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The NBA has a salary cap but that hasn't stopped a handful of teams from dominating while the others see a 2-year spurt of success followed by a drop into medio

The NBA has a salary cap but that hasn't stopped a handful of teams from dominating while the others see a 2-year spurt of success followed by a drop into mediocrity. A large part of the problem in the NBA is that most team managers do a crappy job of building a team (and the fact that expansion has diluted the talent pool). The only teams that see continuous success are those that either have stellar management or have a huge market + a management unit that doesn't actively shoot themselves in the foot. A salary cap is a good start but it won't be enough. Cheap team owners like those the Pirates have will always be reluctant to shell out money in order to advance the team.

sjs382 16y ago
> A large part of the problem in the NBA is guaranteed contracts (which is magnified by poor management). A team can be crippled for 5 years by a bad contract, something that cant happen in other leagues. The talent pool isn't the issue. The talent has gotten better over the years.
- statictype 16y ago
  The talent pool isn't the issue. The talent has gotten better over the years. I meant dilution of talent caused by league expansion. There are more teams now and so, the chance of each team loading up with multiple good players becomes smaller. (A certain South-Florida based team not withstanding) I agree with guaranteed contracts. It's harmful to the team, especially when the team is run by numbskulls.
mattmaroon 16y ago
The NBA has a soft cap. The soft cap is better than no cap, but it's not at all the same as a hard cap like the NFL or NHL.
- statictype 16y ago
  Well I believe the purpose of the softcap was (at least partially) to allow players to stay with a single team. I'm not sure how well it works though. Is player migration because of salary an issue in the NFL/NHL?
  - mattmaroon 16y ago
    To obtain parity you want players moving to obtain higher salaries. That's how it works in the NFL to a large extent. It's why it's hard for a team to remain dominant for more than a few years, and why there's nobody doing there what the Lakers are now doing in the NBA.

sjs382 16y ago

> A large part of the problem in the NBA is guaranteed contracts (which is magnified by poor management). A team can be crippled for 5 years by a bad contract, something that cant happen in other leagues. The talent pool isn't the issue. The talent has gotten better over the years.

statictype 16y ago
The talent pool isn't the issue. The talent has gotten better over the years. I meant dilution of talent caused by league expansion. There are more teams now and so, the chance of each team loading up with multiple good players becomes smaller. (A certain South-Florida based team not withstanding) I agree with guaranteed contracts. It's harmful to the team, especially when the team is run by numbskulls.

mattmaroon 16y ago

The NBA has a soft cap. The soft cap is better than no cap, but it's not at all the same as a hard cap like the NFL or NHL.

statictype 16y ago
Well I believe the purpose of the softcap was (at least partially) to allow players to stay with a single team. I'm not sure how well it works though. Is player migration because of salary an issue in the NFL/NHL?
- mattmaroon 16y ago
  To obtain parity you want players moving to obtain higher salaries. That's how it works in the NFL to a large extent. It's why it's hard for a team to remain dominant for more than a few years, and why there's nobody doing there what the Lakers are now doing in the NBA.