With Tim Duncan, the Spurs wrote the book on handling superstars; will the NBA read it?

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There's a closely guarded secret in the NBA, one that's policed vigilantly by executives at the league office. Current team presidents and marketing people will whisper about it on background, but ask them to use their names on the record, and they clam up.

What is this strictly confidential piece of information, so combustible that the league demands a code of silence?

It's the enormous value of superstars.

"Whatever they pay LeBron or Curry, it isn't enough," said one of these team executives.

This isn't a head coach tasked with game-planning for MVPs or a general manager charged with acquiring the best talent. This is coming from an executive who toils on the business side of a medium-revenue franchise, in the suite of offices that aren't so much concerned whether the team finishes in the playoff bracket or the lottery, but whether it finishes in the black or the red.