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An unprecedented number of superstars changed teams this summer, putting the Larry O'Brien Trophy truly up for grabs in a way it hasn't been in nearly a decade. There's a resulting sense of unbridled enthusiasm leading up to the 2019-20 season among NBA fans, all of whom can finally imagine their team winning a championship right now or in the future without a true juggernaut looming.
Not everyone is thrilled by players so aggressively wielding their individual power, though, even if it sparks the type of parity absent from from the league for years. Most important among that minority? Owners, some of whom are spooked by three of basketball's best players finding their way to the game's two biggest markets in the span of a couple weeks.
Former NBA Finals MVP and current ESPN analyst Chauncey Billups believes owners are right to be worried about players realizing the extent of their agency.
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“They should be concerned about it, but it’s a players’ league,” he told Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. “There are probably going to be some changes made in the CBA when the time comes to protect them from that, but it’s a tricky thing.”
Don't be confused by Billups acknowledging the concerns of owners, though. “Mr. Big Shot,” as he's known in Detroit Pistons lore, certainly understands the players' side of it, too, after playing for five teams over the first six seasons of his career.
“I’ve been through every single thing you can probably be through,” Chauncey Billups said. “Amnestied, traded a million times. It feels powerless when teams feel like, ‘Hey, this guy is underachieving, we’re going to get rid of him.’ Now, they’re seeing the player look at the team. Look at [Anthony Davis'] situation. He basically did the same thing that a team usually does.”
Discussions aimed at limiting player movement are indeed likely to be part of upcoming CBA negotiations, even if the players' association will fight them. But for now, the vast majority of the basketball world seems perfectly content to enjoy the drama that will have prompted those talks.
