NBA Players Just Getting Their Way

The Problem

Over the last decade, National Basketball Players have forced their way out of organizations that they are no longer interested in being a part of. One of the first that fled from their organization, which brought major backlash, was of course, the great LeBron James. But, to James’ credit, he waited until he finished his contract. Then, he went to the organization of his choosing during free agency.

There have been other players, more recently, who did not live up to their contracts and forced their way out. The most recent was James Harden, formerly of the Houston Rockets. Harden no longer liked the direction of the franchise and wanted to go to Brooklyn. James got his wish, and Houston got a haul of players and picks in the process. But, it did not settle well with pundits, franchises, players, and fans across the league. Other players like Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Davis have done the same.

Today’s NBA even has players wanting a buyout of their contract, so they can get out of dodge. At the end of the day, small market franchises like the New Orleans Pelicans and Toronto Raptors are getting slighted, while New York and Los Angeles franchises have crazy wealth at their disposal.

Solution

Solutions can be hard to come by with this problem, but here are some ideas. The league should work to penalize players who want out of their contracts, either through trade or buyout. They will not get as much money at their destination either. Lastly, players only get choices of the bottom half of teams to go to. Free agency can still be crazy as it is now, with players going all over during the off-season. But, during the year, there needs to be stability.