The NBA and FIBA is attempting to redirect Olympic revenues into a rebranded world championship.

They are pushing for 23 and under rule to the Olympics to make for what would become basketball's version of the World Cup.

The players have the ability to prevent it from happening, but they have been left without a voice in the matter.

"The players definitely have power, because we're the ones out there playing," Team USA's Tyson Chandler told Yahoo! Sports on Saturday. "If the players chose not to play because they've taken something away from us, then obviously we control it."

But "the players' interests are barely on (Billy Hunter's) radar because he's in complete self-preservation mode," writes Adrian Wojnarowski.

The players are disorganized due to Hunter's push to survive a probe of the union's business practices.

"As we go down that road, I know we're going to push for letting us have the choice whether we want to play in the Olympics or not – no matter the age," Kevin Love told Yahoo! Sports. 

A World Cup version of basketball couldn't come close to matching soccer on popularity and economic levels, but it would be a new revenue stream for owners.

"The question is: Why would we partner with a current tournament rather than start our own?" Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told Yahoo! Sports in June. "If done correctly, it can be NBA-owned and operated and have the potential to be just as large as the World Cup of soccer. That is a product, in my opinion, we want to own, not share."