Thursday, August 18th, 2011 at 10:35 am  |  87 responses

Michael Jordan in Favor of Hard Salary Cap, Revenue Sharing


The NBA has forbidden team owners and front-office staff from talking about labor issues during the lockout. Michael Jordan, owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, seems to have not gotten the memo. From the Herald Sun: “Jordan, majority owner and operations boss for the Charlotte Bobcats, is banned from elaborating on the rift between owners and players that threatens to destroy the upcoming season. But he insists small-market teams, such as the Bobcats and [Andrew] Bogut’s Bucks, will never be able to compete while the system allows clubs such as the Miami Heat to effectively pounce on free agents with blank cheques. ‘The model we’ve been operating under is broken. We have 22 or 23 teams losing money, (so) I think we have gotta come to some kind of understanding in this partnership that we have to realign,’ Jordan said. ‘I can’t say so much … but I know the owners are not going to move off what we feel is very necessary for us to get a deal in place where we can co-exist as partners. We need a lot of financial support throughout the league as well as revenue sharing to keep this business afloat. We have stars like Bogut who are entitled to certain type of demands. But for us to be profitable in small markets, we have to be able to win ballgames and build a better basketball team.’ Jordan said small-market teams would benefit greatly from a ‘hard’ salary cap, and it would allow clubs such as Milwaukee to plan a future on key players including the Australian centre.”

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  • ham

    MJ can do what ever he wants

  • BostonBaller

    ….

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Is this a joke? It looks like MJ has as much knowledge on how the free agency system works as he does on judging talent.

  • MikeC.

    I guess since there’s a lockout, Jordan can’t be fined for tampering(commenting on other teams’ players that are under contract)?

  • ai come back

    im so confused why is bogut brought up???

  • http://slamonline.com Ugh

    You sure can count on the Herald Sun to print something said off record, totally unrelated to the issue at hand and finding something tangentially jingoistic to tie it back to.
    Top shelf journalism, as always.

  • bon3

    @ai – Probably because Jordan was talking to an Aussie newspaper who presumably lead with a Bogut-tinged question and grouped the small market Bucks and Bobcats together in the same ‘category’ of NBA teams when interviewing MJ.

  • Allenp

    Hard cap. Partially guaranteed contracts. Shorter deals. Different split of the BRI. Exactly how are the owners “negotiating” when their demands have been the same from Day One?

  • LA Huey

    Everyone cites Miami as the problem. The Heat are hardly over the cap when you compare them to the Lakers, Celtics, and Mavericks. Ridiculous how people cite the Heat as having some gargantuan payroll.

  • LA Huey

    Also, as a former superstar who netted $30+ million per year his last couple runs with Chicago (which I think was still bargain for Reinsdorf) is he going to speak up on how the max salary for individual players is unfair?

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Co-sign LA Huey. If MJ was playing today, dude would be making 35+ mill a year and you won’t hear a peep from him but now he’s an owner that made bad decision after bad decision, he wants change?

  • http://itsahardwoodlife.blogspot.com omphalos

    Bogut is mentioned because it’s an Australian newspaper and they always try and make things relevant for Aussies by asking about their most high-profile player.

  • dma

    Well excuse Miami for playing their salary cap situation to get under the cap while remaining competitive and also offering a nightlife filled with more than cold winters, beer and cheese.

    I’m still scratching my head in how Miami was eligible to sign mike miller to the mid level exception since I had that the exception could only be used with teams over the salary cap.

  • John

    As a player, it’d be dumb to turn down that kind of money. As an owner, it’d be dumb to not try and renegotiate the system.

  • Trout

    I’m findig it hard to care at the bilionares and millionares fighting for poor peoples cash …what a joke.

  • bike

    LeBron took a pay cut to play for Miami. How is that pouncing on free agents with blank cheques?

  • Jer dawg

    Watch David Stern turn blind eye because it’s his previous cash cow from back in the 90s. Jordan will probably get warning. I’d be surprised if he is fined.

  • http://Slamonline nbk

    Apparently Michael Jordan is under the impression there is no salary cap…..YOU left Baseball in 96 Mike! A blank check would imply these guys are getting more money then everyone else, when really they make about 60% of the highest paid player in the league’s salary.

  • jbone23

    I understand the argument about the Heat not having a giant salary cap by users here, but part of the problem with small market teams’ lack of success is also the peripheral aspects of a city/team. Places like Miami and LA have another leg up because of the city life and weather in the area. And while that’s not their fault, we can’t just start having teams only in good weather locations. Us folks up North will have no teams soon (Milwaukee stand up [in a warm coat]!)

  • http://bleacherreport.com/articles/791470-lebron-james-vs-dwyane-wade-who-is-the-better-player/page/8 nbk

    It’s funny that people are soooo worried about the market (they should be) but before the decision people were talking about how it doesn’t matter in this day and age, you’ll get your exposure if your great. That’s what they were saying about Cleveland. — And you know what else people were saying before the decision? That the league was growing and making money. — And the league was smaller at the time, with the same exact financial structure.

  • LA Huey

    ^I remember that. “LeBron doesn’t need to go to NY because a superstar is a superstar”.

  • T-Money

    what’s that blank check he’s talking about?! every team under the cap were able to offer as much, if not more, than miami. miami is not even a big market per se, it’s just a nice city to live in. like san diego in football. sorry mike there is no hard cap that’s going to make raleigh and milwaukee more attractive than miami, all things being equal.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Y’all acting like you expected Jordan to make an intelligent well-thought out comment. Come on now.

  • http://bleacherreport.com/articles/791470-lebron-james-vs-dwyane-wade-who-is-the-better-player/page/8 nbk

    Allen – He’s an owner. He probably shouldn’t have made any comment, actually I bet he gets fined for saying what he did, I didn’t expect him to speak on the matter at all, especially to an Australian news outlet.

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    Since nobody else bothered to say so, I will: At least we know where MJ stands considering he’s the only person who’s been on both sides of this issue.
    Carry on with the anti-Jordan speak…

  • LA Huey

    ^filling in for Bull22, I see.

  • T-Money

    BC: um, everybody knew where he stood. he’s a FORMER player, and a CURRENT owner.

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    @LA Huey: Now, you know better than that.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    MJ is about his money. It was a given where he stood.

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    @T-Money: Uhm, nobody knew where he stood because he never said anything. And I find your comment especially funny considering you’ve long argued against speculation and assumption without factual evidence.
    See Delonte West and Glo James.

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    @Allen: MJ could’ve been one of those owners who “allegedly” wants to have a season and wants to get a deal done. Nothing is a “given.”

  • John

    ^Sure, but the GOAT is owner of a small-market team with a history of making bad decisions. One can safely assume where he stands in the labor dispute.

  • http://bleacherreport.com/articles/791470-lebron-james-vs-dwyane-wade-who-is-the-better-player/page/8 nbk

    He’s the owner of the Bobcats. Him being in support of revenue sharing, was a given.

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    There used to be a time where “safe assumptions” didn’t exist around here. Have I been gone that long?

  • John

    ^So factual evidence is necessary to proceed onward in any situation now? How the hell do you pickup women?

  • T-Money

    bc: you’re seriously going to lump the delonte thing and this together? and if you want to play that game how was the delonte thing a safe assumption? based on mj’s track record (he’s all about his money, all the time), wasn’t this a safe(r) assumption? and the way you brought up the fact that he’s been on both sides of the issue kinda implied that his opinion had more weight, because he could see it from both sides, correct? well, i beg to differ, mj always sees it from his bottom line. he made 36 mil in his last year with the bulls (granted, he was always underpaid) but does that lead you to believe he would have been in favor of a hard cap then?

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    I see the point on assumptions.
    But, we are talking about Michael Jordan!
    If there is something that boy cares about beyond money, basketball, his daddy and p)ussy, I’d like to hear about it. LOL.
    Nah, seriously, I never even considered that Jordan would stand up for the players. Once he stopped playing, he stopped caring about the players.

  • T-Money

    bc: as i’ve said, the glo and delonte thing got deaded when bron and delonte hugged and talked after game 5. people who still want to speculate after that just want it to be true. no man hugs a former teammate who supposedly did that on the down low. / and also, the owners who “allegedly” want to save the season are the ones who don’t give a eff about a hard cap and/or have a legit chance of a title. i’ve heard rumors about cuban, arison, dolan and buss wanting a season. again, very predictable. why would anyone advocate for anything else than their personal interest?

  • http://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/32/basketball-valuations-11_Charlotte-Bobcats_322435.html nbk

    Its not even an assumption. The Bobcats are worth 284 Million Dollars – The Lakers for Example are worth 584 Million Dollars. Anyone that knows how much Michael Jordan is obsessed with winning can figure out he will be in favor of anything that gives him a chance to be competitive. — In the least, its a given that Micahel Jordan will be in support of any changes that allow him to keep his team & avoid losing money. You can click my name for Forbes financial outlook of the Charlotte Bobcats & any other team in the league.

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    T-Money, it’s not really about the Glo and Delonte thing at all. I just used that as an example.
    And besides the usual suspects (owners who have legit shots at titles), who knows, there could be more owners out there who actually want to play, but until they say something (which they aren’t allowed to), we shouldn’t just blindly assume that they’re all on this unified front.

  • T-Money

    nbk: this is about money as you pointed out but it has nothing to do with competitiveness. small market owners want to be in the black and not in the red. and that’s fair, they’re pushing for their own interest. but fans should not be fooled. if nobody can go over the cap and everybody offers the same money – isn’t that even MORE of an incentive to go LA, NY, Miami, Chicago? in the current system, small markets can overpay for joe johnson, rudy gay, etc. if the money is the same everywhere, fringe stars and solid role players will all sign for the same 6-7 teams. that personally does not bother me as i don’t care about parity, but let’s no kid ourselves – the lockout is about money, not competitiveness.

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    For example, the Grizzlies are a small market team that isn’t very profitable, but you saw their Playoff run. You think they want to lose a season? What about OKC?

  • http://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/32/basketball-valuations-11_Charlotte-Bobcats_322435.html nbk

    I didn’t say it like the lockout is about competitiveness. I said it like Michael Jordan is about competitiveness. — And then I said, in the least he’s interested in keeping his team and avoiding losing money. Meaning that (even if I butchered the saying and totally said the opposite of what I meant) Michael Jordan is worried about making his money first, but will also be in support of anything that gives him a chance to remain competitive. — And about your if everyone was making the same amount they would all go to the same 6 or 7 teams comment, uhm no. That’s the whole point of the salary cap, and a hard cap at that. Too keep teams from hogging talent.

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    To say that the lockout is solely about money is a half-truth. Yes, it’s about money, but owners also want to have winning teams because winning teams make more money.

  • LA Huey

    ^Agree. If it was just about money, the owners would all just follow the Sterling formula.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    I don’t see how a salary cap improves smaller teams chances to win rings.
    The best players will sign the best deals, and likely stay in the best markets, If you can’t exceed your cap to offer the best players more money, then what incentive do they have to stay with your team when things are rough?
    What we’ve seen regularly in the NFL is that teams are only good if they draft well, and can manage to underpay their best players for a few years. Once people get a chance to get paid, most teams break up.
    This is about money. Restricting player movement and instituting a hard cap will not improve parity. It hasn’t in the NFL. The same bums teams are always the same bum teams for the most part until they finally get new front offices and make good drafts. Nothing to do with free agency.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Huey
    If they all had the same market base as Sterling, they would.
    But in LA you can make money with a barebones payroll because people have enough disposable income to still come to games. That ain’t the case in New Orleans, or with the Bucks. In those cities, disposable income is harder to come by, so unless your team has a great relationship with fans, which the NBA does not, people don’t want to come unless you’re winning.
    Sterling can fill his house even while losing. That ain’t an option in most places.

  • John

    ^Co-sign the Sterling example.
    Salary caps may not be intended to create parity, but instead give superstar players the option to choose between a fat contract or chase rings. In Miami’s case, stars had to take paycuts to chase rings. Not all superstars would make the same choices. I’ve argued before that this is a superstar-centric league, and nothing’s changed. Salary caps increase the odds for small-market teams to sign big name players – not necessarily to contend for rings, but put butts in seats.

  • John

    Forgot to add that putting butts in seats helps immensely towards a ballclub’s bottom line and merchandise sales, but I figure that’s a given.

  • http://www.gil1906.com Pve_2

    I’d really like to hear about where the owners heads are at regarding revenue sharing. That’s a big deal and a potentially large source of income for smaller teams that does NOT involve the players at all.

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