Author Topic: Radical idea to address player movement  (Read 955 times)

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Radical idea to address player movement
« on: February 21, 2019, 05:12:00 PM »

Offline CptZoogs

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OK so first of all, this post probably have been made over all-star weekend.  However, I have been lurking on this board (and CB) for over 10 years, so what difference will a few extra days mean for my first post.
I have been thinking a lot about all of the drama over player movement in the league.  We are at the point where it is overshadowing the actual product on the court.  I have also been thinking about the new all-star format as well as the state of college basketball and these thoughts led me to an idea for how to drastically reshape the NBA.  I acknowledge in advance that the idea has many logistical issues, so while you are more than welcome to point that out to me, I thought it would be interesting to see if could find a way to make it work.
The idea:
A 5 round “Starters” draft each offseason. 
How it works:
A five round draft is held each offseason.  Player salaries are one-year contracts with pre-determined compensation being a percentage of the cap and the percentage being determined by draft position.  Players can opt in or opt out of the draft process.  The remaining roster spots are filled through a more traditional free agency period.  The idea is that players who prefer more long-term security can join free agency, but their earning potential is drastically limited.  For example, say you could only sign for a max length of 3 years for a total amount equal to the mean salary for all drafted players.  So you get security at a price.
Draft position will be based on record, but order will be reversed in alternating rounds.  Team that chooses 1st in round 1 chooses 30th in round 2.  Also, the worst record chooses 30th for round 1 and the 2nd worst chooses 1st.
Pros:
Talent parity
Disincentivize tanking
Disincentivize 1 and done drafting of college players
Less media hoopla
At the end of the day, the majority of fans root for laundry.  Shouldn’t hurt fan interest.
Organizational success becomes more dependent on coaching and scouting.
The draft would be a HUGE event.
Cons:
Players have significantly less power, hard to get through collective bargaining.
Less media hoopla (NBA as a business wants the attention)
Logistics (players who want more money need to uproot themselves each year)
Any thoughts on this ridiculous idea are appreciated.  If any sport could bring fantasy leagues to life, it’s the NBA.

Re: Radical idea to address player movement
« Reply #1 on: February 21, 2019, 06:06:48 PM »

Offline PhoSita

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I love thinking and talking about ideas like this.

With that said, it's important to note that nothing like this would ever be implemented.

The player union will never agree to something that would limit player earning potential and drastically reduce player agency.

Similarly the league is not actually interested in parity.  I don't think the league really cares about tanking, either, unless it becomes so blatant that the owners complain about it.


The league is never so popular as when superteams are dominating it, and the player movement comes with constant rumors and speculation that keep the NBA in the news cycle, which drives ratings and ad revenue.


I'm afraid that nothing will change unless there's some way that the proposed changes to would be aligned with the interests of the owners and of the players union.
You’ll have to excuse my lengthiness—the reason I dread writing letters is because I am so apt to get to slinging wisdom & forget to let up. Thus much precious time is lost.
- Mark Twain

Re: Radical idea to address player movement
« Reply #2 on: February 21, 2019, 06:11:22 PM »

Offline mef730

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Since we're making suggestions, here are a couple of others:

1) Franchise tags. If you tag a player, they get a one-year contract at a max contract, or the mean of the top 3 at the position, or something else.

2) Draft pick compensation. Sign another team's player and you give them a first or a second, based on some independent factor that determines the player's value.

Mike

Re: Radical idea to address player movement
« Reply #3 on: February 21, 2019, 06:21:53 PM »

Offline CptZoogs

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The player union will never agree to something that would limit player earning potential and drastically reduce player agency.


Thanks for the reply.  I do wonder how much it would affect earning potential in the long run though.  Players would be paid based on their expected level of performance for each year.  So you would not have to worry about being one of the best players in the league, but still only getting rookie scale for the beginning of your career.  There is definitely an injury concern though. 

Also, think about merchandising.  Instead of buying team jerseys, you would need to buy player specific jerseys.  Maybe players could get a cut off of merchandise specifically tied to them.

Re: Radical idea to address player movement
« Reply #4 on: February 21, 2019, 06:23:13 PM »

Offline CptZoogs

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Since we're making suggestions, here are a couple of others:

1) Franchise tags. If you tag a player, they get a one-year contract at a max contract, or the mean of the top 3 at the position, or something else.

2) Draft pick compensation. Sign another team's player and you give them a first or a second, based on some independent factor that determines the player's value.

Mike

As a fan I would totally be on board with this.  But it runs into the same issue as my idea.  The NBA player's union is much stronger than the NFLPA so I don't think we would see this happen.

Re: Radical idea to address player movement
« Reply #5 on: February 21, 2019, 06:45:47 PM »

Offline JBcat

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Since we're making suggestions, here are a couple of others:

1) Franchise tags. If you tag a player, they get a one-year contract at a max contract, or the mean of the top 3 at the position, or something else.

2) Draft pick compensation. Sign another team's player and you give them a first or a second, based on some independent factor that determines the player's value.

Mike

I’ve been beating the drum on your 2nd point for a long time.  I really like how Major League Baseball does it so you could have some variation of it for draft pick compensation in the NBA. You could have different tiers of compensation based on what the player signs for.  I really like this because a team can do all the right things as far as team building, and then see it go down fast if a player(s) leave via free agency.


I had a more recent idea of a max contract must be signed for a minimum of 3 years and mid level contracts for at least 2 years with no opt outs in either situation.  Only minimum/low  level contracts can be signed for 1 year.  This will limit teams constantly trying to maneuver for cap space, and we might have more trades for basketball rather than financial reasons!  Lol. And hey if a max player wants out after a year or 2 into his deal he can still ask for a trade.

I think this will limit player movement, and help protect well run organizations.  If you want to throw players a bone maybe you give them a year off the rookie deal to enter FA sooner, or increase the salaries of rookie deals.

Re: Radical idea to address player movement
« Reply #6 on: February 21, 2019, 06:51:01 PM »

Offline CptZoogs

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I think what makes draft compensation tough for the NBA is that draft capital is so much more scarce.  NFL has 7 rounds to work with and you have a decent chance of hitting in the first 3 rounds.  In the NBA, the quality really drops off after the lottery.  I am not even sure about how many rounds are in the MLB draft.  Don't they also have different types of drafts?  There are just so many more prospects in other sports that teams can afford to give later round picks.

Re: Radical idea to address player movement
« Reply #7 on: February 21, 2019, 07:02:30 PM »

Offline JBcat

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I think what makes draft compensation tough for the NBA is that draft capital is so much more scarce.  NFL has 7 rounds to work with and you have a decent chance of hitting in the first 3 rounds.  In the NBA, the quality really drops off after the lottery.  I am not even sure about how many rounds are in the MLB draft.  Don't they also have different types of drafts?  There are just so many more prospects in other sports that teams can afford to give later round picks.

That is true, and something I thought of.  Maybe for a max player you can have 2 lottery protected picks or a lottery protected with the option of a pick swap in another draft as compensation.  Maybe a mid tier level player let’s say anything over the mid level exception salary you get 1 lottery protected pick, or bring it down to a second round pick.  Something like that could work.

I think it would be fun to watch all the picks being exchanged, and really make a team think hard about signing a player away from a team.