The only way that works, though, is the franchise tag. I am all about that combination. Without a franchise tag, the salary dump spree and fanaticism of grabbing some guy off the shelf when he's available would be PANDEMONIUM. And we wouldn't get to enjoy watching the Knicks have to wait out the terrible contracts they screwed themselves with, either.NFL is king because contracts aren't guaranteed. Take away guaranteed contracts and the NBA product increases dramatically in quality.
But yes, I generally agree. Without half the players mailing it in after they got their money, the product would be much better, in addition to saving all of the money that the owners have wanted to save without taking anything from the guys that deserve theirs (franchise players, good players on rookie deals, modestly/fairly paid veterans).