NBA Exec: Second Apron on Salary Cap Helped with Contract Talks in 2024 Free Agency

The NBA's second tax apron has polarized fans and the league as a whole, but at least one executive believes the rule has already been a positive for teams.

The executive told ESPN's Kevin Pelton that teams now have the ability to use the second apron as a way to "limit" what they can offer. Under the previous CBA, players could have pushed back on underwhelming contract offers because the only penalty for going over the tax was financial.

The new CBA implemented harsh new penalties for tax teams, particularly ones that go over the second apron. Those penalties include severe limitations on roster flexibility, including a prohibition on signing free agents to anything more than a veteran's minimum contract, the inability to compile salaries in trades and exclusion from the buyout market.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver defended the new tax system this week, saying it makes the league more equitable.

"What I'm hearing from teams, even as the second apron is moving to kick in, the teams are realizing there are real teeth in those provisions," Silver told reporters at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. "I don't know how to view this, but I know reports have come out that the summer was boring from a fan standpoint. I don't certainly think it was. We still saw a lot of critically important players moving from one team to another as free agents.

"But at the same time, I think this new system, while I don't want it to be boring, I want to put teams in a position, 30 teams, to better compete. I think we're on our way to doing that."

Critics of the new CBA may point out that what's good for the team is not always good for the player, and that's a fair point. That said, players are guaranteed the same percentage of basketball-related revenue as they were under the previous agreement. They'll be getting the same money.

How it's distributed, however, may be another story.