The Celtics got good luck in some ways and bad luck in others, as they were able to create their 2024 championship team before the new CBA fully kicked in, but they were unlucky in the sense that they had to break that team up almost immediately. The dreaded second apron came calling, just as everyone knew it would, and the Cs had to largely disassemble their team last summer.
A year later, we’ve seen Boston take things a step further and preemptively trade Jaylen Brown away with three years left on his deal, seeing how difficult it is to put together a championship-caliber roster around two players taking up a combined 70% of the salary cap with Brown and Jayson Tatum.
NBPA pushing back against 2nd apron in wake of Jaylen Brown trade
In the wake of that trade, we’ve seen one of the league’s brightest young stars, Victor Wembanyama, take a potential pay cut to help his team build out the roster and keep the Spurs together. Then, in recent days, we had the NBA Players Association come out and disavow this part of the CBA with the NBPA Director, David Kelly, stating, “The ability to keep teams together, I think, will help fan interest and will still allow for player movement, but allow players to have the decision of staying where they want to stay.”
As a Celtics fan, this drove me a little bit wild to think that the Cs had to be the sacrificial lamb for everyone to realize the problem and then change it before another team has to suffer the same consequences.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver defends 2nd apron
But fear not, because Adam Silver has come out and defended the CBA. When asked about the consequences of the second apron, he claimed, “The purpose of this system is ultimately to create competition throughout the league, and from that standpoint I think the system's working incredibly well.”
The commissioner largely speaks for the owners, and from these comments, it sounds like the most important voices are in favor of this CBA and the apron system. It doesn’t sound like change is on the horizon, or something that the league is even considering at this point. They wanted to create parity and player movement and stifle potential dynasties, and that’s what they’ve done.
Has it made the league better? That’s up for debate, and I think you could make a strong argument for either side. But this is the system we’ve got, and it doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere anytime soon. Which is good news, because the Celtics are going through a downswing that is going to come for other teams awfully soon.
Boston will be ready to come out on the other side and take advantage of this system while other teams have to pay the price. Luckily, we don’t have to worry about anything changing the team’s new master plan.
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