Adam Silver against one-and-one contracts
LeBron James is still a free agent and there's a chance he could sign a third straight one-and-one contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers - much to the dismay of the NBA commissioner.
Adam Silver recently voiced his concerns about the trend of elite players inking one-year agreements with a player option the following season. Per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com:
"One of the unintended consequences (of doing contracts like James) I feel on behalf of the players is the fact that they end up putting themselves in this position where they're taking enormous financial risk. The system is designed for guys to enter into long-term contracts, so, and you can only get so much insurance. So one of the unintended consequences is they take risk beyond what we would like to see them take.
"The other thing is, the system is designed and incentivizes players to stay with the same teams," Silver said. "At the same time I respect free agency so if they make those decisions to leave, that's fine, too. But as I said, I'd like to talk to the union about maybe modifying the system so there's a little bit more of an incentive to stay with your existing team."
Since rejoining his hometown Cavs in 2014, James has made a yearly habit of declining the second-year option - which typically serves as injury insurance - instead opting for another, more lucrative one-and-one deal.
Such short-term pacts carry implied threats, because the player can bolt if he feels management isn't doing all it can to put the team in the best position to succeed. For a player of James' stature, that flexibility can be worth the risk of forgoing a long-term deal and the guaranteed money that comes with it.
The four-time league MVP is mulling over whether he'll sign with the Cavs on a four-year pact worth $137 million, or one for $27.5 million for the upcoming campaign with a player option for 2017-18. Should he choose the latter, he'll join Dwyane Wade, Pau Gasol, and Kevin Durant in this offseason's one-and-one club.
Related: Silver says NBA should 're-examine' system after Durant signing
Cavaliers general manager David Griffin said "it made perfect sense for James" to sign a one-and-one when he returned to Cleveland, considering the league's salary structure.
That could soon change, since the salary cap is expected to level off after jumping to about $102 million next offseason. If James signs a long-term deal at that point, he'll be looking at a contract valued at roughly $157 million, according to Vardon.
This contractual loophole - that only makes sense for the league's top players - could compel owners to opt out of the CBA ahead of the Dec. 15 deadline, as the contract was designed to make it beneficial from a monetary standpoint for stars to stay put.