NBAPA looking to modify NBA draft to be more friendly to bad teams

[jonathanlambert33]

The drama surrounding Carmelo Anthony has dominated all discussions over All-Star Weekend, but the attention briefly shifted on Friday night when owners and players met to discuss the future of the NBA. The bargaining meeting was a step in the right direction and several drastic changes were proposed.

The players were well represented and many of the league's biggest stars were in attendance. One player described the scene as a "who's who" of NBA superstars, with players such as Anthony, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Deron Williams, Kevin Garnett, Al Horford and Russell Westbrook in the room. Union officer Keyon Dooling said that every demographic was represented with "bottom feeders, mid-level players and max guys" all making their presence felt.

The meeting began with an opening address from Players Association president Derek Fisher. The speech given by Fisher was relatable and summed up how everyone in the room was feeling. While players wouldn't go into specifics, they described the address as powerful and raved about Fisher's leadership following the meeting. Fisher's comments set the tone for the rest of the meeting and made a lot of sense to everyone in the room.

During the meeting, owners made it clear that their focus was to increase profits rather than cut losses. They also expressed that changes need to be made in order to increase parity and level the playing field across the league. Issues such as contraction or implementing a franchise tag were not the focus of the meeting. Both sides were more engaged than in previous meetings and sources said that Mark Cuban led the way as the owner most active in talks.

While there wasn't much negotiating during the meeting and very little progress was made, one intriguing concept was proposed by the players. Rather than changing the salary structure to level the playing field for small market teams, an alternative was proposed that would involve making drastic changes to the draft process.

The union made the argument that the quickest way to turn around "crummy" teams is through the draft. Because first-round picks have become so valuable in today's NBA and many teams have had success building a roster with this model, the union feels that the best way to increase parity is to focus the draft around the underachieving teams.

The fourteen non-playoff teams that make up the lottery would not only receive the first fourteen picks, but the next fourteen as well. The team that wins the lottery would receive the first overall pick as well as the fifteenth overall pick. The second team on the clock would also own the sixteenth pick, the third picking team would also own the seventeenth pick and so on.

Each team would receive two first-round selections so that the top twenty-eight players go to the teams that are struggling and the playoff teams that need the least help receive second-round talent. Those playoff teams would follow the same structure in the second round with two late picks each. The union is willing to lower the number to the eight worst teams, but they feel this is a much better way for the league to level the playing field.

Overall, the meeting went well and while players wouldn't go so far as to say they're optimistic about the labor talks, this meeting set the tone for negotiations and both sides agreed to meet again in the near future.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=18825

I'm not sure what I think about this, but it's definitely interesting.

 

[RipCity32]

That is a very interesting concept. I'm not sure how I feel about it.

I mean, as a Pistons fan I would obviously love it. But teams like the Spurs would despise it lol.

 

[Pugz]

more reason to tank, really.


i dont like that idea though. i guess if it happened im sure it would be tweeked a little. maybe it would just need to grow on me. and right now seeing as my hometeam is lottery bound i would like it for that reason but we wont suck forever. lol

 

[jonathanlambert33]

One of the interesting arguments is this:

Like if this was around 2007, it would have been cool if the Celtics had traded 2 first round picks for Allen then the Thunder already have had 2 first round picks of their own. So they would have had the 2nd, 5th, 16th and 19th. Durant, Green, and guys like Wilson Chandler, Rudy Fernandez, Nick Young, Tiago Splitter and a couple more were available for both the 16th and 19th picks.

 

[Elite]

Retarded as hell. Bad teams became bad by no one's fault but their own, why should you give out handouts to the teams that aren't doing shit right?

 

[DJT]

Huh this is interesting...not sure how I feel about it either...

 

[.GR]

Retarded as hell. Bad teams became bad by no one's fault but their own, why should you give out handouts to the teams that aren't doing shit right?

You would say that considering you're a fan of the Heat, Yankees, those kinds of teams...

 

[Giantmetfan07]

Not 100% on board with the idea and I'm sure it'll be tweaked around over the next 3 or 4 months as they discuss the idea.... but I certainly think it is a better option than adjusting the salary structure.

 

[ZigZag]

don't like it but of course it's just an idea. If they found some middle ground they could make the league interesting again.

Retarded as hell. Bad teams became bad by no one's fault but their own, why should you give out handouts to the teams that aren't doing shit right?

Because not every team can afford to sign 3 max contracts in the off season.

You're sounding like one of your star players, ignorant. There are thousands of people, not just nba players, relying on those teams to stay in business. Not only that, many fans would like to see more competition in the league.

 

[footballplaya52]

i also disagree with the douche who said teams are bad by no fault but their own.

because players retiring, poor on court play, or FA's leaving is their fault. For instance i guess cleveland sucks because the team let lebron go to miami. it was their fault he abandoned his hometown.

 

[Elite]

i also disagree with the douche who said teams are bad by no fault but their own.

because players retiring, poor on court play, or FA's leaving is their fault. For instance i guess cleveland sucks because the team let lebron go to miami. it was their fault he abandoned his hometown.

Look at this douchebag right here! (I should be careful, I might get warned )

If someone is retiring, it's pretty clear that they're not a difference maker anymore (you can go ahead and bring up examples, but those are the exceptions, not the rule). If you're handing out big contracts to players that aren't very good, how in the world is that not your fault? FA's usually leave because they're not winning.

LeBron left because Cleveland couldn't win a title and they weren't putting the right pieces around him to be able to win that title. Cleveland isn't LeBron's hometown, that would be Akron, LeBron hated Cleveland growing up.

 

[elcheato]

Akron is basically Cleveland.. You don't even know the area around here so don't talk like you do... He was making up BS saying him and his friends have a rivalry with Cleveland from Akron.. He's a dumbass.

 

[Elite]

Akron is basically Cleveland.. You don't even know the area around here so don't talk like you do... He was making up BS saying him and his friends have a rivalry with Cleveland from Akron.. He's a dumbass.

If Akron is basically Cleveland, why the hell they have two different names for it?

 

[elcheato]

Because it's right near it and most of Northeast Ohio consider themselves apart of the Cleveland region.

 

[Pugz]

Look at this douchebag right here! (I should be careful, I might get warned )

If someone is retiring, it's pretty clear that they're not a difference maker anymore (you can go ahead and bring up examples, but those are the exceptions, not the rule). If you're handing out big contracts to players that aren't very good, how in the world is that not your fault? FA's usually leave because they're not winning.

LeBron left because Cleveland couldn't win a title and they weren't putting the right pieces around him to be able to win that title. Cleveland isn't LeBron's hometown, that would be Akron, LeBron hated Cleveland growing up.

god damn, kid. stop fucking mocking me.

 

[RipCity32]

BC would you stop. This is your final warning.

 

[footballplaya52]

are you really gonna argue he wasnt a hometown hero to cleveland, just because he was born in akron?

the fuck out of here with that.