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Adam Silver On Hard Cap, Lottery, CBA

October 22nd, 2014 at 8:13pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Earlier today the NBA’s Board of Governors voted against changes to the draft lottery, with only 17 teams voting to change the current system, which was six short of the required 23 votes needed to pass the reforms. NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed the vote and other issues during a press conference this afternoon, the highlights of which were relayed by Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.

Silver indicated that one third of the league’s franchises are losing money, notes Berger. This is significant because this is happening despite the owners getting the players to accept a 12 percent reduction in their share of the league’s revenues during the last labor negotiations. It could also be the league setting up their bargaining stance for 2017’s pending negotiations.
Berger asked Silver if all 30 teams aren’t making a profit on July 1, 2017, the date that the current CBA can be opted out of, is that reason enough for another lockout? Silver responded by saying, “No. No, because the caveat has always been, if well managed. And I would also say, if you don’t have a hard-cap system, for example, one of the teams that isn’t profitable are the Brooklyn Nets. That’s an election they’re free to make under our compensation system. They’ve elected to be unprofitable. My preference would be to have a harder cap, where teams couldn’t elect to spend so much more than other teams.”
When asked if achieving a hard cap in the next CBA will be a take-it-or-leave-it issue, Silver said, “No, not at all. There’s gradations of hardness in terms of the cap as well. I wish our current cap system was harder. It’s what we proposed last time around, but we compromised.”
Silver called the perception that teams are tanking, “corrosive perception,” notes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel (Twitter links). Silver also added that if lottery reform eventually is adopted, it will come with teams being, “appropriately on notice.” That statement seems to indicate that if any changes were adopted they wouldn’t necessarily take effect for the 2015 draft lottery.
Silver also briefly addressed the possibility that either the players or the owners would opt out of the current CBA in 2017, saying, “It’s premature for even me to be concerned,” Winderman tweets. It would appear that the league should be at least a little concerned, as the new NBPA head Michele Roberts has already hinted that the players would choose to opt out in light of the new $24 billion TV deal that will begin in 2016.

NBA Will Discuss International Competition

August 3rd, 2014 at 8:11pm CST by Zachary Links

In the wake of Paul George‘s gruesome injury in Friday’s Team USA scrimmage, many are questioning the wisdom of allowing NBA players to compete in international events. At the very least, the NBA will discuss the merits of international competition this fall, commissioner Adam Silver tells Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter links).

“I don’t anticipate a major shift in the NBA’s participation in international competition,” Silver said. “We will continue to evaluate the pros and cons of participating in international tournaments [and] this will be a topic at our next NBA Competition Committee meeting in September and Board of Governors meeting in October.”

Of course, one could argue that the real blame for George’s injury lies with the unusual location of the basket stanchion at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Still, that won’t stop others in the league from pushing for NBA players to be kept out of international competition altogether. Over the weekend, Mavs owner Mark Cuban said that he hoped George’s injury would lead the NBA to change its policy.

“I think it’s a bigger issue than star players. We are being taken advantage of by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and to a lesser extent FIBA (International Federal Basketball Association),” Cuban said. “We take on an inordinate amount of financial risk for little, if any, quantifiable gain. It’s like our guiding principle is to lose money on every game and make it up in volume. There is no logic to our position. [We] just hope we get value somewhere in the future.”

Clippers/Sterling Rumors: Roeser, Rivers, Silver

May 2nd, 2014 at 2:56pm CST by Chuck Myron

Donald Sterling has prostate cancer, as Linda Massarella, Emily Smith, Bruce Golding and Helen Kumari of the New York Post report, and his poor health might play a role as the NBA seeks to remove the Clippers from his ownership. The family of the 80-year-old could avoid millions of dollars in taxes if the team is sold after his death, as David Wharton and Stuart Pfeifer of the Los Angeles Times explained this week, giving Sterling incentive to stall and fight the NBA in court until his passing.

Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com has much more on the Sterling saga, and while her entire piece is worth reading, we’ll pass along a few notable revelations here:

Clippers president Andy Roeser opposed the idea of releasing a statement that disputed the tapes, Shelburne reports. Sterling prevailed upon him to release the statement, which argued that the recordings didn’t represent Sterling’s true feelings, through the team with Roeser’s name on it. Doc Rivers was “furious” about the statement, Shelburne writes, describing it as a breaking point for Rivers and the players.
Roeser has been in charge since Silver banned Sterling, but the NBA will likely appoint a trustee to run the team, according to Shelburne.
The NBA interviewed a third person who could be heard in the background of the recordings of Sterling and V. Stiviano, and that interview could help the NBA in its attempts to oust Sterling if the legality of the recordings is questioned in court, Shelburne writes.
NBA owners were confident that Silver would take appropriate action, reflecting the belief in the commissioner that they’d held since the 2011 lockout. Many of them had wanted him to succeed David Stern long before he did so in February, according to Shelburne.

And-Ones: Boylen, Silver, Diogu

April 29th, 2014 at 11:08pm CST by Ryan Raroque

You can find tonight’s miscellaneous notes worth passing along below:

While it’s anyone’s guess as to who the next head coach of the Jazz will be, it’ll be surprising if the team ultimately decides to hire Jim Boylen, as Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News explains.
Following Adam Silver’s decisive ruling over Donald Sterling, J.A. Adande of ESPN wonders how much this enhances Silver’s credibility with the players and how it’ll factor in during the next round of collective bargaining.
Ike Diogu has signed on with Leones de Ponce of the Puerto Rican league, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Earlier this month, the Knicks mulled signing the 6’8 forward to a deal that would have extended into next season.
Emerson College has become a breeding ground for front office positions around the NBA, details Liam Boylan-Pett of SB Nation. Thunder GM Sam Presti and Magic GM Rob Hennigan are among the school’s most recent notable alumni.

And-Ones: ‘Melo, Jazz, Lockout, McRae

April 24th, 2014 at 10:38pm CST by Charlie Adams

Count NBA Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson among those who think Carmelo Anthony would be wise to walk away from the Knicks in free agency this summer. The Big O sat down with SiriusXM NBA Radio and passed along why he thinks ‘Melo should get out of New York, notes Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Robertson thinks Anthony receives too much flack for his efforts as a Knick:

“No matter what he does in New York, they’re going to criticize him, the people are going to criticize him, because you got guys on that team that cannot play. You got guys that are hurt all the time… If I were Carmelo, I would say, ‘Listen, I’m not going to stay here and take all this guff and all this criticism.'”

Let’s round up the latest notes and rumors from around the Association:

Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey acknowledges that in their most recent offseason, Utah “took a step back in order to take three or four forward,” writes Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News. Still, Lindsey remains optimistic for the future, given the club’s cap space and draft picks.
Executives and agents around the league are reportedly nervous about the potential for a lockout in 2017, but commissioner Adam Silver says he has “no expectation” that players will opt out of the collective bargaining agreement, reveals Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press.
Tennesee senior Jordan McRae has signed with agent Jim Tanner of Tandem agency, reports Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (via Twitter). McRae is ranked 71st in Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress‘ list of the top 100 prospects.
The ESPNChicago.com staff discusses whether they’d rather build a team around Derrick Rose or John Wall. The general consensus is that Rose’s value is hard to gauge as a result of his injuries, and it’d likely be a safer bet to pick Wall.
The kind words Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard had for Frank Vogel don’t carry much weight, opines Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders. Koutroupis thinks Pritchard is obligated to make such a statement in order to show support, but really Vogel is in danger of losing his job if Indiana doesn’t perform up to expectations.

And-Ones: Draft, Bucks, Cavs, Pistons

April 18th, 2014 at 9:13pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors weighed in on the Eastern Conference playoffs as a guest on The Baseline podcast at Shaw Sports.

More from around the Association and college ranks:

Kentucky coach John Calipari has no idea if Andrew Harrison and Aaron Harrison will declare for this year’s NBA Draft, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Calipari said, “They have ‘til the 27th to make a decision. I don’t even know what the NCAA date is because we don’t worry about it. It has nothing to do with us. The only date they have to be concerned about is the 27th, when they have to put their name in or they don’t put their name in.” Draft Express has Andrew ranked as the 39th best prospect and Aaron as the 53rd.
The NBA Draft Experts at ESPN.com examine the scouting report and draft prospects of Kentucky’s James Young, who has announced that he will enter this year’s draft. Young ranks 15th on Chad Ford of ESPN.com‘s Big Board.
Duke’s Rodney Hood also gets profiled by ESPN.com’s draft experts. Hood has declared he’s entering the draft this year, and Ford has him ranked 22nd. You can also check out our prospect profile on Hood.
Adam Silver doesn’t anticipate any issues affecting league approval of Herb Kohl’s sale of the Bucks to Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry, as the commissioner told reporters today, including Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Silver informed fellow Journal Sentinel scribe Charles F. Gardner that he expects approval to occur within a month (Twitter link).
Despite the talk that Cavaliers guards Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters don’t get along, Luol Deng has said the two players “love” each other, writes Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal.
Part of the reason the Pistons had such a poor season was due to bad chemistry, writes Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Ellis’ article speculates as to what caused this issue.
Larry Coon of the CBA FAQ Blog (via RealGM.com) is reporting that the 2014/15 salary cap is now projected to be $63.2MM and the tax level is projected to be $77MM. The numbers for 2015/16 are now projected to be $66.5MM and $81MM, respectively. This season’s figures are $58.679MM for the salary cap and $71.748MM for the luxury tax level, so the cap projection for next season is a 7.7% increase over this year’s.

And-Ones: Knicks, Wolves, Silver

April 12th, 2014 at 10:18pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Carmelo Anthony was very complimentary when discussing Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, writes Ian Begley of ESPN.com. Anthony said, “Thibs [Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau] is a great coach. His system kind of reminds me of [Spurs coach] Gregg Popovich’s system. You put anybody in that system and it’s going to work. And that’s what they’ve been doing. They had guys who have been sitting out all season long, guys [have] been in and out the lineup, and they seem to get it done.” The Bulls are one of the teams mentioned as a possible destination for Anthony if he leaves the Knicks this summer.

And-Ones: Jeanie, Celtics, LeBron

March 18th, 2014 at 10:16pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Lakers president Jeanie Buss appeared on TWC Sports Net in Los Angeles tonight, addressing today’s most popular topic: “it was clear that (Phil Jackson) wanted to go back to work, but there was no role for him with the Lakers…He was not offered an official position… There (was) no role in the front office for him.”

As Jackson’s fiancee, Buss said that she recently met with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to discuss a potential conflict of interest now that Phil is running the front office in New York. With regard to the Buss family’s ownership of the Lakers, Jeanie asserted that they aren’t going anywhere soon: “This is the family business and the family is going to own the team for as long as the family is together” (All Twitter links via ESPN LA’s Ramona Shelburne).

Here are more of tonight’s miscellaneous news and notes:

Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck recently hinted at major roster changes this summer, telling Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe that there could be “fireworks” this June, as Holmes notes within a story on the challenges of playing for a team with so much uncertainty,
LeBron James sidestepped a question about a potential return to the Cavaliers earlier tonight: “For me to take my mind somewhere else when I know what’s on its way [postseason] is almost impossible” (Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel via Twitter). Tonight marked LeBron’s final appearance in Cleveland before he can opt out this summer, and the Heat superstar didn’t count anything out: “Only time will tell” (Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio relayed on Twitter).
Though Mark Jackson has been a target for ridicule in Golden State, the missteps of Warriors owner Joe Lacob and GM Bob Myers can’t be ignored either, writes Ric Bucher of the Bleacher Report.
Bucher adds that it was Lacob who made the call to amnesty Charlie Bell‘s $4MM contract so the team could pursue then-free agent Tyson Chandler, who never planned on playing for the Warriors. Additionally, top management – whether intentional or not – provided the grist which brought forth questions about Jackson’s job security this year, specifically when Lacob expressed disappointment about certain losses and Myers suggested that Jackson has been given all he needs to succeed. The team is currently sixth in the Western Conference and holds just a three-and-a-half-game lead over the ninth-seeded Suns.

Eastern Notes: Fredette, Silver, Stoudemire

March 2nd, 2014 at 12:23pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Commissioner Adam Silver not only defended the Sixers, but praised the organization’s strategy for attempting to build a championship contender, writes Jason Wolf of USA Today. This comes a day after former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy slammed the Sixers’ apparent willingness to field a non-competitive team and tank a season to improve its draft stock. “I don’t agree with Coach Van Gundy at all,” Silver said. “I just came from the locker room, I just spoke to the coach. It’s an insult to the entire league to suggest that these guys are going out on the floor and aren’t doing their very best to win games.” Tom Moore of Calkins Media tweeted that Silver said the team isn’t tanking, but rather “building from the ground up.” Silver also told Moore (Twitter link) that he “doesn’t believe a team has to go all the way to the bottom to get to the top.”

Silver On Draft, Playoffs, Age Minimum

March 2nd, 2014 at 10:34am CST by Eddie Scarito

New NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently spoke at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference and he might be open to bringing about some innovative alterations to the game, writes Royce Young of CBSSports.com. Silver addressed his willingness to implement significant changes, including switching up the NBA playoff format and changing the draft if some of the complications could be ironed out.

Some topics Silver touched on:

He admitted to being “fascinated” by the idea of a play-in tournament to the playoffs. Silver said, “By having a seven-game series, you reduce the randomness of the outcome. I think what’s so exciting about college basketball — and I’m a huge college basketball fan — is the single-elimination tournament, the NCAA tournament. There, statistically, you’re gonna have a lot more upsets. So, I think for us, well, I have mixed views. In the case of certain teams where star players were injured for a portion of the season or the team didn’t jell until later in the season, that team can become competitive. Right? I like that idea.“
Silver also discussed the “wheel concept” for changing how the draft order is determined, and said he thinks it’s a good idea. One sticking point would be the possibility that college players could plan and dictate where they might be drafted.
He also stated that if he could change one thing about the league right now, it would be to raise the minimum draft age to 20. “Maybe the 20-year-old is a shorthand,” Silver said. “I would just say a better integration of AAU, youth, high school, college basketball and NBA basketball. This is the sport of the 21st century. We have enormous opportunity.”
The commissioner also talked about installing human growth hormone testing, as well as tougher drug policies.

Adam Silver