Keep a very punitive luxury tax and eliminate max salaries on the next CBA. To accomplish this, owners would have to give players a higher % of total revenue.
Would be cool if the NBA were to totally eradicate the cap and invite the oil sheikh trillionaires to buy teams in the league. Every team will become Manchester City and Real Madrid.
Only if it was a really GENEROUS hard cap. As in: Make it an $85 mil hard cap. And a $65 mil minimum floor for the cheapo tankers. Instead of the $71 mil lux tax line now. Could get rid of the salary matching rule in trades, or make it more flexible. So teams under a hard cap can deal away their mistakes. Maybe over time it could result in parity if you get rid of max salary limits. If Cleveland 2010 got to pay Lebron $45 mil and D-Wade was already making $38 mil, lessened chance Lebron leaves. But the NBA Players Association majority middle class might not go for that. The more the top players rightfully get all the money, the more they're squeezed out. I still don't think it'd increase title winning parity that much, it'd just increase regular season parity. Because playoffs are still 7 games series and its generally the best teams that advance in that format. And when the 90's Bulls got Dennis Rodman, I don't think salary cap had any influence in that. Rodman went to a team were Michael Jordan was making $30 mil which was more than half the team salary.
I doubt they can push through a hard cap. I'm not sure there would even be owner support for a hard cap. Wealthy owners want the flexibility to spend when they choose, and small owners want the luxury tax windfalls. To do a hard cap, owners will have to recalibrate revenue sharing among themselves to accomodate it.
I don't think it'll happen. Players are too strong, make too much money. In the NFL most of the guys only last 3 years, in the NBA the players with voices can afford to sit out a season.
We heard this in much stronger terms back in 2011, and it didn't happen. Next time around, the NBA will likely be in much better economic shape, and Silver won't be able to claim that the NBA is deeply into the red; they'll probably be profitable. The next negotiation will also have the precedent that the players took a big hit the previous time, something they are not likely to do again, especially when the league is making money. If this didn't happen in 2011, when owners had almost all leverage, it won't happen the next time.
We have a winner!!! BTW - - I saw this: New management of NBAPA. New management of NBA. Things may get interesting. Well, except for fans of hardwood games. BTW II - - Most underpaid NBAer: LBJ. #1 underpaid player. With no cap what would he command on the market? Yes, a 'King's' ransom. Match him up with two solid studs and one would need aRussian Mafiaesque wallet to pay the bills.
