It is almost impossible to be a hardcore NBA fan without understanding at least a few nuances of the league’s byzantine collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Luxury tax, mid-level exception, and rookie-scale contracts have all become common parlance among the intelligentsia of NBA observers. If anyone doubts the relevance of salary cap rules to modern fandom, just point them to the summer of 2016 when the Warriors were able to acquire Kevin Durant and the Blazers signed ...Evan Turner (ugh).
Somewhat surprisingly, until this month no definitive account of the origin of the NBA salary cap existed.