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The recent superteam craze has seen NBA players force their way out of small-market teams onto contenders, something TNT analyst Charles Barkley has seen as an illusion of power, claiming players will never have that edge over those who own a team:
“I hear all these clowns on TV talking about, ‘It’s great that all these players are exuding these powers,’” Barkley told a small group of reporters Thursday in an off-set interview, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times. “Let me tell you guys something: Workers ain’t never going to have power over their ownership. Ever.
“Now it might work for a couple guys here or there, but in the history of the world, no workers have ever overtaken the people who own a business. And when these guys are sitting at home locked out in a couple years, I want y’all to remember I told y’all that.”
The rant goes beyond the likes of Anthony Davis, Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, as recent examples — but extends to players like Lonzo Ball, a second-year guard already demanding a preferential landing spot (spoiler alert: not New Orleans) while having no clout whatsoever.
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The league is bound to reconvene with the NBPA, and small-market owners could soon create an impasse after taking losses to big-market teams since the last collective bargaining agreement.
Both sides hold a mutual opt-out after the 2022-23 season, and if the NBA keeps shifting to an era of player control, it's very likely the ones footing the bill will soon look to reset, creating an impasse that could result in a lockout season.
