According to one embodiment of the invention, a method for load balancing traffic in a wireless network includes identifying a respective operational parameter from wireless network devices in the wireless network. The respective operational parameter indicates a number of endpoint associations for the wireless network devices. The method also includes detecting a wireless network device with a particular number of endpoint associations by examining each of the respective operational parameters. The method further includes, in response to the detected wireless network device, configuring the wireless network device to limit the number of endpoint associations to a number less than the particular number.