NBA commissioner Adam Silver was not a fan of the way new Sixers All-Star guard James Harden or new Nets player Ben Simmons, the centerpieces of a trade for each other last week, forced their way off their former teams’ rosters. In a conversation with Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, Silver discussed the transaction.
“Players forcing their way out of situations is not new in this league,” Silver said. “I’d love to find a way where to the extent there’s player movement, it didn’t happen in that fashion.”
Silver’s big issue with the deal was the very public nature of the players’ grievances.
“I accept that there will always be conversations behind closed doors, when teams are unhappy, or players are unhappy, [but] the last thing you want to see is for these issues to play out publicly,” Silver said. “One of the things that I continue to do in my role is to think about ways we can improve the system.”
In his first press remarks as a Sixer today, Harden suggested that he had wanted to join All-Star center Joel Embiid in Philadelphia since forcing his way off the Rockets roster during the 2020/21 season, when he was initially shipped to Brooklyn. Harden also allowed that the limited availability of Nets point guard Kyrie Irving had some influence on his decision to demand a trade from the team. Irving has long refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and due to New York’s current vaccine mandate, is not allowed to play at home games for Brooklyn.
Ben Simmons had an interesting press conference of his own today, telling reporters that mental health issues played a big part in his controversial decision to refuse to suit up for 54 games with the Sixers this season prior to the trade.
“I did watch a little bit of James and Ben’s press conferences earlier today,” Silver continued. “And you’re reminded that when you see them sitting up there, on those podiums doing these interviews, these are human beings, who, in both cases, have gone through very stressful situations.”