As the NBA continues to navigate the new collective bargaining agreement, the Boston Celtics’ owner Wyc Grousbeck discussed the impact of the CBA on the league.
Grousbeck, who recently sold the Celtics for $6.1 Billion, dismissed the luxury tax and the financial implications, but thinks the real issue with the CBA is it’s effect on team building. He believes the NBA’s goal was to do more than punish a team owner’s pocket book.
“It’s not the luxury-tax bill. It’s the basketball penalties, OK? The new CBA was designed by the league to stop teams from going crazy. And they decided that it’s not just good enough to go after the wallets because then the fans are like, ‘Hey, find someone who can afford to spend whatever, $500 million a year or whatever it is, like the English Premier League.’
Grousbeck’s concerns are focused on the restrictions the CBA has on player transaction and draft pick restrictions. Teams in the second apron can’t trade multiple players in one trade, they don’t have access to their mid level exception, their first round draft picks are frozen, and if they’re in the second apron for multiple years, their picks are pushed to the back of the NBA draft regardless of team record. These restrictions were put in to create parity in the league, as players would run to the larger markets and better run franchises to capitalize on their prime and get paid their worth.
Boston, who is currently set to pay over $50 million in penalties this year, are set to far exceed these numbers in the near future as their core players continue to get raises. With the likes of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, and Peyton Pritchard set to receive pay says, the Celtics will make some major changes to either rosters or contracts.
Grousbeck’s statements ring true around NBA circles as fans realize that handing out contracts or making trades to build teams becomes more and more tricky. Players rightfully want to get paid, but the idea of keeping players happy and keeping a team together is going to leave teams like Boston at a crossroad. Even making a move for a player is that much harder as restrictions on moves will question the trade’s worth.
Whether it’s Boston or another team trying to build, the money isn’t the issue, it’s the ceiling that was created to prevent teams from becoming too powerful. The NBA’s focus on parity is understandable as smaller markets like the Charlotte Hornets who want to build, but the reality is how these teams are build affects the entire league, and so far, there are more teams who have to navigate it than teams who have benefitted from the CBA.
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