Re: Another cap suggestion

[Adam Suchocki <asuchocki@wireless.tellabs.com>]

Sorry about that...I read through it too early in the morning and missed
that crucial part about the player getting the option of chosing which offer
to take.  It's a great idea - and I'm an idiot for not reading more
carefully.  The lockout has made me careless....

The only problem I see is: how does a team like the Clippers or Toronto keep
its own players if it isn't allowed to use the LBE to outbid a team like
Phoenix.

Adam

j.hironaka@unesco.org wrote:

> Adam Suchocki wrote:
>
> > Giving teams the right of first refusal on Bird Exemption players is a
> > good idea, but it is something the union bargained to get rid of two
> > collective bargaining agreements ago.  The players are against this
> > for several reasons Besides stopping a team from bidding against
> > itself (ala Kevin Garnett and the TWolves), it restricts player
> > movement.  This really is seen as a problem by players and agents.
> > David Robinson has publicly stated that being able to leave a bad team
> > is more important to him than unlimited money (of course, his idea of
> > limited money may be 20 million a year).  Several other players have
> > said the same thing.  They would rather take a pay cut to leave the
> > team they are currently on  (............)
>
> Hi:
>
> Just for the record, I  thought the crucial distinction in Jim's idea
> was to propose the exact opposite of the "right of first refusal" on LBE
> players. In other words, player's can choose whichever offer to accept.
> In principle, I suppose the player could even accept a third offer at a
> lower salary.
>
> In any case, such a system probably would not restrict player movement
> IMO any more than the present CBA. It's main effect (I think) would be
> to make high-end salaries better reflect actual supply and demand within
> this imperfect (capped) market.
>
> If there are flaws in the argument, one may be that teams can't even
> really begin the process of negotiating with their own top free agents
> until the moment a second team intercedes with a competing offer.  This
> could lead to a lot of free agents sitting out long periods waiting for
> the "right" rival offer sheet to finally appear in their mailbox. It's
> not as if a Karl Malone-type guy would happily accept the only other
> alternative of signing for whatever little room may be left under his
> present team's cap.
>
> ****