No more Big 3?

New CBA death to 'Big 3' model?

By Larry Coon | ESPN Insider

The NBA emerged from its 161-day lockout with the promise of a new system in which all 30 teams, if managed well, could turn profits and compete for championships. The league's new collective bargaining agreement and accompanying revenue-sharing system signaled a fundamental shift in the league's economy.

Under the new rules, revenue sharing pulls money from big-market teams and gives it to small-market ones, and teams with big payrolls will get onerous luxury tax bills, the money from which is redistributed to teams that keep their payrolls in check. Taxpaying teams also will have less freedom to operate, with restricted access to many salary-cap mechanisms.

With these changes comes a fundamental re-thinking of the best way to build a franchise. The three-star system, long considered a template for building a winning team, has come under new scrutiny. As teams evaluate the way they do business, their decisions will determine how the balance of power is distributed in the NBA during the next decade.