The Growing Circumvention Problem
On the Gary Trent contract, the updates on the Aspiration situation, and how salary cap circumvention could become a larger-scale issue if it doesn't stop now.
The NBA offseason is mostly done, but there are still several major topics hanging over Las Vegas. The biggest looming question is LeBron James’ next team. His decision will allow teams like the Cavaliers and Warriors to complete their offseasons and could open more avenues for free agents like Jonathan Kuminga.
After that, the main topic dominating conversations in Vegas — the Kawhi Leonard deal being held up and the Gary Trent Jr. contract — have to do with salary cap circumvention.
This is not the first time the NBA has dealt with multiple major violations of the CBA. Roughly 10 years ago, the league was dealing with rampant tampering. The CBA prohibits teams and upcoming free agents from negotiating contracts before the start of free agency. Tampering also extends to teams discussing potential future contracts with players who are under contract with other teams. Team personnel can even be fined simply for publicly commenting on a player who is not on their team.
The speed at which contracts were being agreed to ahead of free agency accelerated to the point that there was no logical explanation other than tampering. Too many deals were already done by the time negotiations were officially allowed to begin. It was obvious both sides were engaging in contract talks well before the opening of free agency, and several signings over the years were even reported before they were allowed to be. Teams were penalized for it, including the Knicks, who lost a second-round pick for tampering with Jalen Brunson.
While tampering is against the rules, it is also a natural byproduct of the times. As technology advances, communication advances with it. It only makes sense that a team or player representative would get ahead of free agency to see what options are available. And if someone else is doing it, then it becomes difficult not to do the same. The market now has to be assessed 365 days a year because of how competitive it is.
The NBA understands that dynamic and adjusted its rules in the 2023 CBA to be more lenient. Teams can now negotiate with their own free agents as soon as the Finals end and can even come to an agreement. One could say the league has accepted tampering, but it has really just redefined it. The NBA cannot fully police communication, nor does it seem to want to. The unwritten understanding is simple: don’t publicly report agreements with free agents who are not on your roster before June 30, and you’re fine.
The reality is that salary cap circumvention is starting to become the slippery slope that tampering was back then. The methods and implementation may be difficult for the NBA to penalize teams without proof beyond a reasonable doubt that they circumvented the cap. If the league’s due process cannot identify circumvention and punish it appropriately, and teams do not stop now, then this is on the fast track to becoming normalized.
