Adam Silver Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Players Leaning On Silver’s Judgment For Potential Restart

May 15th, 2020 at 7:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The trust between NBA players and Adam Silver has made him the driving force behind the possible resumption of this season and sorting out all pandemic-related issues, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN details.

Unlike the often contentious relationship between MLB players and baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, the spirit of cooperation in the NBA has put Silver in a position of reshaping the NBA during the pandemic. That’s why most players are willing to finish the season and owners are sold on testing while remaining cautious on bringing back fans, despite the financial implications.

The league is examining ways to have fans in arenas at 15% to 20% capacity, Wojnarowski continues. Most teams are studying how to get fans into premium seating arrangements and safely distance them when fans are officially allowed to return on a limited basis.

The large revenue issues have not been lost on players, thanks to their willingness to accept Silver’s blunt assessment of the current situation. The star players are on committees engaging with the league office and even thanked Silver for getting on a conference call with them last week, Wojnarowski adds. That’s a big reason why the players didn’t balk at having 25% of their paychecks withheld, beginning on Friday.

Categories:
COVID-19
Adam Silver

NBA Will Likely Need To Restructure CBA Amid Pandemic

May 9th, 2020 at 11:36am CST by marksuleymanov

During Adam Silver‘s call with NBA players on Friday, many near-term questions were presented, but there was a shortage of definitive answers as the league aims to resume its 2019/20 season. Silver stressed the need for testing and how it will expand as players return to practice facilities. Additionally, more information was provided in terms of travel, training camp and the 2020/21 season.

All of that doesn’t even scratch the surface of the financial impact the league will endure. With the season suspended in March, there have been no NBA games for two months and if they do resume, there is no guarantee fans will be allowed, potentially for all of 2020.

Per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), the NBA was projecting $8 billion in revenue for the current season and $8.4 billion in 2020/21. However, those projections were in place before the coronavirus outbreak. As Silver noted, having fans in the stands for all games equates to 40% of the NBA’s revenue.

If the league moves forward with fan-less arenas, which may be limited to one or two locations at least for the rest of 2019/20, the loss of revenue will essentially force the league to restructure the current collective bargaining agreement. The league has already cut back salaries of employees, including players, while teams evaluate paying non-laid off or furloughed employees on a month to month basis.

Three-Week Minimum Anticipated For Training Camp

May 8th, 2020 at 8:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Commissioner Adam Silver believes a three-to-six week ramp-up period would be needed in order to resume the season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Silver was asked about the length of training camp during a conference call with players on Friday. A minimum of three weeks has been discussed around the league, Silver replied, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

With Silver indicating that no decision regarding the resumption of the season needed to made this month, that would suggest that play would resume no earlier than July.

The league is taking baby steps toward getting players back into training facilities. The NBA has given the go-ahead for teams to allow players back into their usual facilities under heavy restrictions. Only the Cavaliers and the Trail Blazers were able or willing to unlock their facilities on Friday, displaying the cautious approach many franchises and players have adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic, Marc Stein of the New York Times reports.

Larry Nance Jr., Kevin Love, Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic showed up at the Cavaliers’ practice facility. Nance spent approximately 90 minutes taking shots and doing weight work, while the others spend their time at separate baskets. All the players were subject to temperature checks before being allowed in the facility.

“They did a really good job of making sure we all felt great about being there,” Nance told Stein. “They could make it at 4 in the morning and I would be there.”

Other players around the league don’t share Nance’s enthusiasm. During the conference call with Silver, Thunder guard and Players Association president Chris Paul expressed the concerns of some players that they felt pressure to work out at their teams’ facilities, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. Silver reiterated that the workouts are optional and advised Paul to follow up with the league if any players had issues with their respective teams during the reopening of the facilities.

Silver To Players: Restart Likely To Be Held In One Or Two Cities

May 8th, 2020 at 6:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Commissioner Adam Silver told players in a conference call on Friday that it would be safer to restart the season in one or two “bubble” cities, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Las Vegas and Orlando are the main options to resume to play in both conferences, though Silver has received inquiries from numerous city officials about hosting the remainder of the season, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets.

A decision to resume the season doesn’t have to be made this month or at the beginning of June, Wojnarowski adds. If the NBA tries to finish the season, there’s no expectation that fans will be in the stands, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Silver cautioned the players that there will always be a measure of risk until a vaccine is developed for the novel coronavirus.

There’s also the possibility that fans will not be allowed in the arenas next season until a vaccine is readily available, Wojnarowski relays in another tweet. That will obviously impact finances, since the league generates approximately 40% of its revenue through fans attending games, Silver told the players. The league is working on creative ways with its TV partners to deliver the games to audiences, Wojnarowski adds.

There is real concern on both sides about the financial hardship caused by the pandemic. Michele Roberts, the executive director of the Players’ Association, broached that subject on the call with Silver. Silver said that the CBA “wasn’t built for an extended pandemic,” calling it “the greatest challenge” of our lifetime, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Silver is hopeful of conducting seven-game series for each playoff round, particularly if there is no travel involved, according to Wojnarowski. The commissioner also told the players that he believes the owners unanimously want to resume the season, despite the fact that there might be some financial advantages to canceling if there will be no fans in the seats (Twitter link).

A player testing positive for the virus won’t necessarily halt play. The league is hopeful of conducting daily tests and if someone tests positive, that player would be isolated in quarantine and the games would continue, Charania relays in another tweet.

Latest On NBA Teams, Players Returning To Work

May 6th, 2020 at 9:18pm CST by ChrisCrouse

NBA teams have been given the go-ahead to begin opening up their facilities on Friday, but they will face restrictions. Among them will be the team’s head coaches not being allowed to participate or observe players workouts, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Teams will be able to designate up to six assistant coaches or player development personnel to provide supervision of player workouts, Woj adds.

The Cavaliers, Nuggets, and Blazers all plan to reopen facilities on Friday. Other teams are expected to follow suit next week.

Commissioner Adam Silver and NBPA executive director Michele Roberts will host an all-player call on Friday as well, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com reports. The call is intended to be an open forum for players to address any concerns and ask questions, Shelburne writes.

NBA Remains Optimistic About 2019/20 Season Even With Further Delay

April 30th, 2020 at 9:44pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The overwhelming majority of high-level executives remain encouraged and optimistic that the NBA will resume this season, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com.

Commissioner Adam Silver has maintained a strong relationship with the National Basketball Players Association as all parties aim to return to basketball. Still, there are many hurdles to overcome in order to resume the season.

Silver previously said that no decision will be made before May 1. That doesn’t mean the commissioner will be making any announcements on Friday, though there’s a bit of restlessness within the league to come to a decision sooner than later, Woj notes.

The MGM Grand in Las Vegas is one of several suitors pitching a plan to host the league. Vegas could potentially also host the WNBA by providing three adjacent hotels for teams to stay at. Disney World in Orlando, Florida remains an option that is gaining momentum. Another proposal would see games played in “pods” across different regions.

Having fans in the stands is probably out of the question. Having cameramen may not be needed either, as sources tell Wojnarowski that the teams could rely on robotic cameras with new, innovative angles of the contests.

TV analysts could potentially call games from remote locations. The current discussions have included keeping teams at a 30-to-35 person head count, including players.

There is some support for the 2020/21 season to begin in December and run through July or August, as a way of resuming the 2019/20 season without dramatically hindering the league’s ability to complete the full ’20/21 calendar. There’s also the understanding that the further the NBA pushes this season back, the higher the chances of having fans in the stands at some point.

The NBA is still sorting out scenarios, but Silver may have to push forward with a decision without the backing of everyone. One GM told Woj that “it’s hard to lead by consensus in a crisis.” Silver may have to simply act in what he feels are the best interests of all parties, even if there are some that have different preferences.

Testing for the coronavirus is another issue. Silver has insisted that he couldn’t allow for the NBA to utilize all the available tests and – according to Woj – has instituted a mandate stating that if a player wasn’t showing symptoms, he shouldn’t be tested. Woj reports that the league would have to reverse course on that and that it would take approximately 15,000 tests to complete the season. While the NBA can afford to pay a private company to make those tests, it would be problematic for the league if they’re not widely available to the American public.

It’s nearing two months since the league suspended its season and the urgency to come to a solution continues to rise.

Coronavirus Notes: Draft, Silver, Hiatus

April 20th, 2020 at 8:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Holding the draft before the season officially ends doesn’t make sense, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel opines. That would create some awkward situations, such as a playoff team drafting the replacement of a rotation player while its season is still ongoing. The draft also involves a lot of trades and teams couldn’t deal a player in the midst of an ongoing season, Winderman adds.

We have more COVID-19 related news:

Commissioner Adam Silver struck a pessimistic tone during his media conference call on Friday, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Silver has taken a somber tone in recent interviews but his latest comments felt more pessimistic, Mannix continues. After previously announcing that the league wouldn’t make any decisions in April, Silver said there were no guarantees any decisions would be made in early May, Mannix adds.
While there’s a growing need to return to normalcy, it’s tough to know when the time is right to restart the season, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. While Silver didn’t rule anything out during his conference call, it doesn’t appear as if games will be played until at least July and there’s still a possibility the league will cancel the remainder of its season.
There will be a sense of rebirth when basketball is played again, agent Bernie Lee writes for Hoops Hype. There’s opportunity in every situation and the current hiatus can be equated with a player getting hurt, Lee continues. There’s shock, followed by a wave of energy that comes from support. Monotony then sets in due to the rough path of recovery. The final stage is the rebirth, Lee adds.

Categories:
COVID-19
Adam Silver

Silver: Still Too Early To Know When Hiatus Will End

April 17th, 2020 at 7:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Commissioner Adam Silver said in a conference call on Friday that there’s no way to know yet whether this season will be resumed, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.

“We don’t have a good understanding of exactly sort of what those standards are that we need to meet in order to move forward … because the experts don’t necessarily, either,” Silver said following a Board of Governors meeting, which was held via video conferencing.

The league continues to be willing to go deep into the summer and perhaps into the fall to finish this season. Players have been told there is no consensus plan on how the NBA will return, nor a “drop dead date” when cancellation would be necessary, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.

A number of factors will determine whether the season can be salvaged, including a reduction of the infection rate of COVID-19 nationally, the availability of large-scale testing and progress toward a vaccine for the novel coronavirus.

“Everything is on the table, including potentially delaying the start of next season,” Silver said, according to ESPN’s Rachel Nichols (Twitter link).

While there has been widespread speculation that the NBA would resume at a neutral site such at Las Vegas or Orlando’s Disney complex, Silver said the league isn’t actively pursuing any such “bubble” plan, Reynolds notes.

Until games are played once again, the financial losses will continue to pile up. Players will have 25% of their paychecks withheld beginning on May 15, the league announced earlier in the day.

“Revenues, in essence, have dropped to zero,” Silver said. “That’s having a huge financial impact on team business and arena business.”

Silver also revealed that more players have tested positive for COVID-19 than the seven who have been publicly named but wouldn’t give any more details due to privacy concerns.

Adam Silver, Mark Cuban Among Potential White House Consultants

April 14th, 2020 at 9:01pm CST by ChrisCrouse

United States President Donald Trump addressed the nation earlier today, speaking about how he plans to re-open the economy and detailing some steps he will take that would hopefully result in the NBA and other leagues booting back up later this year.

“We have to get our sports back,” Trump said (h/t Kurt Helin of NBC Sports).

He added that he plans on talking to upwards of 120 people – including NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban – about the best way to re-open the economy and restart sports. The advisory panel, which includes executives and leaders from many industries, also includes a number of other sports commissioners and team owners, including the NFL’s Roger Goodell and MLB’s Rob Manfred.

“We’re not going to rip out every other seat in (stadiums),” Trump said in discussing how to get fans back to sporting events.

All the commissioners of the North American sports leagues recently conducted a call with Trump. All parties want the leagues to start back up, but Trump said he needs to get the “all clear” from officials first.

In addition to the league’s conversations with the White House, the NBA is consulting with health experts on the best way to get back up and running.

Silver: Weeks Away From Decision On Resuming Season

April 6th, 2020 at 6:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Commissioner Adam Silver said in an interview with TNT broadcaster Ernie Johnson on Monday that a decision on whether to resume the season won’t come until at least May 1, Tim Bontemps of ESPN relays in a string of tweets.

Like millions of fans and everyone connected with the league, Silver said the suspension of play in NBA and other major pro and college sports has left a void in daily life.

“I think we are all realizing how much we miss live sports,” he said.

However, the stark reality of the coronavirus pandemic has made it impossible to know when games will be played again. Playing regular-season games as well as a postseason is still a possibility “in an ideal world.” However, there has been a growing sense of pessimism as the delay drags on with no end in sight.

Even though the league is willing to stretch this season into September to crown a championship, it also has to take into consideration that it doesn’t want negatively impact next season, Silver points out.

Silver is even more concerned about the 55,000 jobs affected by the stoppage of play in the league, including all of its game-day workers. Once it’s considered safe for games to be played, the sports leagues will be “ready to go.”