You can have some kind of rule forbidding teams to cut injured players, or have teams buy injury insurance for players. I agree that somehow teams should have some kind of power to lay off under-performing players. Shorter contracts also help. But then you get the headache of constant renegotiation and revolving door rosters. I think the best solution would probably be some kind of hybrid partially guaranteed contracts.
I don't see too many guys playing like BGriffin. Most guys already play conservatively. I could see it doing the opposite and making players work harder on rehab and sit out fewer games. It would break the habit of "Sign big contract and sit out if I stub my toe" syndrome that players have: Samuel Dalembert Eddy Curry Stromile Swift Eddie Griffin T-Mac It may also discourage flopping.
The problem with injury insurance is it really only covers the injury, what happens in the case where the player returns but is nowhere near what they once were? Insurance companies would never agree to a "quality" clause
My theory that Memphis won't people able to keep Gasol/Gay/Randolph/Conley is getting stronger and stronger.
Harsher luxury tax? And that helps small-market teams how exactly? I'm sure the argument goes something like this: A harsher tax will serve as a stronger deterrent against big-market teams from forming dream-teams, thus leveling the playing field for small market teams. Well, these "good intentions" will only yield bad results by keeping small-market teams small. In actuality, small-market teams (and some pseudo-big-market teams with stingy owners *cough* Les *cough*) will work even harder to avoid the salary tax, whereas big-market teams will receive a 50% more unpleasant slap to the wrist. Just get rid of the soft cap entirely and replace it with a $90 million hard cap (adjusted to inflation). Unfortunately for us fans, that would make for a very long and unpleasant lockout.
No way small market owners pay anywhere near that $90M range. The luxury tax WILL discourage (most of) the excessive payrolls under the last CBA. Jerry Buss, for instance, has made several moves to minimize his luxury tax hit over the years, including trading away all his first round picks. And even if the tax doesn't stop excessive spending, the vastly increased tax revenues will be going right into the pockets of the smaller market owners, perhaps allowing them, if not to spend into the luxury tax territory, at least to spend MORE on payroll than they otherwise could afford to do. And go check the short list of owners who paid the luxury tax this past July. Guess who's on that list. That's right. Les Alexander.
Kobe is full of crap, look at the NFL, you don't play hard you get cut, that is what would happen in the NBA. Players that are lazy or not putting out would need to go flip burgers. Nothing like a little motivation to play hard. DD
I could buy Kobe's arguments if we didn't already have a beautiful example of how it works in the NFL...a much more violent sport where injuries are far more frequent.
Oooooooooh, 1m measley dollars. That's only because he no choice and was backed in the corner, not because he was trying to make the team better.
Owners need to say that every week that passes lowers the split by another 1%, and that starting next Sunday the player's get 49% max.
Ha, Stern has already stated that the offers will only get worse once games are canceled, and we are now seeing cracks in the player's union, while it's now taken for granted that hard line owners outnumber the doves.
When/if the owners start lowering their offer, the season is doomed. I don't expect that to happen soon. The players will buckle first. Billy Hunter has no excuse for not putting one of the current offers from the NBA to a rank-and-file vote. Maybe the owners give him a bone of 0.5% to help him save face. Game checks are now being missed. This is what the owners were waiting for. A new agreement will be ratified by Thanksgiving and we'll have 65-75 regular season games. I just don't see this lasting into December.
But see thats part of the reason I do not think the comparison works. The NFL sells itself with its hits and sheer brutality that is inherent within the sport. You really cannot win or succeed without either hitting hard or being resolved to be hit hard in the NFL. In the NBA, it is different. You have a league now that penalizes players for even touching an offensive player on the perimeter as well as that gives benefit of the doubt to offensive player on the majority of contact on drives and inside moves. You can succeed in the NBA and avoid contact to an extent as a wing player. It is more difficult as a post player, but more and more of them playing more on the 3 pt line. I mean if you were to have the currently ridiculed health insurance and pension plan for injured NFL players instituted for injured NBA players in a non-guaranteed contract arrangment, it would very much affect the game.
sigh. So the owner cracks between big market and small market are not cracks, it's just about the majority votes. But the players union "cracks" means something different? gotcha and what cracks are you talking about ... could they be internet misinformation, owner smear campaigns or just a small minority. They certainly are not Hunter vs Fisher. Raven, the ferocity at which you seek out, skew and believe only news that fits your argument is worth self-reflection.
He BARELY paid it, for the first time ever, and he had tons of Yao's insurance money that more than covered it, let's not give Les credit for being a big spender when his history shows exactly the opposite. DD
Not a big spender. But a smart spender. I am convinced he would have gone into serious lux tax land if he could have picked up a Melo, CP3 type player. I am still convinced he'd pay the lux tax to get Dwight here.
