The NBA’s overly complicated collective bargaining agreement was showcased late Monday night when Luol Deng was traded to the Cavaliers for Andrew Bynum’s expiring contract and a variety of draft pick scenarios. The Bulls are expected to cut Bynum later today. Overall the deal somehow saves the Bulls an estimated $20 million this season, news that is so confusing ESPN brought in economists such as Ben Bernanke and Alan Greenspan who were unable to help them make sense of the deal.
“In my time as chairman of the Federal Reserve, I oversaw quantitative easing and many other extremely complex international economic policies and practices,” said Bernanke. “The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement makes smoke come out of my ears.”
Greenspan, whose legacy took a hit after the Great Recession of the late 2000s struggled to make sense of the NBA’s economic structure as well.
“The NBA salary cap has at least 10 exceptions. It’s mind-boggling,” said Greenspan. “I’ve taken a lot of blame for the economy’s near collapse of 2008 and 2009 but I’m pretty sure that it can all be blamed on Keith Van Horn’s contract.”
