NBA Considering Franchise Tag

Added on May 12, 2011 by Scott in

NBA

In an effort to prevent what happened last summer when LeBron James and Chris Bosh took their talents to Miami to form a super-team, the NBA has proposed the addition of a Franchise Tag in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The tag would increase incentives for elite players to remain with their current teams instead of exiting via free agency.

SI.com reported how the rule would work once it’s implemented.

A team would be allowed to designate one player for preferential contractual treatment, including more overall money, more guaranteed money and at least one extra year on his contract. A player would have to agree to such a designation. It is designed to work as an incentive to get a player to remain with his team rather than as a roadblock to free agency, the sources said.

Unlike the system used in the NFL, teams would not be allowed to prevent a player from leaving by utilizing the tag designation. This is a major distinction because making the designation optional would prevent bad blood between owners and players. In fact, the continuation of the Franchise Tag remains a sticking point in the NFL’s ongoing labor strife.

If money is indeed a star player’s one and only desire, then this might go a long way in keeping guys from smaller markets like Cleveland and Orlando from jumping ship to places like New York and Los Angeles. It’s unlikely many teams would take issue with a tag since it would only be used on the the league’s biggest names.

However, if winning championships is what motivates the league’s elite, then a tag won’t make much difference. Lest we forget, LeBron traded cash for a chance to capture the title that eluded him in Cleveland. Coveted free agents like Dwight Howard and Chris Paul could easily do the same.

Source: CBSSports.com