With the whole "owner" thing and the increase we've seen in player empowerment/movement/branding, along with things like a changing media landscape, the players involvement in technology and business interests, etc., part of me wouldn't be surprised to see a rival league form where the players are the owners.
This seems like something LeBron and Rich Paul would spearhead (though I think LeBron was probably born 10 years too earlier to make this move, CBA expires in '23 and TV deal expires in '25, wouldn't be surprised to see some major changes come around then). If it was now though, I envision something like:
Netflix and Klutch Sports are proud to announce the formation of the Basketball Players Association, a new 10 team league set to launch this fall with the goal of delivering the best basketball to fans all over the world. All games will stream exclusively on Netflix, with no blackout restrictions. Each team will play a 45 game season (playing each team 4 times), followed by playoffs. There will be no home cities for teams, instead each team will play an equal number of games in each city, giving fans a greater chance to see their favorite players. Cities agreeing to host games so far include New York, LA, Las Vegas, Seattle, London, Shanghai, Beijing, Dubai, Mexico City with more to come.
Players are the owners of their teams, and are free to recruit any player to join their team for the season. No trades, no contracts, players are free to choose their own team every season. With no draft and total player empowerment, the new BPA expects to eliminate tanking, a problem which has plagued the NBA for years.
Not satisfied with the 50% BRI split offered by the NBA, and frustrated with the leagues treatment of both the players and the fans. LeBron and Rich Paul met with investors to devise a plan to come up with a league by players for the fans. This new league guarantees the players will receive 80% of all income, with no cap or restrictions on any individual players potential earnings. Players signed on to the league so far include LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Ben Simmons, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, with more expected to be announced soon.