Now that the season is over (boycotting the Finals this year) and with the sting of the game 7 loss still fresh I was contemplating what the league could do if they truly wanted to restore a competitive balance league-wide. I believe CP3 said it best, "if you're not trying to contend with the warriors then what are we doing?" I know in the end there can only be one winner, but looking back at the start of the season, there were only maybe 3/4 teams with a realistic shot at winning the championship (GSW, HOU, CLE, and BOS). That means another 26 TEAMS really didn't have a chance to win at all due to the gap between GSW and everyone else. I guess at this juncture I should say how appreciative I am of being a Rockets fan and the product we were able to witness on the court this past season was truly remarkable but I'd be on suicide watch if I were a fan of any of those other 26 teams. It's just a waste of a season for the rest of the league and it's fans. My proposition is for the league to expand by two more organizations (Seattle and Kansas City or Louisville) and hold an expansion draft in which current teams can protect 2 players. I understand this is just wishful thinking and won't happen but I'm curious as to see how things would pan out at least here on Clutchfans and thought it would be fun not to mention get our minds off the debacle that was games 6&7. What do you think rosters around the league would look like if the proposed solution actually went through? For reference, I have included the top 6 players from each of the teams below. DIRECTIONS: Indicate who you think would be safe on each team and then fill out the top 6 players for the two new expansion teams. https://drive.google.com/open?id=167OPWNbJ_c-ZEspYhByrnZU0zVPa_HOW [Not sure how to upload the list so i attached the link to the players...]
If you are only allowed to protect 2 players. These expansions teams Could potentially compete for championships. Even if there is a rule that a team can only lose one player. You would end up with sick teams. Players A. Clint Capela Kyrie Irving (if I’m Boston I’m keeping Brown, Tatum) Dario Saric Joe Ingles Andrew Wiggins Jamal Murray B. Steven Adams Klay Thompson Serge Ibaka Jrue Holiday Otto Porter Eric Bledsoe
SEA: Spencer Didiwiddie Klay Thompson Jaylen Brown Jabari parker Jusuf nusric Steven Adams KC: Jrue Holiday JJ Reddick Draymond Green Nicola mirotic Clint Capela Jayson Tatum
Ya I had a tough time looking at the Boston roster and deciding who to poach away considering the Celtics recent run sans Irving and Hayward.
Yeah, my decision came down to money. Team would have more flexibility with two rookie deals than two max contracts.
Come on guys. We are 65-win team that has a legit chance of signing the GOAT or at least the second best player ever within a month. We are not the ones, who should bash any kind of bad competitive balance
Expansion won't solve the competitive imbalance issue in the league. The other owners aren't going to want to see the new teams pull a Las Vegas in the NHL. More than likely, teams will be able to protect their top 8 players and the teams can pick from the remaining pool. What will more than likely happen is that deals will be made for the two squads to pick certain players. For example, the Rockets would push for one of the teams to select Ryan Anderson and give some kind of benefit (draft picks, cash, etc). That would open up the salary cap for the Rockets to add players to their 65-win team and only increase the competitive imbalance. Want to make the regular season more exciting? Take only 8 teams to the playoffs. Think about the West this year with all the teams that would have been fighting for those last two spots. We probably would have seen more trades and activity at the deadline and possibly have seen more teams out East be willing to part with assets since they wouldn't be fighting for a playoff spot anymore. Either that or drop the salary cap and the max contract rule, keep the luxury tax, and let teams that want to spend go ahead and do so. Don't expand, institute relegation and go to what English soccer leagues do. That should stop tanking and ensure that most teams have something to play for.
Ive always thought the NBA should go to 1 max contract per team limit. This would basically assure that the top 30 players are all on different teams. As I think about, its probably not possible, but would be cool...
Yeah sure, you likely see a lot of teams gunning for top young talents on rookie contracts. And probably see lots of near max deals - borderline stars. And you would see Anderson on a 12-15 million deal. Not 20. Believe it, some team would still give him 12.
The NBA couldn't do this even if it wanted to. The NBPA would block it in a heartbeat. There's almost nothing they'd protect more than the players' right to choose where to play as a free agent.
It would have to be pretty drastic to keep players from taking less so they could play together. Like, nobody else can get more than half the max. Which is also something the NBPA would fight. There just needs to be a hard salary cap. And it needs to not allow you to field a roster with more than 2 max contracts.
What if there was a tax penalty for the players like there is for teams? So UFA can be given “offer sheets” like RFA’s but aren’t bound by them. If they sign for less with Team A than what Team B signed an offer sheet for, then that player pays a tax and reduces their salary even more. That would be tough to pull off in CBA as it takes power away from the players but it reduces the incentives for players to take cuts to join up with one another.
No luxury tax on salaries of the players you originally drafted. This will encourage players to commit to their original teams to compete instead of forming super teams elsewhere.
That would benefit the owner and not the player though. Why would the player care about about the teams tax?
E Expansion drafts happen in leagues all the time when new teams are added. And with the NBA popularity at an all-time high it's an opportune time for it to grow
