Will a new NBA CBA make the Bucks and other small market teams better?

[TexasAggieBrewer]

Is there any chance teams like the Bucks would benefit from a new CBA? There are too many teams at a large disadvantage because of their small market cities. How exactly would a new CBA help NBA cities like Milwaukee?

[endaround]

No. The NBA's problem is the talent is just so concentrated that for every generation of players (say every 10 years or so) there are only a handful that are really talented enough to fuel winners. Basically its like elite level QBs but with only a handful of players to try to make up for lacking one instead of 21 other players.

[Paulus88]

Well there's talk of a franchise tag being in it which would make it easier to keep superstars on small market teams. Otherwise, specific to the Bucks, shorter term or non-guaranteed contracts would make any contract mistakes easier to get rid of. A hard cap would level the playing field salary wise. There is a lot that can be done to benefit the Bucks in any new CBA, unfortunately the biggest impediment to their success is their own management.

[logan82]

I thought teams could pay their own guys more money than another team could. How often does a team's best player leave?

[nate82]

I thought teams could pay their own guys more money than another team could. How often does a team's best player leave?

Not very often but you do have recent examples in Amare, Lebron, Bosh, and you can even throw in Carmello. Denver traded Carmello but he was not going to be resigning with Denver anyways when he would hit free agency he was going to either the Knicks or the Nets when he was eligible for free agency.

[trwi7]

I thought teams could pay their own guys more money than another team could. How often does a team's best player leave?

 

You can, but you also tack on an extra year. So it's basically one year extra and $20 million extra. If you go to a place that has no state income tax, the gap closes.

 

The only thing that would work is a franchise tag and who's to say that would even work? A player might whine about being tagged and slack off for the team so they either trade him or don't franchise him again.

[danzig6767]

No. The NBA's problem is the talent is just so concentrated that for every generation of players (say every 10 years or so) there are only a handful that are really talented enough to fuel winners. Basically its like elite level QBs but with only a handful of players to try to make up for lacking one instead of 21 other players.

No question the NBA is driven almost entirely by about 15 to 20 at most very good players and if your team doesn't have them, it's like being an NFL team without an upper tier QB. You're largely irrelevant.

 

That said, smaller market teams can get lucky and land a star in the draft if they allow their team to be bad enough to draft really high.

 

San Antonio got Duncan

 

Cleveland had LeBron for seven years

 

Oklahoma City drafted Durant and Westbrook

 

Orlando drafted Howard

 

Minnesota had Garnett for 12 years

 

New Orleans got Chris Paul

 

Four teams passed on Wade before Miami picked him

 

Paul Piece lasted to the 10th pick when the Bucks drafted Tractor Traylor

 

Point being, even though the deck is stacked against small market NBA franchises, if a team has smart management with an actual plan and catches some luck in the lottery, they can land one of those great players who are so important to winning. Then it's up to a savvy GM to surround that star with other good players, unlike Minnesota did with Garnett and Cleveland with LeBron.

[MarquesJohnson2000]

The Bucks didn't draft Tractor Traylor, Dallas took him at #6 and then traded him to the Bucks for Nowitzki and Pat Garrity.

[DuWayne Steurer]

The only way the Bucks have a chance is when tv market size doesn't dictate who the NBA wants in the finals. When you see the officiating that occurred in the Bucks/Sixers series, or the West conference Lakers/Kings finals a few years back, you know that the NBA simply won't allow those smaller market teams that don't have a national following into the finals.

 

No CBA, salary cap, management change, etc will make up for the disadvantage that teams like the Bucks, Kings, etc are completely behind the curve.

[danzig6767]

The Bucks didn't draft Tractor Traylor, Dallas took him at #6 and then traded him to the Bucks for Nowitzki and Pat Garrity.

Dallas drafted Traylor fully with the intention of trading him to the Bucks. This happens all the time in the NBA draft. Teams work out a trade before the draft and then pick for each other so long as certain guys are available.

[RockCoCougars]

Dallas drafted Traylor fully with the intention of trading him to the Bucks. This happens all the time in the NBA draft. Teams work out a trade before the draft and then pick for each other so long as certain guys are available.

Exactly. There is a ton of revisionist history regarding Nowitzki and the Bucks. Don Nelson was in love with him and the Bucks took him specifically for Dallas. It's not like they drafted him for themselves, and Dallas pried him out of their hands with an offer they couldn't refuse, the way a lot of people make it sound. I don't even think Nowitzki was very highly rated, because I remember screaming at the TV 'Who?'. That was the year that Paul Pierce slipped, so I was hoping that the Bucks were going to take him. I wasn't exactly enamored with Traylor either. Never could figure out why Karl always wanted a small big man who bogged down the offense.

[danzig6767]

RockCo, Karl wasn't with the Bucks when Traylor was drafted, Chris Ford was still the coach.