The NBA is in the midst of an era of player empowerment that began more than a decade ago when LeBron James and his agent, Rich Paul, welcomed his move from Cleveland to Miami.
But as one of the pioneers of the movement, what exactly does Paul think of the NBA’s power structure?
ESPN analyst JJ Redick asked Paul about the NBA’s power dynamics during an Oct. 19 episode of the Klutch Sports Group founder’s podcast “The Old Man and the Three.”
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Paul said that in the idea of player empowerment, only a few players actually have influence over their organization and team to demand what they want.
“Only about 2 percent of the players in our league actually have power,” Paul said.
After James left Cleveland in 2010, it became the norm in the NBA for players to ask their teams to trade or leave the team they originally drafted with in an attempt to win a championship elsewhere. Stars like Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant and, most recently, Damian Lillard have done just that.
Paul said there are several factors that can give players control over their situations. He said it all starts with “the game,” or simply player performance, and then moves on to professionalism and the ability to earn the respect of everyone, including team owners.
He said that while many players make “max money” or receive the maximum allowable salary from their teams, that doesn’t mean they deserve it or can act as if they have a lot of power. But some of them ended up doing it.
“I hate the word ‘max’ because it gives you this right but you lose everything,” Paul said. “Between that entitlement and your ego, it can really hinder your career growth.”
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Redick mentioned that he only sees two players with ultimate power in the league right now, not just because of the money they get, but because they continue to perform at a professional level while performing well on the court.
“I have two players. It’s (LeBron) and Steph (Curry),” Redick said. “When we talk about those three things, those guys always do it. They’re the most consistent guys.”
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