http://www.pistonsforum.com/lm-coons...alary-cap-faq/

To see changes from the previous CBA, be sure to check out the appendix.

__________________
Momma was queen of the mambo, Poppa was king of the congo, deep down in the jungle, I start banging my first bongo
Every monkey like to be, in my place instead of me, cause I'm the king of bongo baby, I'm the king of bongo bong
-Manu Chao

Some highlights of the 2005 NBA CBA include

* The time to match an offer sheet extended to your own Restricted Free Agents has been reduced from 15 days to 7.

* Luxury Tax is in effect every season of this new CBA. Previously Luxury Tax only kicked in if the total of league salaries exceeded the league wide salary cap threshold.

* In order to be eligible for draft, US players must be 19 years old and one year removed from high school, or International players must be 19 years old in the calendar year of the draft.

* Teams must have 13 men on their roster (previously 12). The league guarantees an average of 14 players per team. The first 12 are players are considered active with regards to playing status. Additional players are automatically considered inactive, with rosters being submitted prior to each game.

* Stays on the the injured reserve (inactive) previously were a 5 game minimum. Under the new CBA, all inactive status players are now game-to-game decisions.

* Teams can add 125% plus $100,000 of the salaries they trade away (previously 155% + 100k).

* If a player holds out or fails to report following a trade, they can be fined or suspended for conduct detrimental to the league. We'll call this the "Alonzo Mourning Rule".

* Traded Players who are waived by their new team cannot be re-signed by the team that traded them until 30 days during the season or 20 days in the offseason has passed. We'll call this one the "Joe Dumars Rule".

* Rookie scale contracts are still 4 years in length, however years 3 and 4 are team options (previously only year 4 was a team option).

* Contract max lengths have reduced from 6 to 5 years. For Larry Bird Exception contracts 7 years to 6.

* Raises have been reduced from 12.5% to 10.5% for Larry Bird and Early Bird Exception free agents. All other contracts are now allowed only 8% year-to-year raises (previously 10%).

* Signing bonuses are no longer applied (for salary cap purposes) evenly across all years of the contract length. Instead, the signing bonus is allocated based upon the value of each individual year.

* Roster bonuses (ie. reporting at a certain date, or being on the roster at a certain date) and incentives for eligible games are eliminated.

* Offer sheets to restricted free agents must be 2 years in length. If the team that holds the player's rights has offered the maximum qualifying offer, the offer sheet must be for a minimum of 3 years.

Thanks for the "heads up" Micro.

"Joe Dumars rule". lol... yeah he was pretty good at the wink wink deals.

I'll have to research the signing bonus stip.... I'll assume it only relates to new contracts... this bonus effects trade kickers.

Some light reading for a Saturday afternoon

I think the "Alonzo" rule is a great one. I think every league should have a rule like that. The inmates are running the asylum a bit too much in professional sports these days.

The owners aren't perfect either, with their heavily backloaded contracts that you'll never see go the distance.

Every league should have a hard cap like the NFL. The "luxury tax" in MLB is a rediculous joke and the one in the NBA is rediculously complicated and ineffective.

Hey Jammer,

I think the NBA has the best situation. Teams can retain their players and you can over spend if you have the money.

The NFL is a crappy deal because no team loses money (some franchises just suck forever) and the players have no leverage in negotiations basically making every contract "void-able".

The shortening of contract lengths and the reduction in annual raise amounts shows that the NBA is committed to reducing those "heavily backloaded" deals.

This is a good CBA for the players and the league. Of the 4 major sports, the NBA has the best relationship between Player's Union and League Head Office.

__________________
Momma was queen of the mambo, Poppa was king of the congo, deep down in the jungle, I start banging my first bongo
Every monkey like to be, in my place instead of me, cause I'm the king of bongo baby, I'm the king of bongo bong
-Manu Chao

Pretty interesting read here.

It's an interview with Larry Coon, the CBA FAQ guy.

Well worth the read. This guy is fanatical in a positive way.

Great article Micro!

I don't know if its just me, but I find the NBA CBA to be the most confusing of them all.