Supermax deals were partially implemented to give small markets a chance to retain star players, but I think it's crippling team's flexibility and future by tying down such an immense percentage of the cap to just one or two players. Washington is a good example of this, and it seems that the Spurs are actively trying to avoid bogging down so much of their cap to one player, who is threatening to leave for the big markets anyway. I think the league should consider allowing teams to pay supermax salary, but the overall cap hit is only the size of a normal max contract. This way teams aren't handicapped by their own star players demanding immense deals. What do you guys think?
Yup. This, as well as the implementation of the cap spike, could not have backfired harder on the NBA.
Hell no exact opposite. You should be able to pay superstars their true value . If Lebron was getting paid 75 mil a year he couldn't have super friends and if a couple cats did take HUGE pay cuts and play for like 25 mil they better win it all because losing 50 mil a year and losing in the second round would get old real fast.
I doubt the NBA really cares, as they are making boatloads of cash anyway. But a lot of players around the league were/are getting screwed because of the cap spike and supermax deals, both of which froze over the markets for mid-tier talent who aren't getting paid as much as their peers were the year of the cap spike. I really hope the league smoothes this out, because after the cap exploded and supermax deals were signed, the market went cold for a lot of deserving players.
The NBA and NBPA will need to do something eventually. If the cap does go up as expected the next two years it may counteract this situation, but if it doesn’t there may be a whole lot of mid-tier and lower folks on the player side with enough votes to try to decertify the NBPA or cause a work stoppage. This free agency season has definitely shown how the supermax + salary increases for super star players without cap smoothing really caused mid-tier journeymen in the league to get some raw deals.
Imagine a system where a free agent's cap hit was based on what the top bid for him was. Then if a player took less than the top bid (like the Warriors keep doing b/c they have so much endorsement money), this wouldn't stop their team from becoming capped out. It would also introduce a lot of gamesmanship into free agent bidding, much like what happens with RFAs. Putting in that system while also getting rid of the max salary would create a lot of parity between teams in the league. On the other hand, there would be an even bigger gap b/w the stars and journeymen.
I'll repeat what I've been saying for a couple of years: The NBA should get rid of the individual player max or raise it up to 50-60% of the salary cap. This is the quick and very obvious antidote to super teams.
hmmm that's a interesting proposal I would have to think about that more. I always thought an interesting idea would be splitting the players revenue into two groups. Half just like normal. Then the second half based off teams playoff success. Like two mil per player per round or something like that.
That is good for 7 or 8 players, and bad for the hopes of 380 players. Will never happen with a player's union.
An idea I have heard a few places is having a designated player exception for 1-2 players where the team can pay whatever they feel is best value for the player then hardcap everything else (MLS does this currently). That could be another solution although it would need fine tuning.
Agree. I think the salaries should be based on Percentages more than Straight Cash Say LeBron is on the hook for 50% of the Cap When the cap rises next year . .. . he is still 50% . . so the 'flexibility' is not so much Rocket River
Players would never agree to the percentage thing. Ain't no way. It's somewhere between slim and none they would agree to a big hike in the player max. NBA players love the status quo as it is, especially if the cap keeps increasing. Max players are happy too because shoe deals make up what the player max denies them.
