NBA sets attendance record

[PecaFan]

In fact I remember the uproar when Daly said he would negotiate a basketball system, and everyone was on the players for not doing it.

What? Daly and the NHL from the beginning said they *didn't* want a basketball system. Geezus, don't you remember the litany of "A luxury tax is unacceptable, we need cost certainty" stories? Just one of hundreds:
http://www.cbc.ca/story/sports/national/2004/11/16/Sports/bill_daly041116.html

Linkage is what makes it a hard cap. Without linkage, a cap is just a luxury tax threshold. With linkage and escrow, any extra of the bri the players get is clawed back. Well a formula relating it anyway.

The cap in basketball is just a luxury tax threshold. The "Cap" is the linkage.

Now you're just equivocating. Linkage has nothing to do with "hardness" or "softness" of a cap. It sets the cap level, that's it. Hard or soft simply means can individual teams spend over the cap. If so, it's soft, if not, it's hard. A good summary:
http://www.washingtonhockey.com/200203/features/sc2.htm

The NBA allows spending over the cap. Therefore it's soft. Period.

As for linkage, it doesn't mean a thing with the exceptions. Salaries are linked to 55% etc, but the exceptions allow the NBA to give the players 60%, 65%, 70% or whatever.