NBA free agency is not over, but what was expected to be a wild few days that would shake up the basketball landscape fell well short. For Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, the explanation is simple: the league's new CBA has effectively killed free agency as we know it.

The CBA, which took effect on July 1, 2023 and runs through the 2029–30 season, includes a punitive "second apron" above the salary cap that effectively becomes a hard cap for teams that exceed it. Whereas teams previously faced additional charges for becoming tax-paying teams, the second apron prevents teams from utilizing the mid-level exception and places significant limits on trades. A team loses most of its flexibility during years in which it is surpasses the second apron, limiting how much teams are willing to shell out in free agency.

Posting to Threads in the form of a diary entry, Green shared his thoughts about how the second apron has impacted league spending, and being Draymond Green, he did not hold back.

"One can only point to the 'New CBA' and the second apron(hard cap) for absolutely putting an end to Free Agency As we once knew it," Green said, before cautioning young players about the decisions they make in this new landscape.

"Sadly, I sit here and watch so many players overplay the market and not understand what they are up against with the new rules. Which leads me to trying to understand the unstaggering percentage of guys that has no idea of THE BUSINESS they are apart of. And I as a "VET" in this league watch players mismanage their careers and before they know it, look back and DAMN, where to next?"

Green went so far as to argue that he should have been the president of the players association, a job currently held by Washington Wizards guard CJ McCollum. McCollum, who was dealt by the New Orleans Pelicans in June, has taken plenty of heat around the new CBA, and even joked about it directly after the trade.

It is no surprise that the outspoken Green took a subtle swipe in McCollum's direction, as even Golden State general manager Mike Dunleavy felt the second apron targeted the Warriors dynasty after it was passed. The new CBA rules will make it even more difficult for a front office to keep a team like that together, even with ownership willing to foot a hefty luxury tax bill.

Green also noted that his references to young players making mistakes was not about young Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, who Golden State has made a qualifying offer as a restricted free agent but could wind up traded in the coming days.

"Before yall run and make this about JK, it isn't," Green wrote. "He's 22 and will be great and make a bunch of money, so this ain't got nothing to do with him."

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Draymond Green Says He Should've Been NBPA President After 'End to Free Agency'.

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