Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver sits during the first half of the NBA game against the Golden State Warriors at Talking Stick Resort Arena on February 12, 2020 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns defeated the Warriors 112-106 (photo by Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
With all the success for the NBA in its bubble these days, it’s about solving the next problem.
One of the biggest upcoming is planning and then finalizing a salary cap for next season, something that is infinitely more difficult during a pandemic.
The league wanted a quick turnaround for the 2020-21 season starting in December after the NBA Finals concluded in mid-October, along with the draft and free agency shortly thereafter.
As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports, however, that everyone could be dismissed in the hope of those projections, including some of the potential earnings of fans in the building.
The league and union’s biggest motivating force to delay the start of next season comes with the hope that teams can finally find ways to get fans back safely to arenas for games, an integral part of the league’s revenue stream. . Commissioner Adam Silver says game night revenue accounts for around 40% of the league’s revenue.
Wojnarowski explains how things could spiral without those income.
The financial realities of fanless craters championship revenues in arenas would have a dramatic impact on teams, especially smaller market franchises that depend on takings and revenue sharing from large markets like Los Angeles, New York and Golden State. In a scenario where gate entrances are gone or severely limited, big market teams will be limited in the money they can share with those in smaller cities.
That could affect how teams approach free agency in this upcoming offseason, something ESPN’s Brian Windhorst floated on for the Phoenix Suns. Bickley & Marotta of Arizona Sports.
“The rumor around the Suns is that they intend to cut their spending,” he said Tuesday.
Windhorst also cited the sale of the Suns’ G League team to the Detroit Pistons and the shares of owner Robert Sarver’s company falling.
“We are entering a year where there are some teams facing tens of millions of losses,” he said. “Depending on whether you can sell tickets, there are teams that could suffer 30, 40, 50 million losses next year. The difference between $ 10 million in losses and $ 30 million in losses could mean a $ 20 million player. “
That $ 20 million for the Suns could theoretically go to someone like next free agent guard Fred VanVleet, who they’ve been linked to by Atletico Shams Charania, but Windhorst doesn’t see him because of what he mentioned.
“I would be flabbergasted if that were the case,” he said of a potential chase by the Suns.
Now, a lot of this is based on uncertainty and the plans will start to get more concrete once the numbers are more concrete. And even the 8-0 of the Suns bubble could change the thinking.
“Maybe that was the plan and they saw how they played in Orlando and maybe they pumped the brakes on that,” Windhorst said.
Regardless, it’s an issue any team could face next season, and it’s the biggest unknown for the championship once this season’s champion is crowned.
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