How the NBA can make a mid-season tournament a huge success

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Lebron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, NBA

Lebron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, (Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

Encouraging stars and teams to play at full strength is key

The NBA is a star-driven league. In order for the tournament to be successful, the stars have to be there. How do we get them and their teams interested in winning this competition? By giving the winner a competitive advantage? The winner of the tournament could choose from a series of “perks”.

What would the perks be? For championship contending teams, it could be an exception that they could use to trade for a player or to sign one, similar to how the DPE (Disabled Player Exception) works. The size of this exception? You tell me, but one that’s the same amount as a non-taxpayer Mid-Level Exception should be fair enough.

This would give more flexibility and ammo for contending teams to reinforce their rosters as they get ready for the playoffs. Another option could be luxury tax relief, let’s say a reduction of 10% to 15% of the team’s tax bill for the end of the year. This would make tax-strapped teams like the Nets and Warriors more likely to keep some key players that they would otherwise let go because of the onerous tax implications.

For example, Nic Claxton is arguably the Nets’ best big, a young, up-and-coming player who they like a lot. In a tax-free world, it would be a no-brainer for the Nets to keep Claxton, but there are already rumblings that the Nets are looking to trade him because re-signing him would raise their tax bill substantially. By winning the tournament and choosing the tax reduction, a team in this scenario could keep a player they wouldn’t otherwise be able to keep.

Next: What about the middle-of-the-road teams?