NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said it was "fascinating to me it got almost no attention" when players in this year's Slam Dunk Contest were "wearing a Sprite logo" on their jerseys, according to Kerry Eggers of the PORTLAND TRIBUNE. Silver: "That goes to show that, while I understand what the notion of NASCAR-like uniform conjures in fans, there is a tasteful way to have relatively small branding added to the jerseys that would provide additional value to our sponsors and the league." Silver, who discussed a wide range of topics with Eggers, said of potentially eliminating conference affiliation when seeding the playoffs, "If you seed teams from one to 16 based on record, we would no longer play an unbalanced schedule. It would require a wholesale change in the schedule, which potentially would require more travel. That works against trying to provide maximum rest for our players." He added, "I'm open-minded at taking a fresh look at it. We're beginning that process now." Silver said if the league were to reduce the number of preseason games, it would "make sense to start the season a little earlier and potentially go a little bit later with the regular season." Silver: "Some owners have asked us to look into moving back the Finals and playing into July. That's something we need to talk about with our TV partners. I'm not sure it makes sense, but we're willing to look at it." Silver also addressed a hard salary cap, saying there is a "correlation between payroll and success on the floor." Silver: "We look at the NFL system with a hard cap; they have the best parity in all sports." Meanwhile, he said the league wants the All-Star Game to be "hosted by cities where we've never been before" (PORTLAND TRIBUNE, 3/10).
