NBA Exec Says Second Apron Hurts Small Market Teams

In a discussion about the current state of the NBA salary cap, an unnamed NBA exec said that it is hard for small and mid-market teams to deal with the second apron. 

The league has done many things to make it so that teams in smaller markets could compete with the teams on the coast. To run a contending NBA team, though, is not cheap. And it takes a strong stomach for those owners to pay a significant tax to compete. 

In a piece for Heavy.com, Steve Bullpit spoke with NBA executives about the methods they use while team building. One source told the author: 

"You'll see that it's going to kill some of the smaller market teams that go for it. Milwaukee got a championship, but then it started costing them so much money that they had to make moves to cut back. The biggest reason to trade Khris Middleton was that it got them off some money. To be able to sign Myles Turner, they had to do the thing with (Dame) Lillard (waive and stretch his remaining money over five years). They had to do that to stay under that apron."

The Bucks are an intersting example as the team has been one of the models for holding a team together in a small market. The franchise has been able to build around Giannis Antetokounmpo for more than a decade, acheiving a championship. The Bucks, though, are continuing to try and build around their star and time will tell if they can keep things together.