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Adam Silver Sends Memo To NBA Teams On Resting Players, Looks For Owner Involvement

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in a memo sent to teams yesterday called the practice of resting marquee players an "extremely significant issue" for the league, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. Silver "informed teams that the issue will be a prime topic of discussion" at the next NBA BOG meeting April 6 in N.Y. and "warned of ‎ 'significant penalties' for teams that don't abide by the league's standing rules." Silver "states that it is unacceptable for owners to be uninvolved or defer decision-making on this topic to others in their organizations." Cavaliers GM David Griffin said that the league office "called him shortly after the team announced its decision" to sit star players out of a nationally televised game against the Clippers on ABC on Saturday night. However, Griffin said that it "isn't his job to appease the league and its television partners." ESPN in a statement said, "We understand this is a complex issue and we're working closely with the NBA to best address it going forward from a media partnership standpoint" (ESPN.com, 3/20). 

LONG-TERM EFFECTS? Former NBA Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik said of teams resting healthy players, “It's a very important issue to the future of the league financially. ... You don't need to know exact numbers to realize that if you're not putting your best product out there on a fairly frequent basis, it’s going to affect the television ratings, which affects the economics of the league and it’s going to affect people buying season tickets, potentially down the road.” Granik: “Don't discount ticket sales. That’s still, I don't know what percentage, but probably close to half of the revenues for the NBA teams collectively. Those get renewed on a year-to-year basis so if things started to go south for the league, that could have a much more immediate impact at the gate, but ultimately it would affect everything"(“Mike & Mike,” ESPN Radio, 3/21).

COMMISH NEEDED TO GET ON THIS: ESPN's Tim Legler said, "This is the most significant stance the league has taken on a very serious issue for them. ... Mostly the players bear the brunt of the criticism when this happens. This is different. Adam Silver is going to the top of the food chain because now he is saying, ‘This is directly impacting our relationships with our sponsors and with the networks that cover our games.'" Legler added, "When you put together a package of primetime games on the network and then have this issue happen, you are now completely changing the product. This is one of those sports that when you take the star players off the court it is a completely different product. ... It is tough to actually enforce it but at least he is now serving notice that it is not going to be tolerated" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 3/21). FORBES' Mitch Lawrence wrote under the header, "It's Time For Adam Silver To End The NBA's Rest Epidemic By Doing Something Extreme" (FORBES.com, 3/20). FS1's Colin Cowherd said, "You’re going to tell me the NBA changed the basketball, changed the dress code and forces them to talk at a press conference, and can't do anything about this? This comes back to Adam Silver. ... The knock on Silver was he's cozy with the players. Adam Silver needs to draw a line, because to me, what they're doing is really disrespectful to the commissioner” (“Speak for Yourself,” FS1, 3/20). But ESPN's Shelburne said, "I don't see Adam Silver fining these teams the way that David Stern fined these teams. There’s really no punishment except bad press" (“OTL,” ESPN, 3/20).

PLAYERS GONNA PLAY? Heat F Chris Bosh, who is working as an analyst for TNT, said if players "can play, go out there and play." The AP's Tim Reynolds notes Bosh has been sidelined for the last season-and-a-half because of issues related to blood clots. Bosh said, "I can see it in some instances. But then at the same time, if you can play, play. When there's so much work to do, it's kind of hard to see why guys would take time off. With that said, from a player's side, the schedule is intense" (AP, 3/21). Cavaliers F Richard Jefferson said of his team's decision to sit star players on Saturday, "Guys want to play in these national television games. These are the best for your brand. ... You go and have a big game, everyone’s talking about it. So this is not a game that guys want to miss, but sometimes the schedule works out as such" ("The Jump," ESPN, 3/20). ESPN’s Michael Wilbon said LeBron James is as "selfless a guy as is out there in professional sports on all the major issues, (but) on this he’s totally tone deaf. So you’re saying buy my Kia, eat my cereal, people buy my shoes and I may play when I get around to it. ... This is dangerous and it’s ignoring the fans” (“PTI,” ESPN, 3/20).

GET IN THE GAME: ESPN's Rachel Nichols noted NBA players were "happy to pocket" big salary increases as the "cap spiked." Nichols: "The NBA needs to figure out a way to fix this. If you tell people loudly enough and long enough that individual games really aren't that important, they might just start to believe you” (“The Jump,” ESPN, 3/20). In DC, Tim Bontemps writes it is clear the NBA "isn’t happy that the talk surrounding some of the marquee games on its schedule is not about the play on the court, but instead about healthy players sitting in street clothes on the sideline and watching their teammates." While the NBA is "obviously frustrated by the situation, the league could find itself going down a slippery slope if it begins to tell teams when they can or cannot sit players" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/21). ESPN's Bomani Jones said the NBA "needs to start thinking about things like, ‘Hey, maybe if guys are going to be playing on national television, we shouldn't schedule them in a game the night before, even if they could play in those games.’ It’s not the best look for your national showcase” (“Highly Questionable,” ESPN, 3/20).

GOOD OR BAD? ESPN's Scott Van Pelt noted the Saturday primetime games were going to be "tough from a ratings perspective anyway, because it was head to head with the NCAA Tournament, but with no Cavs stars the rating was likely the worst ever for a game on ABC.” Van Pelt: “The onus here is on the league to do right by its fans and its TV partners" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 3/21). In Buffalo, Jerry Sullivan writes under the header, "Resting Players Is Part Of The Game." Sullivan: "Sure, the NBA has too many games. But it's big business and cutting the schedule means less money. Fans have to live with the prospect of stars missing games" (BUFFALO NEWS, 3/21). In DC, Deron Snyder writes under the header, "Cavaliers, Warriors Right To Rest Stars As They See Fit." Snyder: "What, the Cavs/Warriors should base their decisions on fans who bought premium tickets to watch marquee players? The national TV schedule should be the deciding factor on managing rest? The league should dictate which players can sit out and when? Spare me" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 3/21). ESPN's LZ Granderson said, "Don’t take a poop on your nationally televised games, which is what they did. If you’re going to take off the ABC games, that is hurting your overall brand" (“SportsNation,” ESPN, 3/20).

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