NBA Commissioner Adam Silver begins his first full season at the helm of a league basking in a new media-rights deal and contemplating radical changes, including shortening games and putting ads on jerseys. But the league is also moving forward with the uncertainty of how the new rights deal will impact the next round of labor talks with the NBPA and new Exec Dir Michele Roberts. The DAILY conducted a roundtable with three prominent media members who cover the league -- USA Today's Sam Amick, blogger Chris Sheridan and the Boston Globe's Gary Washburn -- to discuss these topics.
 |
Silver received praise for the way he dealt with the
sale of the Clippers from Donald Sterling |
Q: Assess the job Commissioner Silver has done thus far.
Washburn: Silver has done an admirable job considering the circumstances he inherited from David Stern, including the Jason Collins issue, the Donald Sterling fiasco and the sale of the Clippers to Steve Ballmer. He has worked well to relate with the players, who seem to like his style and approach. And he has put out some serious fires without seeming overwhelmingly on the owners side. I think he has been a fine commissioner through his first eight months.
Amick: All things considered, he has been very good. His leadership during the Donald Sterling saga was as strong a start as one could imagine, but his ability to distinguish himself from Stern in other ways has been key in the early going here as well. Around the league, his openness to discussing any idea that improves the league is seen as refreshing. In the player community, his approval rating was high even before he went to bat on their behalf in the Clippers situation. ... Yet the interesting ripple effect of the Sterling situation, it seems, is that Silver now seems concerned about appearing too much like the judge, jury and executioner when it comes to other league matters. He clearly doesn't want to be Roger Goodell when it comes to waving that proverbial hammer around, but he'll use it when he needs to.
Sheridan: He was great during the Sterling scandal, no question about it. But the Hawks thing stinks to high heaven. The jury is still out on Commissioner Silver. I will judge him when I have a year of things to judge him on.
 |
Roberts has made an effort to connect personally
with players early in her tenure |
Q: Assess the NBPA's hiring of Michele Roberts as its new Exec Dir.
Sheridan: She is a game-changer. There is no other way to put it. Those bargaining rooms were brimming with testosterone, both from Stern, who truly was the smartest guy in the room any time he entered a room, and Hunter, a former athlete whose DNA told him that every battle has a winner and a loser. He was just not smart enough to know that he was outmatched every time. With Roberts, I am sure the NBA is studying her case history and talking with her former colleagues. They are doing their homework on her, but she is not like Billy. She is going to require a different approach from Silver and the NBA's attorneys, and I am sure they realize that.
Washburn: She comes into the job with a chip on her shoulder and realizing the NBPA was ran poorly by Billy Hunter, so she wants to get the organization out of its apathy. I think the new television deal will spark that. I think, as with many organizations after arduous negotiations, the NBPA sort of lost its steam after the new CBA, but Roberts will revitalize the organization. It showed me a lot that just weeks after taking over, she made a strong statement about the new television deal, speaking directly to Adam Silver and sending a message that the players interest will be addressed. It was impressive.
Amick: Roberts came in with a badly desired blend of experience and personality. Her early connection with the executive board is key, but even more important is the fact that she's doing all she can to connect to players all around the league. That's a vital subplot going forward, as Billy Hunter was notorious for empowering the executive board to have his back while ignoring any and all voices outside of their privileged room.
Q. How do you perceive the current climate to be in terms of NBA/NBPA relations, and what is the potential for labor peace/unrest moving forward?
Amick: The climate is just fine for now, but that means nothing. Both sides know the chill will start coming progressively over the next three years, and the harsh reality is that a serious conflict seems inevitable with both sides sending signals that their respective wish lists couldn't be farther apart. That being said, the dynamic between Adam Silver and Michele Roberts has the potential to be far more productive and less dysfunctional than the one that existed last time around between David Stern, Billy Hunter, et al.
Sheridan: They have hit the reset button to a certain degree, and the Silver-Roberts relationship will set the tone going forward. But there is still a culture of lawyer vs. lawyer that exists among the staffs, because they have both been in place for so long and know how the other side tends to operate. The new bosses have two years to figure out if they want to engage each other the old way, or turn the page and try to enter a new era in which outlawyering the other side is no longer the objective. Silver has a chance to truly have a partnership relationship with Roberts, but it is all going to be up to him. She is new to this process, and if she feels Silver is being duplicitous, we will continue to have labor battles that include work stoppages.
Washburn: There will be issues because of the new TV deal and the players want their piece of the pie. Remember, the owners cried broke during the last CBA and the fact the smaller-market owners said they would fold if they didn't get more of the BRI. The players definitely remember that and you will also have more players who weren't active in the previous talks who will be involved and ready to ensure that the players are fairly compensated, so I expect a fight.
 |
Some players, including Dirk Nowitzki, spoke out
against the prospect of shorter games |
Q. What do you think will ultimately come of the league's experimentation with shorter games?
Sheridan: That Nets-Celtics game was not a trial balloon, it was just a bunch of hot air. The best way to shorten the games is to cut the number of timeouts. It is silly to have one at the nine-minute mark of second and fourth quarters. Totally kills the flow of the game. The coaches realize this, but they are fighting a losing battle -- unless someone at the NBA can find a way to eliminate those timeouts yet still fill ad inventory. But believe me, flow of the game is a major, major problem.
Amick: I don't see it happening because, well, LeBron James said so. The player pushback will play a part here. Having shorter games not only runs the risk of skewing the statistical landscape of the league's stars in relation to their predecessors, but it threatens the sort of middle-of-the-road player who needs every last minute to carve out his role and earn the kind of contract he's used to landing.
Washburn: I don't think anything will happen. I don't think the Players Association will ever approve shortening NBA games because it could cost jobs. I don't think the players have an issue with the length of games, they may have an issue with the length of the season, but that also will never change.
