The NBA is always changing. On the court and off.
The latest shift? The new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the League and its players association.
With luxury taxes, hard caps, first and second aprons, the ability to construct a roster is much different now than it was even five years ago.
Obviously, the star power and possibility of it, always trumps all. The path to contention is null and void without a clear-cut No. 1 option. However, equally as important under the new CBA is cost controlled talent.
Team’s will need to find ways to build a roster on the margins and on the cheap if they hope to secure its top end talent long-term. That is where a bundle of NBA Draft picks comes in handy to grade team’s futures.
No, not to package them together to land another star like in yesteryear. But to grab high-quality, pro-ready, rotational players in the NBA Draft.
The biggest break a team in contention can get is the ability to have a contributor on a rookie-scale contract to take some of the pressure off the team’s payroll.
The 2025 NBA Draft is the first draft where things get serious with this new CBA implemented. Now, everyone knows the rules front-and-back and teams are already bracing for the fall out from the updated agreement.
In previous draft classes, there was a priority put on upside and that oftentimes correlated to age. The younger the better, the mystery box aspect of said prospect elevated them higher than a player who was closer to a finished product with a higher floor than the alternative.
That might, and arguably should, shift starting with the 2025 NBA Draft.
With teams picking from the middle-to-late stages of the opening round, why not nab an older prospect who shows promise of making a Day 1 impact over the toolsy youngster that might bottom out in the league if he doesn’t hit a near top-1 percentile outcome?
There is no greater advantage under this new CBA than getting a highly valuable player on the cheap. It is what separates teams when they are hoping to keep cores together. Organizations can get ahead of the curve with this strategy.
