I love the NBA. But after watching out of shape veterans (Eddy Curry), injury prone players who get paid too much (Bynum, Mcgrady), highschoolers who get drafted on potential (Darius Miles and almost everyone else) I'm getting tired of it. Thank goodness the CBA is expiring and really hope David Stern takes my ideas and runs with it. I would be willing to wait 2 years of lockout if this would happen!!
1. Implement a hard cap that would force owners with deep pockets from aquiring talent by simply agreeing to take on more money. (ie Gasol to Lakers and every single Dallas Maverick trade)
2. Shorten contract length to 4 years.
3. Non-guaranteed contracts after first season. This rule forces mediocre players entering their twilight of their career to simply relax after their "last contract" (ie Turkoglu)
4. Implement some sort of strategy to reduce free agent movement or compensation system. Adding a "franchise" tag to the NBA would prevent Lebron from severely reducing the franchise value. If not, add a compensation system in which franchise players are rewarded with a supplemental lottery pick depending on the impact of the player and where he was chosen in the draft. (ex Lebron would be top 5 pick, Amare top 10 pick) This would give hope to the franchise base and attendance wouldn't significantly drop if another superstar is drafted
5. Force college players to stay 3 years in school before eligible for draft. High school players and one-and-done players are being drafted on potential rather than production taking roster spots away from players that can contribute right away. Everyone wants to see John Wall right away but he would come in the league more NBA ready and have a greater impact 3 years later. Players like Derozan would benefit the most.
6. No more MAX contracts. If there is a hard cap teams can pay the players what they deem are worth. This would help as superstars would make the money they deserve and fans don't have to worry about multiple superstars playing on one team. That would not be possible unless they agree to take significantly less than they are worth. (Bosh, Wade, Lebron are taking 2 million less a year which will easily be recovered from endorsements) Under this system cap room really does matter. If NY is offering 30 MILL to Lebron and MIA is offering 14.5 it will be almost impossible to turn that down.
These are some basic strategies that would get veterans to play harder and young players would be more seasoned. Franchises like Indiana wouldn't have to struggle paying mediocre players 10 mill a year and "salary dump" trades wouldn't happen as every team can cut a player like the NFL. Teams would be competitive and trades would be fair. The product will improve drastically as players don't have the umbrella of knowing they are getting paid guaranteed dollars for x amount of years and would have to play hard.
1. Implement a hard cap that would force owners with deep pockets from aquiring talent by simply agreeing to take on more money. (ie Gasol to Lakers and every single Dallas Maverick trade)
2. Shorten contract length to 4 years.
3. Non-guaranteed contracts after first season. This rule forces mediocre players entering their twilight of their career to simply relax after their "last contract" (ie Turkoglu)
4. Implement some sort of strategy to reduce free agent movement or compensation system. Adding a "franchise" tag to the NBA would prevent Lebron from severely reducing the franchise value. If not, add a compensation system in which franchise players are rewarded with a supplemental lottery pick depending on the impact of the player and where he was chosen in the draft. (ex Lebron would be top 5 pick, Amare top 10 pick) This would give hope to the franchise base and attendance wouldn't significantly drop if another superstar is drafted
5. Force college players to stay 3 years in school before eligible for draft. High school players and one-and-done players are being drafted on potential rather than production taking roster spots away from players that can contribute right away. Everyone wants to see John Wall right away but he would come in the league more NBA ready and have a greater impact 3 years later. Players like Derozan would benefit the most.
6. No more MAX contracts. If there is a hard cap teams can pay the players what they deem are worth. This would help as superstars would make the money they deserve and fans don't have to worry about multiple superstars playing on one team. That would not be possible unless they agree to take significantly less than they are worth. (Bosh, Wade, Lebron are taking 2 million less a year which will easily be recovered from endorsements) Under this system cap room really does matter. If NY is offering 30 MILL to Lebron and MIA is offering 14.5 it will be almost impossible to turn that down.
These are some basic strategies that would get veterans to play harder and young players would be more seasoned. Franchises like Indiana wouldn't have to struggle paying mediocre players 10 mill a year and "salary dump" trades wouldn't happen as every team can cut a player like the NFL. Teams would be competitive and trades would be fair. The product will improve drastically as players don't have the umbrella of knowing they are getting paid guaranteed dollars for x amount of years and would have to play hard.
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