Imagine how many div 3 and 4 Noobs would go bankrupt when they buy a player not understanding that they cant afford the salary of .
maybe initially, but just because they go bankrupt, doesnt mean they can't start another team. and being a noob means they lose nothing.
I think yer initially you would have a hit on new users, but in the end, if it was made clear to a user that - say as an example approaching the all-star deadline
"The Deadline for players in the playoff is ALl-star game - By buying this player you may have trouble selling him after the all-star game, which may put your team at financial jeapordy"
ok so badly worded i know - but you get the point.
In saygin all that, i think BB have been wise in ALL changes that they have made to the game, in that they need to do things gradually - sudden drastic changes would just alienate so many users, both new and old and consistent gradual changes are the best policy.
So yer... GS change this year - see how it works - if no impact, then maybe push out the playoff deadline by a week - see what happens. if nothing - push it out another week, until a happy medium is found.