Silver: Free Agency needs enforceable rules

[greg683x]

Adam Silver needs to wake up and smell the coffee.

What's been gooing on over the last year has been ridiculous.

Kyrie and Durant have been planning teaming up for a long time (whether that was Brooklyn, I'm not sure.)

Lebron openly recruiting guys like AD and Kawhi while under contract with other teams.

The star players have all the power and run the league and thus, there's little parity.

As a result, I think owners need to make a stand and the league needs to approve a rule where NO free agency discussions begin until after July 1st....NONE.

As a result, I also wonder if this also means owners will be more proactive and more trades will be made when they suspect one of their players is planning on leaving after the season is over.

He’s awake.  He just doesn’t care.  He would never say it, but the NBA like this.

As terrible as it all is, it creates constant news and drama, draws more attention to the NBA, and also more buzz surrounding the off-season.  The NBA loves the fact that they’re getting front page news during their offseason

[Birdman]

No one can stop it..players talk all the time

[ETNCeltics]

At some point, the small market owners are going to rise up against the LA/NY teams and we might be looking at a lockout in 2023. The problem we have now would be even worse if the Knicks and Bulls hadn't been so grossly mismanaged the last several years. The league has been thriving, but that's not going to last forever as the Lebron/Rich Paul team building system segregates into the large markets and small markets become nothing more than a farm systems for the big city teams.

And we Celtics' fans can't just cast stones at NY & LA, we've signed one of the top 4 or 5 FAs in 3 of the last 4 offseasons, plus got Kyrie to agree to come here.

I'm not sure what the right answer is, but it's obvious the current system doesn't work for everyone, and needs to be fixed.

[nickagneta]

Like Roy, I think what this means is not more restrictive rules that would probably not be enforceable but rules that makes things more relaxed so that what is happening now becomes legal and so that only the extreme tampering cases will stand out and hence, be given penalties.

But though they may relax the rules, what they should do is make the penalties much more stuff. Make getting caught a real penalty. Instead of these garbage monetary fines that these multi-millionaires think is chump change anyway, start taking away first round picks and giving them to the team that had the player that was tampered with. Or start taking away 3 consecutive years of 1st round picks.

[BringToughnessBack]

The key is the salary structure. Open up max salary that can be paid and put a hard cap in place. There will be no more super teams if Durant gets 60M plus on open market. Football kind of has the right idea. Lots of competitive balance is possible. Of course as the cap gets bigger and bigger, the possibility of super teams will once again get more likely and this could be even more true as they get into their 30’s and have already made hundreds of millions.

Now of course, this would not improve our chances of winning titles but it would be more fair to many small market teams.

I like the idea of preventing players and their agents from being allowed to demand trades while under a contract as well. And, if a player is under contract and there is any form of meddling from another team or player, they should be hit hard with lost first round picks and financial penalties that actually make a difference. Meddling needs to include those that are still tied to an organization as well.

[SHAQATTACK]

getting rid of Lebrons crooked sports agency and LeHood himself is good for the overall health of the NBA.   except the dumbed down masses in the those large markets can t think past their own noses .

[bdm860]

It's not fixable (as is) because I don't think the problem is the owners/GMs, the problem is the players (which I don't think really think is a problem).

Kyrie didn't need a tour of the facilities and a sales pitch from management to want to sign in Brooklyn, neither did Durant.

These guys aren't idiots, they know what every team has to offer before free agency.  They know which teams have cap room. And especially for the top guys, they know which teams will want them.

How are you going to tell a player you can't think about your future until a certain date?

It doesn't matter what date you allow discussions to happen.  Setting it to right after the Finals won't change anything. Kemba, we know your season was over in April, sorry you're not allowed to think about your future until a champion is crowned. Kyrie, sorry even though you were eliminated in the 2nd round, you have to wait until PHI/TOR/MIL/GS/HOU/DEN/POR are all eliminated to make any plans towards where you want to play next season, even though the teams you want to play for (NYK, BRK, LAC, LAL) are all eliminated already, can't think about it, can't make a decision yet.

The problem (which I don't really think is a problem) is the players dont need sales pitches and they can make decisions at any time. Impossible to change.

[libermaniac]

Adam Silver needs to wake up and smell the coffee.

What's been gooing on over the last year has been ridiculous.

Kyrie and Durant have been planning teaming up for a long time (whether that was Brooklyn, I'm not sure.)

Lebron openly recruiting guys like AD and Kawhi while under contract with other teams.

The star players have all the power and run the league and thus, there's little parity.

As a result, I think owners need to make a stand and the league needs to approve a rule where NO free agency discussions begin until after July 1st....NONE.

As a result, I also wonder if this also means owners will be more proactive and more trades will be made when they suspect one of their players is planning on leaving after the season is over.

That’s not going to stop players from teaming up. Only way to stop that is to get rid of max contracts and allow teams to pay players as the market dictates within the salary cap. If a team wants to throw $60 mil a year at Giannis for example, it will make it significantly more difficult to fit another star player of his caliber on the roster unless that player is willing to take wayyy below market value.

Ding! Ding! Ding!  We have a winner.  Couldn't agree more and have been saying so for quite some time.  TP.
Anybody who's been in an auction style fantasy league can attest to this.

[johnnygreen]

Some random thoughts and changes that I would like to see:

1.   Contracts that include player options can’t be eligible for max money.
2.   The timing of when a contract is signed, shouldn’t affect the amount of money a player is eligible to sign for. If a player wants to sign an extension with one year still remaining on his deal, he shouldn’t be penalized for doing so.
3.   Actually, in relation to the previous change, the opposite should be the case. If a player is willing to sign an extension one year before he is eligible for free agency, he should be eligible to sign for a higher percentage increase per season. So instead of possible losing $40M by waiting for free agency, he should be able to make an additional $40M by extending a year early.
4.   Get rid of the Derrick Rose rule, where a team can only have one of those types of contracts at a time. For example, the Celtics couldn’t trade for Anthony Davis, because Kyrie Irving was already on the team.
5.   Create a trade exemption, that a team can use once every three years, where salaries don’t need to match. Only one of the teams involved in the trade, needs to have the exemption, as opposed to having each team having the exemption to make it work. Obviously this would be different than the current system, where a trade exemption can be created.
6.   This relates to the rules where a player is eligible for the super max (making the All-NBA team over X amount of years). A team can only acquire one of these types of players per off season, which would help eliminate the super star players from creating their own super teams overnight.
7.   I believe the current free agent system only precludes the player from having contact with teams before free agency begins. Shouldn’t agents also not be eligible to talk to teams during that same time period? If Adam Silver is serious about fixing this problem, he needs to be able to suspend an agent from representing NBA clients for possibly one year. And for teams who get caught tampering, they have to give up first round picks to the team losing the free agent, and not allow the player to sign with the team (Joe Smith & Minnesota).

[bellerephon]

The key is the salary structure. Open up max salary that can be paid and put a hard cap in place. There will be no more super teams if Durant gets 60M plus on open market. Football kind of has the right idea. Lots of competitive balance is possible. Of course as the cap gets bigger and bigger, the possibility of super teams will once again get more likely and this could be even more true as they get into their 30’s and have already made hundreds of millions.

Now of course, this would not improve our chances of winning titles but it would be more fair to many small market teams.

I like the idea of preventing players and their agents from being allowed to demand trades while under a contract as well. And, if a player is under contract and there is any form of meddling from another team or player, they should be hit hard with lost first round picks and financial penalties that actually make a difference. Meddling needs to include those that are still tied to an organization as well.

The players union will never agree to a hard cap and the league can't simply impose one. I think you could get players to agree on removing the limit to individual contracts, but I'm not sure the owners would want that.

[PhoSita]

I honestly don't know what rules would be enforceable.

[kraidstar]

Just read an article that strongly insinuated that Kawhi's camp was asking the Raptors for things that would have circumvented the salary cap:

"(Kawhi's) Uncle Dennis was asking for the moon, or something equivalent, from any pursuing franchise. Things Ujiri – and those above him – either couldn’t, or wouldn’t offer. Things beyond just straight greenbacks.

It’s here that we might point out that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is worth somewhere around $50 billion U.S. We’ll put this as delicately as possible. Free agency and tampering in the NBA continues to spin out of control and it’s all but impossible to enforce gifts or promises to family members. There’s no evidence to suggest that happened here, just that it wouldn’t shock anyone in this day and age, given the deep pockets of some owners."

Pretty interesting. The fact that they asked for all this strange stuff makes you wonder what they were promised in LA. And I wonder if LeBron secured some special business assurances from the Lakers and their allies when he went to the Lakers. We always hear about athletes wanting to build their brand etc. But what if teams and business entities are effectively funneling cash their way, circumventing the salary cap?

[footey]

Just read an article that strongly insinuated that Kawhi's camp was asking the Raptors for things that would have circumvented the salary cap:

"(Kawhi's) Uncle Dennis was asking for the moon, or something equivalent, from any pursuing franchise. Things Ujiri – and those above him – either couldn’t, or wouldn’t offer. Things beyond just straight greenbacks.

It’s here that we might point out that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is worth somewhere around $50 billion U.S. We’ll put this as delicately as possible. Free agency and tampering in the NBA continues to spin out of control and it’s all but impossible to enforce gifts or promises to family members. There’s no evidence to suggest that happened here, just that it wouldn’t shock anyone in this day and age, given the deep pockets of some owners."

Pretty interesting. The fact that they asked for all this strange stuff makes you wonder what they were promised in LA. And I wonder if LeBron secured some special business assurances from the Lakers and their allies when he went to the Lakers. We always hear about athletes wanting to build their brand etc. But what if teams and business entities are effectively funneling cash their way, circumventing the salary cap?

Thanks, can you provide link? I'd like to read that.

[Kuberski33]

At some point, the small market owners are going to rise up against the LA/NY teams and we might be looking at a lockout in 2023. The problem we have now would be even worse if the Knicks and Bulls hadn't been so grossly mismanaged the last several years. The league has been thriving, but that's not going to last forever as the Lebron/Rich Paul team building system segregates into the large markets and small markets become nothing more than a farm systems for the big city teams.

And we Celtics' fans can't just cast stones at NY & LA, we've signed one of the top 4 or 5 FAs in 3 of the last 4 offseasons, plus got Kyrie to agree to come here.

I'm not sure what the right answer is, but it's obvious the current system doesn't work for everyone, and needs to be fixed.

I'm thinking answer may be revenue sharing like they do in the NFL.  Won't address the competitive imbalance but it would at least compensate the small market clubs for revenue loss when a star player bolts.  Another thought is for there to be some sort of compensation for when a free agent leaves.  After all if a team develops a young player but he then leaves before they have a chance to reap the benefits - they probably should be compensated in some way for improving the player - be it draft picks, cash or maybe both.

[Fafnir]

FWIW the NBA does do revenue sharing.