[NBA] Trade Deadline Season 2026 Open Thread

Yeah, fans should not be fist pumping " YES, THIS GETS US OUT OF THE LUXURY TAX" in relation to their team

Indeed. I've made myself understand as many of the current cap rules as I can stomach, but I hate thinking of the game that way. I'm compelled by team-building process. I'm compelled by developmental process. I'm not compelled by the extraordinary salary cap gymnastics necessary for franchises to create savings. It's just... "kill me now" stuff.
 

This could come back to bite the Pacers in the ass

It's also going to incentivize them to lean into their tank even harder to ensure best odds of retaining a top-4 pick. League won't do a damn thing about all the rest days they're about to give healthy players, but it might end up being a flashpoint that forces rule changes around this sh*t.
 
I maintain that the current CBA is just plain bad for the league as far as the product is concerned. It stifles front office creativity and forces media/fan engagement to be focused on all the wrong things. It seems like it's doing what it's supposed to; save the owners from themselves. But that certainly doesn't make the league any more compelling or the trade deadline any more interesting.
My biggest complaint would be that homegrown (drafted) talent should somehow be excluded. Give some sort of maximum or regular scheduled salary increase for players that stay with the team that drafts them and all other transactions go into a hard cap that has no exclusions.

Why punish teams for drafting well though. Outside of the fact that OKC would be unbeatable for the next 20 years if they aren't restricted from keeping everyone. But again that seems totally arbitrary and unfair.
 
My biggest complaint would be that homegrown (drafted) talent should somehow be excluded. Give some sort of maximum or regular scheduled salary increase for players that stay with the team that drafts them and all other transactions go into a hard cap that has no exclusions.

Why punish teams for drafting well though. Outside of the fact that OKC would be unbeatable for the next 20 years if they aren't restricted from keeping everyone. But again that seems totally arbitrary and unfair.

"I've drafted a bunch of excellent players, but I'll never be able to afford to pay them all" is just about the dumbest GM reality to occupy. I don't mind cap restrictions that create opportunities for talent to move around the league, but this CBA is just forcing teams to make choices they shouldn't have to make, and the middle-class of the league suffers because nobody can afford to pay them what they're worth when a franchise has to tie up all its money in the talent that actually moves the needle. I really can't imagine anybody is going to be particularly satisfied by the status quo once 2030 rolls around and CBA negotiations pick up once again.
 
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