NBA union chief says there’s only ‘maybe 30 or 31’ fans of second apron

The NBA players’ union still hates the second apron. In case there was any confusion, executive director David Kelly is making that abundantly clear.

Kelly, who criticized the league’s salary-cap system earlier this summer, doubled down during an interview with Front Office Sports. This time, he even worked commissioner Adam Silver into the act.

“We are no fan of the second apron,” Kelly said. “I would say there is no fan of the second apron. Maybe there’s 30 or 31, if you include Adam.”

That’s 30 NBA owners, plus Silver. So apparently, the membership of the second-apron fan club is fairly exclusive.

Kelly’s larger point, though, remains the same. He believes the restrictions are making it more difficult for teams to keep successful rosters together.

“It’s pretty clear” that the second apron has made it “harder to keep teams together,” Kelly said.

“The league will say that’s part of the reason why they put it in place — they think that it’s necessary for parity,” he added. “I would point to the fact that there was parity before the second apron was put into existence.”

Kelly made similar comments in July, telling ESPN’s Ben Golliver that the apron was forcing teams to make “financial decisions” instead of basketball ones.

There is plenty of evidence for his argument. The Celtics cited second-apron concerns in trading Jaylen Brown to the 76ers this summer, while Knicks owner James Dolan has indicated New York intends to stay below the threshold.

So Kelly isn’t backing away from his earlier criticism. If anything, he’s turning up the volume.

As for Silver? Well, Kelly apparently thinks the commissioner has 30 friends on this particular issue, and not many more.