Last night the NBA returned to London as the Detroit Pistons played a home game against New York Knicks. Those you follow my blogs closely or my twitter will know that I'm a massive Piston fan, regularly watching their games online or catch highlights through ESPN so it was amazing to catch them live in the flesh last evening.
While most reports today will focus on what a great show London put on for the NBA and how the American invasion continues or how New York were in a different class to the Pistons. All of which are great topics and I would like to discuss them as well but I'm going to focus on how differently the two teams are built which reflects the current nature of the NBA which favours certain teams.
Even a first time watcher last night will tell you the Knicks are ready to win and go far in the playoffs while the Pistons are a team in development. That would be a true comment the Pistons have 6 players out of its squad of 15 who are in the first or second year in the league while the Knicks have just 1 player. This reflects the experience both teams have making the Knicks far better equipped to win. Now I'm not saying for one minute that the best way to build a team in the NBA is through free agency and trades bringing in veterans rather than through young players in the draft.
In fact I'm more in favour of drafting young talent because of that chance of unearthing a gem and players hold less power the club picks the player rather than the player picking the club. It is what happens next that really annoys me and gives other clubs an advantage over other ones.
Out of the Pistons squad of 15 only 2 were not drafted by the Pistons in comparison to 9 from New York. The reason for this is because unlike the NFL the NBA uses a soft salary cap which means clubs can actually exceed the salary cap.
Some clubs like the New Yorks Knicks a market town who receive lots of national media time and therefore have a great financial income spend over the salary cap and are actually close to the luxury tax bracket. While on the other hand a small market town like Detroit spends the minimum 85% of the salary cap on player wages. Leaving a huge gulf in what the two teams can afford to pay players.
This means two things those small market towns like Detroit when their players who they drafted and worked hard with for the first 4 years of their career come to the end of their rookie contract and need a new contract these small clubs can not afford to keep them. Players have all the power and show no loyalty to the club that drafted them and gave them their chance. The same club can not match a contract put on the table by a larger club and therefore the player moves in free agency to these bigger clubs. Instead the player goes backwards and forwards between two larger market clubs seeing who will pay him the most. Resulting in small market clubs not having the capability to compete in free agency and not being able to hold on to their talented young players when their contracts come to an end.
I blame the current labour deal which is only a year old. It gave far too much power to bigger market clubs and players. I believe it should have just been a hard cap set and more stronger tags placed so clubs do not loose their young talented players at the end of their rookie contracts.
The fear Detroit has it has spent a lot of time loosing while bring on these talented young players like Knight, Monroe and Drummond all of whom they drafted. The fear comes when their rookie contracts run out and Detroit can not match a New York contract offered to the player. Come this time they will not be able to compete financial and these players will leave resulting in Pistons rebuilding again.
Please NBA make it a financial fair league.
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