In the new CBA, the NBA owners apparently want to do away with guaranteed contracts and introduce the era of non-guaranteed contracts so that teams are not handicapped by players that dont perform after getting a big contract. As good as that sounds, its an idea that will not necessarily benefit the NBA. There are a couple of flaws that I see with this idea.
If the owners have the ability to cancel contracts at any time they choose then I assume that players will have the ability to holdout if they believe they are being paid under market value just as players do in the NFL. And unlike the NFL, one player holding out on a NBA team can have drastic results such as whether or not that team will end up making the playoffs or go golfing in mid-April. The attendance numbers for said team will also be affected since majority of the time in the NBA, the higher the number of wins, the higher the attendance numbers.
Also, having non-guaranteed contracts doesnt mean that NBA GMs will get smarter. At the end of the day, the NBA owners are in the position they are in because their GMs opened up the vault and signed players to some horrendous contracts. NBA owners have to learn that you cannot hire ex-NBA players, with minimal business knowledge and training, as GMs and expect them to make decisions that will put more money in your pocket. And what makes anyone think that NBA GMs will not continue to throw around money as they have?
The NFL has non-guaranteed contracts and if we look at their example, teams still have the ability to guarantee some portion of the contracts if they choose to do so. Assuming that is how the way it will be with the new NBA CBA then its not a stretch to say that the NBA GMs could very well start to partly guarantee contracts to lure free agents. Partly guaranteed contracts could mean 10% of the contract, 25%, 50% or even 80% percent so the GMs could put the owners back into a similar position they are in now.
At the end of the day, while non-guaranteed contracts may give the owners more financial flexibility and make players more accountable for the contracts they receive, it is still up to the GMs and the owners to be more fiscally responsible when they hand out contracts. You cannot be giving a player $111 million when your competitor can only offer him $80 million. Financial transactions like these just dont make any sense. If the owners truly want to stop losing money then they need to think twice the next time they agree to another contract guaranteed or non-guaranteed.
