Adam Silver hits back at players’ 2nd-apron complaints with defiant Knicks-Spurs point

One of the biggest complaints regarding the CBA, from fans, media and NBA teams alike, is what’s become known as the dreaded second-apron, a salary cap threshold that is viewed as a hinderance to keeping a contending team together. But during a recent press conference amid NBA Summer League, commissioner Adam Silver defended the second-apron, while acknowledging that potential talks could be on the table when the next round of CBA negotiations come up, as per Ben Golliver of ESPN.

“The purpose of the system is ultimately to create competition throughout the league,” Silver said. “One of the things we were hoping to accomplish in this latest collective bargaining agreement was to dispel this notion that only certain markets were in a position to truly compete.”

The affects of the second-apron were on display this offseason with the Boston Celtics citing it as a key factor in trading Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks opting not to re-sign Mitchell Robinson in free agency. It also could have played a factor in Victor Wembanyama taking less in his recent contract extension with the San Antonio Spurs.

To a lesser extent, it could be argued that the Oklahoma City Thunder trading away two key bench pieces, Isaiah Joe to the Detroit Pistons and Aaron Wiggins to the Atlanta Hawks, was also done due to second-apron concerns.

The NBA first adopted the second-apron during the most recent CBA talks that occurred back in 2023 with it taking affect in 2024. Essentially what it does is it imposes certain penalties on teams that surpass a specific tax threshold in regards to team salary. The key penalties include loss of certain free agent exemptions and trade and draft pick restrictions.

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