Mark Bartelstein: I Hate NBA’s New CBA

Prominent agent Mark Bartelstein was asked to assess how he views the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement that has become more restrictive for teams to sign and acquire players if they are above the first or second apron.

“My initial take from where I sit is I hate it,” said Bartelstein on the Hoop Collective Podcast. “Because it’s restrictive and takes away… In the world I live in, I want flexibility for my clients. I want player movement. I want to be able to engage with all 30 teams. We were able to do that under the old CBA because you could engage all 30 teams, but they were restricted in what they can do. Now, they are far more restricted. Some teams you cannot even engage with other than maybe a minimum deal. Even the Knicks couldn’t even do that to begin the season.

“From that standpoint, I’m not a big fan. I understand the logic behind it. I understand what Adam [Silver] is trying to accomplish. He wants parity. He wants to create as much equal competition to win a championship as possible. I personally disagree a little bit with him on what is best for the league because I think where you create the most interest in the NBA is not during the season, it’s in the offseason. That’s where you create the most interest. That’s where fans buy season tickets. That’s where sponsors jump in because they see ‘Wow, this team made this move, that team made that move. They’re improved.’ People jump on board and get excited.

“If you’re taking a bunch of teams whose ownership wants to be competitive and wants to spend money and wants to give their fans a chance to win, and you’re not allowing them to do that. Or you’re making it so restrictive and the penalties are so punitive, I don’t think that’s great for the game.

“Adam’s counter to that is he thinks ‘If I can create 30 teams with an equal chance to win a championship, we’re going to have a much more compelling season. Many more fan bases being engaged throughout the year.’

“We’ll see. We’re just getting started. Time will tell. From that standpoint as a player, business is about leverage. Leverage comes from choices. If your choices are diminished, then as a player, you have less leverage. That’s part of the problem right now with the new CBA.”

Bartelstein represents Bradley Beal, Kyle Lowry, Michael Porter Jr., Keegan Murray and many others.