They did a lot to get the top guys paid. That empowerment shyt is for the birds. Outside of maybe Bron, KD, Steph, and Greek, none of these nikkas got any real power to do shyt. Plus, CP0 was NBAPA Prez for the 2017 CBA, which a lot of folks felt destroyed the "NBA middle class" and led to this latest new deal being bad. That CBA hurt team flexibility, created incentive-based contracts that gave media types way too much say, and the cap spike wasn't smoothed out. That was on HIS watch (along w/ Michele Roberts).
What "a lot of people felt" is irrelevant. CP and them boys got BRI negotiated to 51% of league revenue + extra incentives baked into the CBA. Pension and medical benefits for life for retired players.
The NBA "middle class" makes more than the supermax players made just 15 years ago. It was CP and them that mad sure this new generation of players would get giant cuts of the streaming money and future digital assets the NBA profits from. Older contracts you had owners getting TV money, franchise equity, and everything from the arena sales and merch. The players were getting hoed. I don't agree with media votes influencing NBA Contracts and the silliness of ALL-NBA teams influencing supermax contracts, but I think it's outweighed by the type of contracts available to players now.
So no, the NBA middle class isn't hurting. They make far, far more money in relative and absolute terms, plus intangibles and benefits than players 20 years ago ever would have saw. Now if you think the latest deal is bad - cool. But blame the last CBA President and co, CJ McCollum, and not Chris Paul who has been out of that seat for years now.
As for the CBA hurting team flexibility - huge lie. The main things fans complain about is the current era's forced parity with apron rules and player self-imposed Free Agency. The teams themselves don't have amnesty clauses and a weaker stretch provision that won't bail them out from stupid mistakes like in the past. If you believe a team not having enough Get Out Of Jail Free cards = reduced flexibility then so be it.