http://members.aol.com/apbrhoops/labor.html

...The contract remained unsigned until June of 1996 when the players and owners finalized the deal. The final agreement included:

-unrestricted free agency for all players following the conclusion of their contracts
-a guarantee of 48.04% of all Basketball Related Income to the players, which now included luxury suites, international television and arena signage
-various player exemptions to the cap, with the league keeping the so-called "Larry Bird Exemption" which allowed teams to re-sign their own free agents at any price
-shortening of the college draft to one round, beginning in 1998
-rookie salary cap with a graduated scale depending on the position a player is drafted, allowing him free agency after his third season.

http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Profiles/People_Profile/0,2540,59,00.html

To Fix The Knicks
Can Ernie Grunfeld Bring an NBA Championship Back to New York?

by Kenneth Shouler


...

His plate has been full--overflowing--since the start of the 1995-1996 season. First, the entire National Basketball Association had to await the outcome of the union decertification issue, which threatened to wipe out the NBA season. In February, he had to unload two ordinary but high-priced players, Charles Smith and Doug Christie, to make room under the salary cap to deal for free agents this summer. Then he fired coach Don Nelson and replaced him with a more fiery Jeff Van Gundy, whom he hoped would bring back the Knicks' "identity of defense and rebounding" and their "work ethic." In May, the Knicks made a two-year commitment to Van Gundy, 34, a longtime Knicks assistant coach and protégé of Pat Riley.

...

In an effort to further bolster the team, the Knicks in July signed free-agent guards Allan Houston and Chris Childs and obtained forward Larry Johnson in a trade that sent forward Anthony Mason and Lohaus to the Charlotte Hornets. Houston, 25, addresses the Knicks' perimeter shooting needs and gives them another three-point shooter; last year he averaged 19.7 points per game for the Pistons. Childs, 28, will play point guard for the Knicks after two seasons with the New Jersey Nets. Johnson, 27, is expected to play small forward. In one fell swoop the Knicks likely replaced three-fifths of their old starting lineup.

Posted by eViL:

Posted by Rich:

You are flat out wrong. O'Neal's first season playing for the Lakers was '96-'97. That was the very same year that Houston began playing for the Knicks. Houston was signed as a free agent, and so was Shaq.

First things first, I should have said pre-CBA not pre-cap. the current CBA would have made it a lot more difficult for the Lakers (even armed with cap room) to sign Shaquille O'Neal. Whether it would or would not have happened doesn't matter because it wasn't the bulk of my point anyway. So sure, I'm "flat out wrong" for typing that one sentence, but you didn't address anything else in my post.

The point is that the Lakers had to get under the cap to sign Shaq. That was the only way he was going to be able to join the Lakers. If he didn't sign with the Lakers, they don't win anyone of those championships. You said you were clearing some things up, but your facts were wrong. My point remains valid.

I never said getting under the cap was the ONLY way to assemble a championship team, but if you are unable to draft franchise players who are usually taken in the top three to five picks in the draft, it is the best way to build a championship team, not merely a contender, like Indiana, the Nets, Kings, or Dallas (although Nowitski was drafted at around seven, IIRC).

Yes, there are exceptions to the rule, like the Pistons. They got very lucky. How many people thought that when they traded Grant Hill for a package that included Ben Wallace, that he would turn out to be one of the most dominant players in the NBA?

I hope Isiah is able to pull off a similar building process on the Knicks. My point remains: unless they can get a franchise big man with their expiring contracts (TT's, Penny's, Moochie's, Nazr's) next year, getting under the cap when Houston's, JYD's, and Anderson's contracts expire in three years, is their best opportunity to get one.

Getting under the cap not only enables a team to sign free agents, it also makes completing trades a lot easier.

From my perspective, the soft cap is the worst system in pro sports. If the NBA won't permit unlimited spending, like in MLB, they should have a hard cap like the NFL. It enforces discipline, and prevents people like Layden from making moronic decisions that can destroy a franchise for five or more years.

Posted by eViL:

I respect your points and in no way meant to undermine your opinion. I just felt it was unnessary to make statements such as you're "flat out wrong". When it came to the Heat, you were wrong. They were very fortunate that Anthony Carter and his agent didn't execute his players option:

http://espn.go.com/nba/columns/stein_marc/1577692.html

Essentially, I'm not completely disagreeing, but merely claryifying and hopefully enlightening folks to the fact that there are many paths to success and that judging the current path we are on is presumptious without allowing the appropriate time and events to transpire. We're not in total disagreement, but I'm not 100% faithful to any of these multiple points of view. There's too much that's left to be determined to declare absolute failure or success as an outcome to our teams current plan and direction.

Thanks for the great insight.

Alright, thanks. I retract the "totally wrong" comment.