Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins wants to give a player’s home team an advantage in bidding for their services, according to Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer. If it is a sizable advantage, such as an extra $5 million per year, then this clause could be effective. That’d be great for the owners, not so much for the player’s union.
One of any team’s worst nightmares is to lose their best player for nothing. When LeBron James and Chris Bosh left their small markets, the teams they left were devastated. The Orlando Magic are attempting to make that nightmare remain a bedtime illusion in the new CBA talks.
From the Nets’ perspective, this is a double-edged sword. If the Magic can incentivize Dwight Howard with ease, then this would pose an obvious problem to the Nets — but, a clause like this would give the Nets a huge advantage in retaining Deron Williams. That said, I doubt the players’ union will accept a clause like this unless the owners drastically reduce their other demands.
