THE NBA HAS A SERIOUS FINANCIAL DEFICIT
Much like the rest of America, the NBA has a large gap between the rich and the poor. Take the Los Angeles Lakers for example. They racked up a massive $115 million profit after the 2016-2017 season. Keep in mind that this was their fourth straight year with fewer than 27 wins and no star players to draw fans.
Still, they had the highest net income of any player in the league at nearly $15 million. On the other side of the spectrum, the Grizzlies lost nearly $40 million.
HERE'S WHY SOME NBA TEAMS ARE LOSING MONEY
How does the NBA determine the salary cap? Well, the 30 teams get together and their combined revenues determine the salary cap. Of course, the most popular teams make the most money and that raises the cap for everyone else. This only makes more money for the best players and teams, while the rest sink well below the threshold.
Take the Golden State Warriors as an example. Despite playing in the best arena and paying $42 million in revenue sharing, they still earned $92 million. If you compare that number to small market teams, it's just ridiculous. So is there a solution?
THE SOLUTION TO THE NBA'S MONEY PROBLEM
Some league owners say that teams should share revenue. That way, all 30 teams would end up in the black. One bold owner even proposed the idea that all teams should be promised a $20 million profit. As you can imagine, the top teams will dispute these proposals, but they raise some interesting points.
This problem is not going away anytime soon and it is unlikely that small market teams will make a profit without some sort of intervention. The coming years will be entertaining in basketball news, that's for sure.