Player Empowerment in the NBA

Plain and simple the NBA is a business. The recent trade of Isaiah Thomas proved it more than anything we have

seen. It was a smart business decision for his team going forward. With the rise of player empowerment going on, the players have the choice to make the decision that is best for them. The whole reason Kyrie Irving demanded a trade was simply because he wanted to get out of Cleveland. So how did this whole thing start?

How this whole thing Started?

The whole idea of player empowerment all started with LeBron James when he decided to sign with the Miami Heat instead of staying with the team that drafted him. This shook the sports world because nothing like this had ever happened before. Michael Jordan had never left the Bulls for some other team, Kobe Bryant had never just decided to leave the Los Angeles Lakers. Not only was it just him leaving it was also a superstar deciding to team up with other stars. LeBron probably never knew how big of an impact that decision on the rest of the NBA. This one simple decision showed players in the league that you can take control of your destiny and choose where you want to go. James did receive a lot of hate for this decision. He showed that you can be successful if you take control of your own career path. This example of making the decision that you want and being successful with the result of it sent a message to the players in the league that you can be successful if you make your own decision.

Why does it impact the NBA landscape?

With players making their own decisions it affects the NBA in many ways. For example the Paul George scenario where he told the Pacers he wasn't planning on re-signing with them. It significantly decreased his value in any trades because the rest of the league would have thought of him as more of a 1 year rental than an actual superstar trade. The package Indiana received had significantly less value than you would expect for a trade package for a player like Paul George. Now all of the sudden teams are desperate to lose guys for nothing and other teams are afraid to pull the trigger or the players agents scare them off. Just like Chris Paul opting in to his contract and asking for a trade from the Clippers. Chris Paul was a perfect example of controlling his destiny and choosing where he wanted to go. Not only did he choose to leave the Clippers he also demanded a trade when he was on the Hornets. Agents are also telling teams that if they trade for that player he will not re-sign with them when his contract is up. This is why star NBA players trade value are significantly lower than they used to be.

What do the Front Offices do?

With the player empowerment the front offices also can get more of a pass on making moves that doesn't think of the player as a human being but more as an employee. So it comes down to whether as a GM you decide to make a business decision or a personal decision. You can make a personal decision and make the player's happy. So as a GM it comes down to who is calling the shots and who the ownership values more. Almost no players in league have such power over a front office. But, in my personal opinion if you have a player calling the shots it never really ends up going smoothly. Just like the Cavaliers with LeBron James where they gave him a lot of power and he focused everything on a win now mentality. This has caused Cleveland to lose assets on players and many other things, including cap flexibility and chaos among the organization.

So how will all of these off-season moves turn out and how well will these new players mesh together. How much different will the NBA look in 1 year from now and how will these moves look for the players who have chosen their own path.