Griffin 'Led To Believe' CBA Will Benefit Pelicans
NEW ORLEANS- New Orleans Pelicans Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin knows this organization is still figuring things out around a championship core that has yet to play many games together. This year's injury-plagued squad did not seem quite ready for the front office to push the chips all-in for a big trade, with Griffin admitting at the February deadline, "I believe when it’s time to really go all in on something, we will."
Well, the leaked portions of the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) might help push ahead that timeline for the Pelicans. Griffin detailed how "with all of the media accounts that are out there now you are kind of led to believe that the CBA may help teams in our position."
As far as how aggressive or passive the team must be with the coming "tweaks" around Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, these adjustments to the league's CBA parameters greatly affect how the team will move forward this summer. More than the free agent pool or the NBA Draft Lottery odds in fact.
Apr 5, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Trey Murphy III (25) reacts to a foul on Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks (24) that makes him go out the game during overtime at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
"I think part of it is...Not part of it. I would say far more of it is connected to the CBA and what it really is going to allow us to do...In terms of how you put the right things around that, that's going to have a lot more to do with how much room we have to work with," Griffin said during exit interviews.
"The CBA has been changed. Parts of it have been leaked out but we don't really know one of our big challenges this offseason. When I talk about the things we are going to have to do differently, we're going to have to learn that (the CBA). We've been working under a totally different set of rules and team building is based almost entirely on the gap you can create between the cap and the tax."
That gap's importance cannot be understated. Griffin told the story upon his introductory press conference when hired of how this front office came into the job with a "blank check" from Gayle Benson. However, the Pelicans are one of two franchises to never pay a luxury tax.
"You're ability to do things to get better really hinges upon that (gap between the cap and tax). So with all of the media accounts that are out there now, you are kind of led to believe that the CBA may help teams in our position. That we may actually be able to keep a core together and not have to choose between one good young player and another," Griffin explained.
The team's leading executive hopes "that's true once we dive into it. The CBA and our ability to navigate in a sustainable way is everything to team building in a situation like ours where we are not going triple up the spending of other teams in the league. It matters a lot."
The Pelicans can find a way to avoid the luxury tax for one more season but contract extensions for Herb Jones and Trey Murphy are just around the corner. That tax threshold is a double-edged sword in many ways but the new CBA has a few mechanisms that benefit the Pelicans just in the way the larger market teams are restricted.
There are a lot of new penalties for organizations completely disregarding the luxury tax in order to build championship contenders. Their ownership groups have been undeterred by financial regulations so there are new rules making it more difficult to add talent.
Franchises that exceed certain tax limits will be restricted in their ability to trade future first-round picks, prevented from signing players in the buyout market, and forfeit away their taxpayer exception to sign players.
There are now two luxury tax thresholds that trigger certain roster-building limits. One is set at ~$7 million the other at over $17 million. New Orleans will have to pay a tax eventually, but they'll flirt with the lines not languish millions over the highest tax bracket limit.
Dec 11, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) high fives guard CJ McCollum (3) during the third quarter against the Phoenix Suns at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports
For fans looking to judge ownership solely on how much is spent on the roster, that might be the most positive part of the CBA. New Orleans can afford to take a tax-inducing risk and then duck back under the line if things do not work out.
If things do work out though? Well, that means the squad would be winning multiple NBA Playoffs series. Then, Mrs. Benson would willingly scan over luxury taxes while planning the city's first NBA championship parade route.
