Back in 2023, the NBA introduced a new rule known as the Second Apron. It basically was a way to keep the biggest spending teams in check. If a team’s payroll goes way over the salary cap and passes this second luxury tax line, they lose a lot of flexibility, like not being able to sign certain players, use trade exceptions, or even send out cash in deals.
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In short, it’s the league’s way of making sure super-rich franchises don’t dominate the league every single year.
However, the Second Apron has come under criticism from a large portion of NBA circles. Bill Simmons recently discussed it with Charles Barkley on the latest edition of his podcast. Surprisingly, Chuck was a defender of the rule for one big reason. He is sick of watching super teams be created and destroy the integrity of competition.
“Why do they come out with bullshit rules, Bill?” asked Barkley. “Because all these guys want to play together and not compete. How many great players do they need on one team?”
It wasn’t just a rhetorical question the Hall of Famer was asking, either. He had receipts, specifically what LeBron James did back during “The Decision” and what Kevin Durant did a short time after that when he jumped to the Warriors.
“Because LeBron got all his guys together, KD wanted to go play with the Warriors. Wait, y’all don’t want to win the championship and just compete against each other? Don’t get mad at Adam Silver because y’all want to play together and dominate the league because y’all don’t want to compete,” barked the NBA legend.
There is some truth in what Chuck is stating. In his era, it was all about grinding it out on the court and earning your place in the history books. And along with the glory came the money. Now, you’ve got guys like Ben Simmons who make more money than they are worth because of the new CBA. Yet for some reason, it was LBJ and KD that still ticked Barkley off the most.
“When he started doing his thing with Bosh and Wade, that was the first wave. The second wave was KD going to the Warriors. Adam Silver had to do something. We can’t let one team hoard all the good players. They had Klay, Steph, and Draymond. They didn’t need KD,” he continued with vigor.
Another example that the b-ball icon turned analyst mentioned was the recent Phoenix Suns failure with Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal. “They were paying KD, Beal, and Booker each $60 million. How many good players do you need? This is a bogus rule, I agree with you. But if all these guys don’t want to play together, Adam Silver wouldn’t have to make up rules,” he reiterated.
The real question is how long the Second Apron rule holds steady. Simmons brought up that teams are now purposefully scheming to secure better options, pointing to the OKC Thunder as Exhibit A. The defending champs just broke the bank for SGA and Jalen Williams, but will both those guys be on the Thunder in 5 years?
The business of the NBA is a very different animal from the NBA itself. Silver did have to step in and try and coordinate some of the craziness of the big bucks that are being dished around. So, whether you agree with Barkley about the Second Apron, there’s still going to be goal posts put in place. Hopefully, rules like this don’t outweigh the game that we love.
