Comments on: CBA Talk: Simon Is Willing to Spend, But Is He Willing to Spend Enough?

By: Can You Sustain a High Level of Competitiveness Without Paying the Luxury Tax?

Can You Sustain a High Level of Competitiveness Without Paying the Luxury Tax? — Fri, 13 May 2011 13:58:50 +0000

[...] the Simon piece, I included this rather dramatic [...]

By: The Upcoming CBA: One Point of View

The Upcoming CBA: One Point of View — Fri, 13 May 2011 13:41:36 +0000

[...] my piece a few days ago about whether or not Herb Simon’s Luxury Tax limitation would prevent the Pacers from being competitive, I half-heartedly entered into the NBA Labor [...]

By: The Outside World – 5/6/11 | Pickin' Splinters

The Outside World – 5/6/11 | Pickin' Splinters — Fri, 06 May 2011 14:26:12 +0000

[...] – Tim Donahue breaks down the Pacers’ financial situation, and in doing so, provides some crucial things to think about for fans of all 30 teams. [...]

By: aaronb

aaronb — Thu, 05 May 2011 15:58:48 +0000

Brett,

Didn’t we just wait through (and honestly still suffering the effects) 5 years of franchise purgatory because of these long guaranteed contracts?

By: B-rad

B-rad — Thu, 05 May 2011 14:23:07 +0000

Very well written and informative piece. You have totally convinced me and I am totally for this lockout until the changes are made. This is why baseball is unwatchable. If the NBA doesn’t solve this problem we as fans should vote with our own pocket books. . .

By: Brett

Brett — Thu, 05 May 2011 00:22:27 +0000

It’s interesting to see both the NFL and NBA CBAs being renegotiated in the same year and how they are influencing each other. Most of the suggestions I’ve heard want each league to be more like the other. For example, the NBA adopting an NFL-style hard cap and less guaranteed money, and the NFL adopting an NBA-style rookie pay scale.

While the max length of contracts could be shorter, I personally think guaranteed contracts are a good thing for the NBA because they cause teams to keep veteran stars around longer than they otherwise would, and that is very important in a star-driven league. In this case, I don’t think it’s wise to use the NFL as a model for comparison because in football there are 53 players on each team, the best players are only on the field half the game, most players are specialists, and careers are much shorter. The NBA is much different, and while it is easy to point out the handful of guaranteed contracts that have failed miserably and destroyed franchises for several years, I think in general guaranteed contracts have been beneficial to the league in maintaining a high level of player and fan loyalty. Also, if you eliminated guaranteed contracts, you would probably see a lot more players suddenly deciding to “take their talents to South Beach” (or wherever) just to win a ring.

By: Tad

Tad — Wed, 04 May 2011 23:39:26 +0000

Why would you sign Paul George to an extension before it becomes necessary? What if, God forbid, he gets injured like Brandon Roy? That is the type of thinking that will get this franchise in trouble very quickly. You can’t do it, no matter how much you like George.

By: Corey M

Corey M — Wed, 04 May 2011 21:24:26 +0000

In my opinion, before we start signing free agents we must sign Paul George to a long-term extension. This kid is just making me soo excited to be a Pacer fan. He has the ability to change games defensively and has enough skill offensively to average 20 pts a game. We have got to make this kid a Pacer for life like we did with Reggie. Go Pacers!

By: Tad

Tad — Wed, 04 May 2011 20:56:28 +0000

Great analysis, Tim. I really enjoyed this piece. While I do think the Pacers will be in Indianapolis 10 years from now, I do agree with your sentiments for a hard cap. I actually have believed for sometime that an NFL-like system with signing bonuses replacing guaranteed contracts and a hard cap is the way to go for the NBA. Obviously the sharing of TV revenue will never be like the NFL, but the hard cap and signing bonuses means that NBA teams will be able to get out from under their mistakes without consigning themselves to oblivion for years to come.

By: The Point Forward » Posts Court Vision: The latest around the league «

The Point Forward » Posts Court Vision: The latest around the league « — Wed, 04 May 2011 20:33:20 +0000

[...] A fantastic assessment of the Pacers’ finances, with data on how much winning teams typically spend and thoughts on how much of their cap space [...]