CBA Intel and What It Means Going Forward

HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto and Yossi Gozlan share new intel on the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement and what it means for the league going forward on the latest HoopsHype podcast episode.

For more interviews with players, coaches, and media members, be sure to like and subscribe to the HoopsHype podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere else you listen to podcasts. Listen to the podcast above or check out some snippets of the conversation in a transcribed version below.

1:50 New second tax apron intel

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Yossi Gozlan: The second apron is a huge change. It’s going to change a lot of the way teams go about building their teams. Teams are going to have to plan ahead more, and they’re not going to be able to do a lot of the things that they’ve done to try and speed up the process. You’re going to have to be more careful… If you’re going to try to have a title window, things are going to get expensive. Even if you’re committed to spending, it’s going to be hard to extend your window when you’re going to be limited in the ways you can add depth. If you’re over the second apron, you don’t have a mid-level exception. You can only increase payroll by re-signing your own players, signing draft picks, and signing minimum players. Automatically, that’s going to increase the value of first-round picks.

If you’re a team like OKC, Utah, or San Antonio and you’ve been hoarding all these picks and got a lot of criticism for it, yeah, you can’t draft all these players, but once they’re ready to compete like OKC who’s about to make the next step, they’re always going to have a chance to replenish their depth. They’re never going to have an issue trying to surround Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Josh Giddey, and everyone else (Chet Holmgren) with more talent because they’ve got extra first-round picks to either make selections with or trade them for veterans they need. Teams like that are…