Kyle Kuzma Calls Out NBA, Says Next CBA 'Is a Do or Die Moment' for Players Amid Free Agency

Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma expressed his displeasure with the current collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and NBPA, specifically noting that the punitive first and second aprons are negatively affecting players, among other concerns.

"After sitting here watching NBA free agency this year and overall NBA movement over the past 2 years somebody has to say it.... The new CBA was sold as parity, but the first and second apron are starting to function like a hard cap on player value, team continuity, and player movement. Teams are no longer making purely basketball decisions.

"They're making fear-based apron decisions. That means good players get squeezed, homegrown cores get broken up, fan-favorite teams lose their identity, and the overall product loses some of the nostalgia and continuity that made people fall in love with the NBA in the first place.

"This isn't about players not understanding business. It's the opposite. We understand that the NBA is a business. That's why the NBPA has to operate with elite business acumen, elite negotiating strategy, and real foresight."

"The owners and the league walk into these meetings with killers that continue to run circles around us time and time again with elite lawyers, economists, cap experts, media strategists, and long term business operators. Players deserve a PA that is just as sharp, just as prepared, and just as aggressive about protecting our upside.

"Too often, it feels like players are informed after the fact instead of being truly educated and empowered before decisions are made. That cannot continue. The next CBA is a do or die moment for us as players. It's only going to get worse for us. We need transparency, accountability, and a serious re evaluation of who is representing us and how they are representing us.

"This is not anti parity. This is pro player, fan, and product. The league is strongest when players are valued properly, great teams can stay together, and the people representing us are operating at the same level as the people sitting across the table."

The current CBA began with the 2023-24 season and will run through 2029-30.

The aprons have certainly affected team building. New York Knicks owner James Dolan said on The Carton Show on WFAN Radio that he would not put his championship-winning team into the second apron.

New York has since seen center Mitchell Robinson leave for the Boston Celtics on a three-year, $47.4 million deal in free agency.

The C's had their own second apron issues and broke up core parts of their team in the 2025 offseason, trading Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis and letting Al Horford go in free agency to the Golden State Warriors.

Players aren't fans of it. Kuzma said his piece. Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green wrote on Threads last year that the second apron was killing free agency. Longtime NBA veteran forward Kevin Love doesn't like it either, per his remarks on the Old Man and the Three podcast.

The issue, unfortunately, is that the CBA is here to stay for the remainder of the decade. However, it's clear that it's had a profound effect on the league, leaving one to wonder if the second apron comes into play when CBA talks pick up again in a few years.