Has The Role Of An NBA GM Now Becoming Obscolete?

[bksballer89]

The only thing the league can possibly do is maybe say players can't be traded for the first 2 years of a 4 or 5 year contract.

But situations like AD can't be avoided. AD trade demand actually helped New Orleans IMO. Would you rather a player not tell you he's leaving and leave for nothing when he becomes a FA or would you rather a player give you the heads up that he has no plans to resign with your team? At least you can usually get 3 or 4 players/draft picks in return when this happens

 

[dtgold88]

Yeah, I don't know what he can do either. If guys want to team up, they're going to.

Players have started figuring out that they can take less money to play together and make up for it to at least some degree with playoff bonuses for deep runs and especially with endorsements.

Maybe they can figure out a way to make the tampering rules work to make it harder for guys to make the plan to team up...but I don't know how.

How can you prevent players from talking to each other, agents from talking to each other, or even agents from contacting GM's (or vice versa)? No one's going to report it because everyone is guilty of it.

IF they want to do something they can do it. Well, not Silver, but he can make suggestions.

As mentioned, they could eliminate max deals which would make it harder to team up. Problem, as msgkings alluded, is not all owners would want that. Though I disagree it would be small market owners who would be opposed. Some would, but the ones opposed would be those more in it for the money without the obscene will to win some owners have - large or small market.

And you could eliminate max deals but still have a cap. Would make it harder to team up. Let's say Durant was fully healthy and Brooklyn had barely enough for 2 max guys. Is Durant gonna take $35 mil to play with Kyrie when he could get $50 mil or more?

 

[dtgold88]

The only thing the league can possibly do is maybe say players can't be traded for the first 2 years of a 4 or 5 year contract.

But situations like AD can't be avoided. AD trade demand actually helped New Orleans IMO. Would you rather a player not tell you he's leaving and leave for nothing when he becomes a FA or would you rather a player give you the heads up that he has no plans to resign with your team? At least you can usually get 3 or 4 players/draft picks in return when this happens

No doubt it helps when it's a player on a team going nowhere. Might not help as much on a team in contention. Even if Cavs knew Lebron's intentions not sure they would have dealt him and thrown in their one chance to win another title.

But at least if they know the team can make that choice.

 

[trojanfan12]

The only thing the league can possibly do is maybe say players can't be traded for the first 2 years of a 4 or 5 year contract.

The problem, imo, would be getting the NBAPA to agree to it.

But situations like AD can't be avoided. AD trade demand actually helped New Orleans IMO. Would you rather a player not tell you he's leaving and leave for nothing when he becomes a FA or would you rather a player give you the heads up that he has no plans to resign with your team? At least you can usually get 3 or 4 players/draft picks in return when this happens

I hate public trade demands, at least when the player goes public right away. It limits what a team can get.

I agree that, in the end, AD's trade demand ended up helping NO. But that was because it was a unique situation where the Lakers, even though they didn't really have anyone to compete against, were as desperate to get AD as the Pels were to get something for him. Especially after the debacle at the trade deadline. Normally, with that type of public situation, the team losing the star doesn't get as much as NO got.

Imo, the only time a player should go public with a trade demand is if he has made more than 1 request privately and has been ignored. Outside of that, make your request privately, let the team get as much as they can and live with the results.

 

[bksballer89]

I hate public trade demands, at least when the player goes public right away. It limits what a team can get.

I agree that, in the end, AD's trade demand ended up helping NO. But that was because it was a unique situation where the Lakers, even though they didn't really have anyone to compete against, were as desperate to get AD as the Pels were to get something for him. Especially after the debacle at the trade deadline. Normally, with that type of public situation, the team losing the star doesn't get as much as NO got.

Imo, the only time a player should go public with a trade demand is if he has made more than 1 request privately and has been ignored. Outside of that, make your request privately, let the team get as much as they can and live with the results.

The problem with this IMO is even a private demand is going to eventually go public because of "sources"

If I remember correctly (I could be wrong) but I think PG trade demand from Indy was actually private but sources made it public so trade demands will become public no matter what.

 

[bksballer89]

No doubt it helps when it's a player on a team going nowhere. Might not help as much on a team in contention. Even if Cavs knew Lebron's intentions not sure they would have dealt him and thrown in their one chance to win another title.

But at least if they know the team can make that choice.

Yeah I agree. I Have to think the Warriors knew there was a solid chance KD was gone after this season but they probably wanted to win 1 more title. When you're in title contention then you probably take that risk of keeping the player on the team hoping he can lead to a championship.

 

[trojanfan12]

IF they want to do something they can do it. Well, not Silver, but he can make suggestions.

As mentioned, they could eliminate max deals which would make it harder to team up. Problem, as msgkings alluded, is not all owners would want that. Though I disagree it would be small market owners who would be opposed. Some would, but the ones opposed would be those more in it for the money without the obscene will to win some owners have - large or small market.

And you could eliminate max deals but still have a cap. Would make it harder to team up. Let's say Durant was fully healthy and Brooklyn had barely enough for 2 max guys. Is Durant gonna take $35 mil to play with Kyrie when he could get $50 mil or more?

The problem is that the NBAPA is the strongest union in all of professional sports. So the league is only going to get what the players will agree to.

As for whether or not a player will take $35 million when he can get $50 million...who knows?

The whole point of max deals, etc. was to entice players to stay put and they move anyway even when they can sign where they are for more money per year over more years.

Of course there will always be players who will take the money. But it seems like more of them are figuring out that there isn't a helluva lot that they can buy with $50 million that they can't with $35 million.

 

[dtgold88]

The problem is that the NBAPA is the strongest union in all of professional sports. So the league is only going to get what the players will agree to.

As for whether or not a player will take $35 million when he can get $50 million...who knows?

The whole point of max deals, etc. was to entice players to stay put and they move anyway even when they can sign where they are for more money per year over more years.

Of course there will always be players who will take the money. But it seems like more of them are figuring out that there isn't a helluva lot that they can buy with $50 million that they can't with $35 million.

True, but really there isn't much more than can buy with $35 mil than with $10 mil, so not sure that matters. And if they kept the raises each season like they do now (higher if they stay put), it's a lot more than a $15 mil difference.

 

[trojanfan12]

The problem with this IMO is even a private demand is going to eventually go public because of "sources"

If I remember correctly (I could be wrong) but I think PG trade demand from Indy was actually private but sources made it public so trade demands will become public no matter what.

True, although if I remember right, it was actually Indy that let the cat out of the bag on that one, so that's on them.

Yeah, once a team starts shopping a player, someone is eventually going to say something unless that trade gets made (and made quickly) with the first team that is approached.

Agree though, at the least, as soon as some team figures that they are out of the trade, they're gonna talk. Heck, even if they get approached and aren't interested, someone is likely to talk.

 

[trojanfan12]

True, but really there isn't much more than can buy with $35 mil than with $10 mil, so not sure that matters. And if they kept the raises each season like they do now (higher if they stay put), it's a lot more than a $15 mil difference.

True to a point. If memory serves, when the league created the "max contract" at first, it curbed player movement a bit.

But then players figured out that they can easily make up for the difference of a smaller/fewer years deal with endorsement money alone.

So, my guess would be that you would initially find that players would stay, but they would eventually go back to moving around as they currently are.

Especially if there is still a cap and they learn that if they take all of what they are truly worth, it will leave them with a bunch of G-leaguers as teammates.

 

[dtgold88]

True to a point. If memory serves, when the league created the "max contract" at first, it curbed player movement a bit.

But then players figured out that they can easily make up for the difference of a smaller/fewer years deal with endorsement money alone.

So, my guess would be that you would initially find that players would stay, but they would eventually go back to moving around as they currently are.

Especially if there is still a cap and they learn that if they take all of what they are truly worth, it will leave them with a bunch of G-leaguers as teammates.

Might be how it happens. Not sure. As for when the max was first created, going by memory it seems like Lebron was the first not to stay with his own team....then the floodgates opened.

 

[trojanfan12]

Might be how it happens. Not sure. As for when the max was first created, going by memory it seems like Lebron was the first not to stay with his own team....then the floodgates opened.

Yep, that's how I remember it too. He took all of the "slings and arrows" for it and then others followed suit.

What I find kind of funny is that folks want to claim he created the first "superteam". But the reality is that he didn't.

What he did do was create the first "superteam" that was put together by players agreeing to go to the same team though.

 

[redseat]

Still needs to evaluate the data - One thing the Knicks did not due - Had they signed Kevin Durant, then Irving would have also signed. 35 million was a small gamble that next year they would have been playoff contenders for the first time in something like 20 years?

WEEI made a good point.... All a team has to do is to sign a talented player (like Durant, LeBron etc) and get them to get there friends to join them

 

[redseat]

No, because the general managers still have to negotiate the contracts and be ready for the next duo that is going to contact them. It may appear that they are obsolete, but as a person who has audited thousands of large and small companies such as Kawasaki, Mazda Motor Corporation, Security Pacific Bank before they went out of business, I can sure you they are needed.

Having said that though, the players to a strong degree have taken control of the league. The down side here is in my opinion far too many maximum contracts. That has my concern for the future of the NBA

Yes the Max contracts will kill the NBA.. It will only go higher and it will screw us fans over. not that we aren't getting screwed over by ticket prices currently or anything