NBA Deputy Commissioner & COO Adam Silver will take the reins of the league after "a wildly successful 30-year run" by Commissioner David Stern, but there is "little known about Silver’s long-term plans for the league and whether they differ from Stern’s ideas," according to Gary Washburn of the BOSTON GLOBE. Silver said that one of his "primary goals is to bring the league’s owners -- besides the popular Mark Cuban and Micky Arison -- more to the forefront." He said, "I think there’s opportunity for the public to get to know a lot of our owners a lot better." He said, "We have this new generation of this incredible assembly of some of the best business people literally in the world. To have an owner born in Moscow now (Mikhail Prokhorov), we have an owner born in Tel Aviv in Micky Arison. Taking this league more globally, I think I really need the help of those entrepreneurs and business people who are part of this league. If anything, one of the things we’re going to be working toward is having a greater sense of partnership among the owners to build the entire league. And then I’d also do so with the players as well -- obviously a generation younger but I think there’s an opportunity to reestablish the very strong bond with the players that’s always existed." Silver added, "When people talk about expansion, there’s no question that some of the great cities in Europe would be incredibly attractive to the league. And logistically, it’s becoming more of a possibility in terms of state-of-the-art arenas that are now being built." Washburn noted the "shadow and reputation of Stern loom large, and Silver said it will take time to create his own identity." He "won’t hurry the process" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/10).
THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS: Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban on Saturday said that NBA expansion "probably is on the horizon." He said, "There's a good chance of it happening, but I have no idea when." Cuban added that the key to "getting a 31st NBA franchise, or perhaps two at a time, will be the fee those cities/owners are willing to pay to enter the league." He said, "I just think the price of the expansion fee has to be so high that the NBA owners think, 'OK, we're crazy not to do it.' What that number is, I don't know" (DALLASNEWS.com, 11/9).
