Henry Abbott of ESPN has a quick list of early Winners and Losers in the loosely announced NBA labor agreement and it’s clear that players will be changing teams rather often under the new deal. While teams will likely hold onto superstars, there’s plenty of movement after that.
“You know you love the excitement of a trade,” writes Abbott. "And there’s going to be more of that. The old CBA went to some trouble to keep teams united. The new one, not so much. The league noticed that LeBron James’ desertion of Cleveland spurred more interest in the NBA, not, as feared, less. It’s no accident the new system will inspire a lot of player movement.
“Revenue sharing will be a factor here, too,” he contnues. “While a lot of the CBA fight was about the rich teams adding free agents, the deal’s biggest effect might be at the other end of the spending spectrum. The stingiest teams ought to be ready to join the bidding to add salaries here and there. That’s a win for small markets and for free agents.”