The NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which took effect last year, was designed specifically to prevent teams from stock-piling superstars. The new CBA rules push back against teams looking to build star-studded rosters or retain multiple high-value contracts. NBA Insider Bobby Marks believes the new CBA will make superteams a thing of the past. However, he believes one team might circumvent the new norm.
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During an interview on the SiriusXM NBA Radio Show, Marks provided insight into how the new CBA rules have impacted teams. He noted that small market teams weren’t affected. However, teams that spent heavily in the past, like the Golden State Warriors and the Miami Heat, took a significant beating. He claimed,
“This new CBA doesn’t allow you to keep dynasties together here.”
Are dynasties done in the NBA?@BobbyMarks42 tells @TheFrankIsola and Ryan McDonough the new CBA makes it tough, but here’s why the OKC Thunder is the one team that has a shot#NBA2KSummerLeague pic.twitter.com/VwCsuZ2yOO
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 15, 2024
The new rules severely punish teams that breach the second apron, a new salary cap threshold. They not only have to sacrifice on possible sign-and-trade scenarios but will also have their drafting capacity severely limited. Teams can no longer aggregate contracts in trades, and cannot onboard more money in contracts than they trade out.
If teams have more than two players on a max contract and acquire a third, they would be closing in on dangerous territory cap-wise. The penalties get worse each year that a team is above the second apron, leaving them no choice other than to trim their roster. This means no team could build a dynasty with the same core, even if they draft and develop their superstars.
However, Marks believes the Oklahoma City Thunder was one team that could be the exception to the norm. He explained that they have enough draft capital to sacrifice a few picks to ensure they retain their superstars. He said,
“Let’s say the [Oklahoma City Thunder] win a championship next year. But because they have so much draft equity they could keep replenishing… I think you can pay Chet[ Holmgren], Jaylen[ Williams], and Shai[ Gilgious Alexander] max money here and maybe that core could be a dynasty here. And add players through the draft, through the lottery, and keep replenishing that.”
Including their own, the Thunder could have as many as 14 first-round picks in the next six drafts. They could incur penalties and continue adding talented players to the roster from the draft while retaining three stars on max contracts. In the last six years, OKC collected draft picks in trades with other teams as if it were a hobby. Now, it could pay dividends in their quest to become a dynasty.
