For example Carmelo Anthony, he played with the Nuggets then Knicks during his prime years, but after that he just switched teams after a season or two.
It financially behooves them to do so.
Easy. Rookie deals are 3 years, max rookie extension is another 2 or 3. Then they are qualified for a 5 years max deal, once they have that, they can then walk anywhere they want for max deals. You get a cakewalk to easy money staying with your drafted team for 8-10yrs then you can walk and make the money anywhere.
Because in Denver and New York Carmelo was a franchise player and fairly soon after leaving the Knicks he declined and became a guy who had to take any job he could get which is evident by the fact he was out of the league for a year before coming back to Portland.
Most guys in NBA are moved all the time, except for “core” guys that basically only leave if they want to. The biggest superstars are considered to be obviously worth the max by every team, and even adjusting the rest of the team’s philosophy to keep him by every team.
Depends on the case, really, I don’t see that rule. Guys like Carmelo Anthony, he was just moved. He just became a guy that’s no longer core. There wasn’t anything else. It’s pretty common and understandable as you are over 30 and decline in form lol. For example Chris Paul, while still active and sometimes great at basketball, was not considered max material by Clippers, and basically was discarded by every team since, not his choice. This is the common way. More rarely, players are still valuable in their 30s but just unhappy, but that’s not a rule at all for sure.
Duncan, Kobe, Curry, Nowitzki are some of the biggest “superstars” of the last years and they never moved.
The only way for a superstar to leave his team earlier than 8-9 years into his career is by giving up a ton of money (draft rights for years 1-4, followed by RFA and a 4-5 yr extension, depending on supermax eligibility). It’s only at that point that players really have agency in where they want to play, short of demanding a trade and hoping to make life uncomfortable enough for the team that they get it.
That’s part of why it was so remarkable when Bron, Wade, and Bosh all negotiated 3yr extensions after their rookie contacts. They gave up two full seasons worth of guaranteed money in order to reach free agency faster and team up.
They want that ring before they retire
Money.
It’s either money, rings or both. Sometimes it’s venue - even way back in the70’s Kareem wanted out of Milwaukee to go to a more urban cosmopolitan place, Los Angeles.
While they’re young, they believe they can do an MJ, Kobe, Duncan and will their team to championships and glory. Over time the business/political side of the NBA slowly jades them, and so they begin looking for the optimal situation for them as they’re slowly declining.