Agree. The Pels, Bucks, and Nuggets got AD, Giannis, and Jokic past their rookie deals. The latter two have put everything around their stars, and look set to keep and contend with them for a long time.I agree its annoying to see Klutch/Lebron, Shelburne and the Lakers team up (esp. from a Celtic fan perspective). I just don't think the Lakers have enough to land AD, and all their tampering will lead the Pels and other teams make them pay a premium to get the star players they covet. By the time they land AD in 2 years, Bron's cliff dive could be starting which would create a very average Laker team with no cap space to improve.
Back to the thread, my vote is the NBA is in great shape, feels competitive and a few simplifications to the cap on the edges would be welcome. Heck, I don't even mind teams tanking and going for high draft picks, that creates opportunities for young players on the tankers to show their abilities at the moment. The draft is great for off-season hoops drama.
Cleveland didn't lose Kyrie because they're a small market, it lost him because he saw the post-LeBron writing on the wall.
Even OKC got Durant for two full contracts, and probably still have him now without the obvious (at the time) unforced error that was the Harden trade.
Small market teams get 6-9 years to make it work when they draft a star, always. The NBA doesn't have a star/small market problem; it has a Dell Demps problem and a Klutch problem.