NBPA executive director David Kelly voiced strong opposition to the NBA's second luxury tax apron, a mechanism the union agreed to in the league's last round of collective bargaining negotiations that were led by Tamika Tremaglio and CJ McCollum. Kelly argued the restriction has made it increasingly difficult for teams to retain talent.

"We are no fan of the second apron," Kelly told Front Office Sports. "I would say there is no fan of the second apron. Maybe there's 30 or 31 [fans], if you include Adam," he said, referencing team owners and commissioner Adam Silver.

The second apron functions as an upper salary cap threshold that many teams now treat as a de facto hard cap. The restriction has influenced roster decisions for contending teams including the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder, and some players have reportedly accepted pay cuts to help their teams retain additional talent.

Kelly disputed the league's rationale that the second apron promotes competitive balance, pointing to the NBA's eight different champions over the past eight seasons as evidence parity existed under the previous system.

"We had a very good system that was working," Kelly said. "The league was able to negotiate the NBA TV deal under the prior system. I think parity was the excuse that was used to put in something that's really about cost control."

Penalties for exceeding the second apron include restrictions on aggregating multiple player salaries in trades and the loss of certain trade and signing exceptions. The Nuggets currently sit as the league's only team above the threshold, a factor that appeared to influence their recent trade of Peyton Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers without receiving a player in return.

The Thunder traded away Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins this offseason amid second apron concerns.

Kelly said the financial pressure created by the apron falls disproportionately on players rather than team ownership.

"The system puts all of that weight on the player because the ownership has made clear that they're not going past the second apron because of all of these parade of horribles that happen if you go past the second apron," Kelly said.

Silver has consistently defended the second apron as a tool for competitive balance. Silver recently said the system was designed to ensure teams across all market sizes could compete.

"I think the system is working incredibly well," Silver said. "The goal isn't necessarily to have a different champion every year, but we've had eight different champions over the last eight years."