apron, or tweaking it, we can call it whatever we will. But … I do think it’s gone too far.”
As Vorkunov writes, while the current CBA continues to ensure players receive between 49 and 51 percent of all basketball-related income, Kelly noted that NBA front offices have been forced to dismantle their rosters when they become too costly. Kelly is concerned that free agency has been diminished the past few years and pushed back on the NBA’s stance that the new CBA created parity, pointing out that five different teams won the championship in the five seasons leading up to the 2023 CBA.
“I think those teams would generate more revenue, would grow the game, would have more fan interest, if they could invest (in their rosters),” he said. “So you’re preventing teams from investing in an investment that would actually generate more revenue for the owners, for the league and for the players. … So 51 percent of what? I think the game would be growing more (without the second apron).”
Although the union will attempt to work out issues with the league behind the scenes, Kelly made it clear to Vorkunov that the NBPA has to be “prepared to fight” when necessary. Kelly said it was too early to tell if the union would opt out of the current CBA by July 1, 2029, but said informal talks about the CBA could start next year.
“We’re getting ready for the next CBA,” NBPA president Fred VanVleet said. “Like today.”
And-Ones: Team USA Assistants, NBPA, Expansion, More
Mark Daigneault of the Thunder, J.B. Bickerstaff of the Pistons, and Gonzaga’s Mark Few are expected to be named Team USA men’s basketball assistants under head coach Erik Spoelstra, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
USA Basketball announced last October that Spoelstra was taking over for Steve Kerr as the head coach of the men’s basketball team in advance of the 2027 World Cup and 2028 Olympics. However, there was no information at the time about what his staff might look like.
Daigneault, the head coach in Oklahoma City since 2020, has an NBA Coach of the Year award and a championship under his belt, while Bickerstaff is coming off a 60-win season and currently serves as the president of the National Basketball Coaches Association. Few, meanwhile, has led the Zags to a pair of NCAA championship games and is a carryover from the 2024 Olympics — he was an assistant under Kerr in Paris alongside Spoelstra and Tyronn Lue.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- David Kelly, the new executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, hasn’t made much noise since taking over the role from Andre Iguodala in February, but he spoke out on Friday against the second tax apron rules in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, arguing that the second-apron restrictions should be removed or at least “softened,” per Ben Golliver of ESPN. “We are not fans of the second apron,” Kelly said. “We did not propose the second apron. We should have done a better job of fighting back against the second apron. In the future, we will have a much more unified union, and we will do a better job of fighting back. … We’re seeing (the apron system) decimate teams and force decisions to be made that are not basketball decisions.”
- Kelly also spoke about the NBA’s investigation into the Clippers‘ and Kawhi Leonard‘s agreements with the now-bankrupt green banking company Aspiration, opining that the process shouldn’t have taken this long and suggesting that the players’ union doesn’t think “there’s a ‘there’ there” (Twitter links via Jake Fischer of The Stein Line).
- While Seattle has remained a “one-bid city” for NBA expansion, in the words of Tim Booth of The Seattle Times, it looks like there are four different groups vying to bring a team to Las Vegas, prompting Booth to wonder whether or not the league will be comfortable moving forward with both cities on the same timeline. One of the prospective owners hoping to land an expansion team in Las Vegas, Golden Knights owner Bill Foley, explained to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic that he believes his experience bringing the NHL to the city gives him a leg up on the competition. “We did a couple things really well. We’re going to do it on steroids with an NBA team,” Foley said. “… We’ve already brought a major-league franchise to Las Vegas. We’ve jumped through all the hoops. … I believe we’re in a really good spot to compete.”
- Appearing on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast (YouTube link), new Sixers wing Jaylen Brown spoke about why he believes the NBA’s agency model is “broken” and explained why he found it useful to work with the players’ union instead of an agent when he first entered the league (Twitter video links).
And-Ones: Hall Of Fame Finalists, Kelly, Expansion, Investigations
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced this week the selection of finalists for its Class of 2026, according to a league press release. The finalists will be put forward to the Honors Committee to be considered for election and the new class will be announced on Saturday, April 4 during Final Four weekend.
The North American Committee Finalists include referee Joey Crawford; coaches Mark Few, Gary McKnight, Dick Motta, Doc Rivers, Kelvin Sampson and Jerry Welsh; and players Blake Griffin, Kevin Johnson, Amar’e Stoudemire and Buck Williams.
The Women’s Committee Finalists include the 1996 United States Women’s National Team and players Jennifer Azzi, Elena Delle Donne, Chamique Holdsclaw and Candace Parker.
Molly Bolin-Kazmer is the lone finalist from the Women’s Veterans Committee. Dušan Ivković (coach) is the lone International Committee finalist while Marques Johnson is the only Veterans Committee finalist. The Contributors Committee chose Tal Brody and Mike D’Antoni as its finalists.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- David Kelly has been unanimously elected as the next NBA Players Association executive director by the Board of Player Representatives, Ian Begley of SNY relays (Twitter link). He’ll replace longtime NBA player Andre Iguodala, whose term expires in July. Kelly has been serving as the managing director and general counsel for the NBPA. He’s also served as a close advisor to Iguodala.
- The Board of Governors might vote on expansion this summer, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania (video link) and Dallas Morning News’ Brad Townsend (Twitter link). The BOG’s spring meeting is expected to be critical for stakeholders to better understand the factors around expansion, according to Charania. Some BOG members wanted to vote on expansion in the spring, but it will be tabled until the summer for extra information-gathering and deliberation, according to Townsend. Seattle and Las Vegas have long been considered the top candidates for expansion.
- The Athletic’s Mike Vornukov and Joe Vardon provide an in-depth look at how the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz conducts investigations into various NBA matters. The league has used the firm’s services since 2007.
- All-Star weekend continues today with the three-point contest, the Shooting Stars event and the slam dunk competition and The Athletic’s Steven Louis Goldstein offers a guide to Saturday’s activities. Prior three-point contest winners Damian Lillard and Devin Booker are among the eight participants in that event. The Shooting Stars is making its first appearance since 2015, replacing the Skills Challenge.