labor negotiations

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

I wonder how the labor negotiations are going to work out. My feeling
is that a hard cap is not going to happen. Really, the primary problem
is that unproven players like Garnett are getting loads of cash based
on potential, and blackmailing owners by threatening to walk away with
nothing. I expect longer rookie contracts, and some sort of restricted 
free agency afterwards, where a team gets compensated with draft picks
if they lose their free agent. Perhaps a right of first refusal would
be a possibility also. 

An idea I would like to see happen, although I really doubt it, is 
seven-year rookie contracts; but each year spent in college reduces
it by a year. This really might encourage kids to stay in school (or
go to school in the case of the high school kids). Teams would get to
see their player at either the college or pro level for seven years
before committing, which seems fair enough.

Alex