After one year on the job, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is "proving to be the right choice to lead a league into the digital era," according to Frank Isola of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. Silver addressed a "variety of issues" during a Q&A, including the state of the league, restructuring the playoff format and Knicks Owner James Dolan. Below are excerpts from the interview:
Q: The last time the All-Star Game was in New York was in 1998 and it was seen as Michael Jordan handing the torch to Kobe Bryant. The fear was that with Jordan eventually retiring, the league would suffer. With Kobe and Tim Duncan in the twilight of their careers, is the NBA in good hands?
Silver: I feel that we’re entering into a golden era for the NBA. I can’t remember a time when we’ve had so many terrific teams and so many stars spread throughout the league. And the great news is so many of the fantastic players in the league are in early stages of their careers and there is a great pipeline of up-and-coming players.
Q: Since you scheduled regular-season games in Europe why not play the All-Star Game abroad?
Silver: There are no plans in the drawer yet, but it’s something that as the NBA continues to grow around the world I’m sure we’ll look at it down the road. Right now, because of the scheduling issues and the additional time that would be required to move the game outside of the U.S. or Canada it’s not realistic right now. But as we look to grow the league, there are so many great cities outside the United States that would love to host a game. It’s something we’d look at.
Q: There has been a recent trend of players taking games off and you’ve even heard some suggest shortening the 82-game regular season. Is that under consideration?
Silver: It’s nothing we’re looking at now. What I hear from fans is that they can’t get enough NBA basketball. Typically, I hear once the season is over people saying to me "what am I going to do until the league starts up again?" So we have no plans to shorten the season.
Q: What about the possibility of realignment or changing the playoff seeding where the top 16 teams qualify for the postseason?
Silver: We’re going to take a fresh look at it. I’m not sure whether it will be realignment or how we structure the playoffs. It’s a related issue; if we look to change the structure of the schedule and focus less on divisions and conferences it would invariably lead to more travel (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/12).
SILVER'S SEQUEL: The AP's Brian Mahoney noted when Silver "returns to the All-Star stage on Saturday ... he isn't planning to announce a new platform," but he also "knows that the time for talk is ending" about his first year in office. Silver said, "Year 2 needs to be one in which we're focused on action. And I think there are a variety of issues that have been raised in which I said we would take a fresh look, but I think now the pressure is on to respond." Silver "identifies those as the format of the draft lottery, creating a schedule that can reduce the number of back-to-backs and stretches of four games in five nights, the way the playoffs are seeded, and increasing the NBA's role in youth basketball" (AP, 2/12).
