Although the Lakers/Nets exhibition game in Shanghai took place as planned this morning, it was hardly a typical preseason affair. Scheduled pregame and postgame press conferences for commissioner Adam Silver and players on both rosters were cancelled at the behest of the Chinese government, sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
As McMenamin writes, China also had a hand in cancelling two NBA Cares events involving Lakers and Nets players earlier this week as tension between the league and its top international market continues to simmer.
Still, while the Chinese government has been on the attack over the last several days as it seeks an apology from the NBA over Daryl Morey‘s tweet supporting Hong Kong protestors, Keith Bradsher and Javier C. Hernandez of The New York Times report that the government attempted on Thursday to tamp down on public anger toward the league.
According to the Times duo, the Chinese government seems to be reevaluating its all-out campaign against the NBA due to concerns in Beijing that the situation is hurting China’s image and interests globally. Editors at state-run news outlets have now been told to avoid fanning the flames on the NBA controversy “for fear that it might become overheated,” per Bradsher and Hernandez, who cited three journalists.
As we wait to see how the situation plays out going forward with a second Lakers/Nets exhibition schedule for Saturday in Shenzhen, here are a few more items of interest:
- During a press conference following the Rockets/Raptors exhibition game in Tokyo today, a Rockets official stopped Russell Westbrook and James Harden from answering a question related to the China controversy, insisting that reporters only ask questions about basketball. Per an ESPN report, the NBA issued a statement indicating it doesn’t condone that approach. “A team representative inappropriately interjected to prevent CNN’s Christina Macfarlane from receiving an answer to her question,” the league said. “We’ve apologized to Ms. Macfarlane as this was inconsistent with how the NBA conducts media events.”
- NBA player agents are advising their clients to avoid addressing the China situation if they can, writes Jabari Young of CNBC. “What I told my guys is, ‘Don’t even talk about it,'” one agent told Young. “I think it’s a fine line, and when you’re walking that fine line, it’s best to not even play around with it.”
- The NBA’s chilly relationship with China is apparently impacting another basketball league — according to an announcement on their website, the BIG3 is postponing a visit to China that was scheduled for the month of November. Rashard Lewis, Mike Bibby, Glen Davis, and Cuttino Mobley were among the former NBA players expected to participate.
- While the game itself between the Lakers and Nets today was practically an afterthought, it’s worth noting that Kyrie Irving was knocked out of the game just one minute into the first quarter after he took a shot to the face. According to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link), Irving – who was already recovering from a facial fracture – was diagnosed with a facial contusion. The team doesn’t seem worried that it’s serious, Lewis adds.
Adam Silver has become a sackless jellyfish. Sad.
I like Adam Silver, and I like the way he has handled difficult situations in the past. He has been able to navigate the fine line between supporting his players, letting them have a voice in regards to cultural issues, and also growing the NBA brand and bringing in revenue. This is his sturdiest test yet. A difficult situation to be sure, one where it would be easy to slip up and lose that balance that Silver tries hard to maintain. However, the snatching of a mic out of a reporters hand, players sitting quietly afraid to express their opinions for fear of them impacting the NBAs (or their) bottom line, has gone too far and is NOT a good look for the league. China is already worried about their global perception after their hair-trigger responses to any sort of support for Hong Kong, as they rightfully should be. They come across as overly sensitive cowards. Now is the time for Adam Silver and the NBA to say to heck with China and their threats, we stand with out players and their right to free speech, and we stand for humanity as a whole. The NBA cannot allow itself to be short sighted in this situation, and bend to the completely unreasonable ‘walking on egg shells’ attitude of the Chinese government, for the sake of a $4 billion dollar interest in China. It will tarnish their reputation, and hurt them in the long run. You are the NBA. Put your foot down, and say to heck with China, if they don’t want to broadcast your games or sell your merch. You think the Chinese will just stop being interested in NBA basketball? Of course not. China will look bad, and petty, not the NBA. Adam Silver has consistently been a champion of social justice, humanity, and freedom in his tenure as Commisoner of the NBA, and I would like to see him continue with that trend and make a strong statement that the NBA is not a greed first league, and a few billion dollars is not as important as standing up for humanity and freedoms. Do the right thing, Adam. Let China walk this petty road on their own, they’ll be the ones to suffer for it, not the NBA. The NBA is bigger than China.
It’s about the $$$. Who needs freedom?
I guess that will put a crimp in Kaylee’s plan to be traded to a Chinese team in a couple of months
The NBA owners and players are a bunch of hypocrites. They extolled virtue signaling and told us all how woke they were. Then the Chi-coms hear something they don’t like and they go all radio silent. Bullied into submission. Silver, Popovich, Kerr, Harden and all the rest of them are a bunch of hypocritical cowards. Play basketball. You sold out for money to a brutal regime.
Agreed. Well stated. When you’re a virtue signaling jerk off it always boomerangs back. And now Silver, Kerr, Pop, Harden are forced to side with the enemy in order to keep up their act.
Well the American government is been way worse for way longer, they are too frightened of China. They use tiny nations to stand up against China as they don’t dare to do it themselves. As you know only 15 tiny nations in the world recognize Taiwan as a country, which idea is supported by the US. Leaving this countries without ties with China, political or economical… But the US doesn’t recognize Taiwan so they can continue to buy from China. & that my friends is hypocrisy & cowardice.
NBA players, coaches & Silver are doing the best job standing against China, maybe politicians should learn from them.
The Chinese worried about their image NOW!!??
Oh, wait, it might cost them $$.
After all the dung they’ve pulled!!??
Who knew blood thirsty murdering dictators could be
sooooo sensitive?
Money for the Chinese is simply a tool to exert influence. They don’t care about wealth accumulation. They routinely strip their own people of wealth the accumulate if they aren’t directly benefiting the communist party.
The NBA has been pushing the communist agenda “hidden in plain view” for quite a while now. The NBA makes a huge amount of money from China and has been a communist propaganda tool for years. The coaches and players are led into questions that indirectly support communist ideals. Players and teams have people who post to social media for them, simply to try and curry public favor, and appease the communist check writers. The sudden outrage now is kinda funny.
I kan’t give big things to my favorites, so then have to talk about it. This guy’s like flow. But Nance Jr. isn’t on Blazers. He’s on the Cavs. I’d never think, “So, it’s just the Cavs, they’ve just got LNJ”.
Big Ben (Simmons) isn’t like that but at least the rest of China and the players. Now we kill for it
The Sports industry can only go so far before they hit the self-imposed wall of silence. These players and coaches saw what happened to Kapernick. If you go to far with your support of a cause you will suffer.