[ESPN.com] - NBA's CBA, Both sides making concessions

Great question.

Another question: with the anticipated CBA constructed as it appears it will be, why isn't Ray Ray jumping to sign Seattle's offer? He will be screwed, it seems to me.

 

the vast majority? assuming you're talking about guys who declare for the draft and not every 18 year old in the world, then how so?

lebron, amare, and howard have been very productive right from the start. guys like kobe, kg, tmac, and jermaine didn't dominate right away but were still decent and obviously weren't "never ready." even guys like kwame, chandler, and curry will all be getting nice contracts coming up here and will be fairly productive nba players (well we'll see on kwame i guess but if he's healthy he won't suck). where is the vast majority to dwarf these success stories?

there's a trend of the best of the best (not the dreamers like leon smith or that cisse guy) in high school doing well from the start and becoming great later. mostly because eventually the people in the nba are the same people who they were way better than in high school and thus they just continue to dominate.

 

I don't like trade rule relaxation. Anything that promotes large amount of player movement is not good for the sport. As fans, you want stable teams to root for (and teams to hate). Imagine Malone and Stockton changing teams every 3 years or so.

Besides, if they relax the trade rule, we won't be able to dismiss crazy trade proposal on this board by just saying, "The contracts don't match, dude."

 

We were almost there with KM's daily dalliances.

 

Lets just hope the NHL is a constant reminder to them. I love the Rockets and the NBA a lot but if they lockout again, it would be pretty hard to forgive the whole industry. Especially considering that the NBA is going to have a great next 10-20 years.

 

While I personally couldn't care either way, I don't really understand how the league has been negatively impacted ECONOMICALLY with no age limit. There has NEVER been a more hyped athlete than Lebron James. Kobe Bryant was way up there, Amare sells and has from day one, KG has been a league draw from day one as well. I understand that argument that some HS's are duds, but the only players that are more well-known coming out of college are the mediocre ones. Mediocre HS'ers don't enter the draft, or don't get drafted. Maturity is an issue, but I really don't think the NBA has been diluted, financially or on the court, from the recent influx of players under the age of 20. The game has changed (more athletic, quicker...less dependent on brute size, etc.), but maybe for the better.

3 years is WAY too short. 4 years is even short. Especially for a marquee player, it can often take 3-4 years to get the right supporting cast and have 1 championship run. Unless it's implied that the other new rules would make it much much much more attractive for said player to resign with current team when the contract is up, then the compromise of 4/5 years seems better.

Sure. If anything is clear, it's that owners will use all the money they have and spend even when its not logical.


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All in all, it looks like a lot of concessions are being made on the players side. Not that I personally don't think the discussions should have the "feel", but, as mentioned, it seems like the NBA is as healthy as ever and this year may be one of the best years in a while. Surprised that on nearly every issue things are leaning more towards what the owners/league wants.

Also, on the luxury tax thing, what I don't understand is what role the NBA/league plays. I mean, I agree there should be a luxury tax. But isn't the CBA primarily a deal between the owners and the players, and neither side is happy with the luxury tax, much less want an increase in penalty. While the logistics would be impossible, the "league" is really replaceable here, isn't it? Couldn't both sides just tell Stern to bug of? Considering this is the issue Ford pegs as the #1 stumbling block, yet "both sides" are on the same page, it is somewhat confusing.

 

im cool with everything except the 3-4 years max contract. i want to sign yao for a 7 year deal. i dont want the hassle of thinking about whoever every 3-4 years.