2011 NBA LOCKOUT

[Glenn]

Lots of talk today about the NBA going with a "franchise player" tag like the NFL's.

Hmm.

[lospistones]

Lots of talk today about the NBA going with a "franchise player" tag like the NFL's.

Hmm.

Was about to suggest as much.

[Glenn]

The Pistons will apparently be exempt, though.

I'll let someone else deliver the punchline.

[Vinny]

Maybe they can add a "Sacred Cow" Tag for us.

[Pharaoh]

Can someone please explain how the "franchise player" tag works in the NFL - not a big NFL fan. Will watch if I'm bored and it's on but that's very rare

[Vinny]

Every team can name one of their UFAs a year their "Franchise Player". That player loses his free agency and is paid a salary equivalent to the average of the top 5 (I think 5) players at their position for one year. The next year the player is an UFA again and the team can once again put the tag on if they want.

[Tahoe]

^ 5

[Tahoe]

^ off the top.

[Pharaoh]

So essentially your best UFA gets screwed out of a long term contract?

Let's say we did that to Tayshaun - he gets the average of the top 5 SF's for 1 season, then becomes UFA again?

And then you tag him again, which gives him the average of the top 5 SF's for another season, before you do it again and again...

For how long? As long as you wish?

Does the player have any say at all?

[Glenn]

Cheesehead Sports Nut (Chicago, IL)
It seems like the NBA is in real financial trouble. I understand why teams hand out big contracts to superstars like LeBron James and Amar'e Stoudemire because those guys sell tickets. On the other hand, mid-level guys don't really real sell tickets. Keeping that in mind, why did so many teams use their mid-level exception to sign marginal starters like Drew Gooden and Hakim Warrick to long-term deals? Gooden and Warrick do not sell tickets and are locked in long-term to expensive contracts. The rumors are that the NBA is pushing for a hard cap, which would make the mid-level exception deals mentioned above look pretty bad. How do you reconcile the financial trouble that NBA teams claim that they are in with the mid-level exception contracts handed out in the off-season?

Ric Bucher (1:45 PM)
The NBA is not in financial trouble. The mid-level exceptions are going to go away. And the reason the mid-levels have been bad is because teams have used them to their max to sign guys other teams didn't want. It's not the vehicle, it's the way it has been driven. The owners now want a system that assures no matter how fast they take a corner or cross the double yellow line, they can't crash the car. And they'll probably get it.