Are NBA Buyouts Unfair?

(clutchpoints.com)

One of the reasons the NBA is the most entertaining organization year round is because of important dates within the regular season and offseason. Last Thursday marked the NBA Trade Deadline. The Deadline is one of the best soap opera days of the year for a basketball fan. This year, a record 16 trades happened on the day to help multiple teams get better. After all the dust of the NBA Trade Deadline settles, us fans are on to Buyout Season.

(Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images)

Buyout Season isn’t as exciting, but it can help contending teams get better late in the year without having to give up a player. For those that don’t know, a buyout is when an organization agrees to pay the remainder of a player’s contract if the player agrees to give back part of the money. If agreed upon, that player is no longer under contract anywhere and becomes an unrestricted free agent. For example, Blake Griffin’s contract with Detroit was absurd and untradeable. Both sides agreed they didn’t want to be in business anymore and the Pistons paid Blake $25.6 million of his remaining $38.9 million. The player and the team have to agree on the amount given back, so it’s not like Griffin is being shorted. If you no longer have to be on the team you’re under contract with, you can leave, but you have to pay back part of the contract because you aren’t finishing part of the contract. It’s pretty simple.

(nba.com)

With the Brooklyn Nets getting Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge in the buyout market, a question regarding league fairness has come into play. Multiple anonymous NBA GMs have reportedly said “it helps the rich get richer” and that it is “unfair for small market teams.” While I do understand both sides of the story, I don’t believe it’s an issue of small market or big market. I believe it’s an issue of being good or bad. The other notable buyout was All-Star Center Andre Drummond being signed by the Defending Champion Los Angeles Lakers. Obviously another good team. We are in an era of big markets being good. The best teams in basketball are in Los Angeles, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia. Buyout candidates are going to be looking to go to good teams because are you stupid why wouldn’t they?!?! They’re signing a contract for half a season. Why would they sign with someone who’s not going to make the Playoffs?

(New York Post)

A couple years ago buyout candidates were being signed by Cleveland and Oklahoma City because the Cavs and Thunder were good. Those two teams are very small market, with OKC being the smallest in the league. GMs of bad teams don’t have anything to complain about with buyouts. Most bad teams don’t sign buyout players anyway because it’s too late in the season and they want to stay bad for the draft. If you’re a GM and your team can’t lure any free agents, its probably not because of your market. It’s probably because your team sucks. Just ask James Dolan!