Silver disputed the idea that the NBA's small-market teams can't compete with big marketsNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in his State of the League address over All-Star Weekend "sounded sanguine about any possible negative effects" the Anthony Davis saga was having on the league, according to Kevin Draper of the N.Y. TIMES. Silver: "We certainly are becoming a 52-week-a-year sport, and it’s largely the result of tremendous interest in these players. I think we could do a better job as a league in avoiding those situations where they get to the point where players are maybe demanding they be traded or, worst-case scenario, saying, ‘I’m not going to honor my contract.’” Silver "largely disputed" a question about small markets' ability to compete with large-market franchises. Silver: "I’m not even sure where the line is anymore on big markets." He also said that it was "too early to judge whether reforms to the draft lottery, intended to reduce the incentive to tank in pursuit of a high draft pick, were having the intended effect." Overall, Silver's responses suggested that he was "relatively happy with the state of the NBA and believed that the league’s problems could be solved through tweaks to the system, not wholesale changes" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/17).
ON TANKING & DRAFTING: The AP's Tim Reynolds noted the NBA has "tried to combat tanking by changing the odds of winning the draft lottery," but Silver "remains unsure if that’s enough to solve the issue entirely." Silver: "We’ve seen this in other sports as well. There’s a mindset that, if you’re going to be bad, you might as well be really bad. I believe, personally, that’s corrosive for those organizations. ... But, again, we’ll see how this plays out" (AP, 2/16). On Long Island, Barbara Barker noted Silver "pointed out that that while there are more teams competing for playoffs spots this year than there have been in recent years, the teams at the bottom are really awful" (NEWSDAY, 2/17). Silver mentioned the Bucks, Thunder and Nuggets to "illustrate that the NBA's small market teams are competitive" (L.A. TIMES, 2/17). In N.Y., Marc Berman noted Silver "pounded home again the notion tanking will not make a team stronger in the long run" (N.Y. POST, 2/17). Also in N.Y., Stefan Bondy wrote, "With his new anti-tanking rules clearly not deterring in their first year of implementation, Silver urged for a wait-and-see approach while condemning the long-term effects of purposeful losing." He even "floated the relegation system in the European soccer leagues" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/17).
THE TAMPERING/TRADE DEMAND ISSUE: Silver said that he has the tools to "deal with tampering." But in Charlotte, Rick Bonnell wrote if that is so, he "should use them more forcefully." Bonnell: "I don't believe fines will change behavior. Take away a team's draft pick, at least a second-rounder, if you really want to send a message" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 2/17). SI.com's Rohan Nadkarni noted the Davis-Pelicans saga and trade demands of NBA players in general "loomed large" during Silver's presser. His position on trade demands is "questionable at best," as he "seemed to direct most of his frustration at players when discussing the publicness of trade demands" (SI.com, 2/16). In Houston, Jonathan Feigen noted Silver "admitted there is little he could do about players demanding to be traded even while under contract" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 2/17). In DC, Ben Golliver noted Silver "hopes to see greater discretion from NBA players when they request a trade." The "fear is that Davis’s approach will become the new standard, and that superstar players will be increasingly assertive in pressing their organizations to move them" well before their contracts end (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 2/16).
MAVERICKS UPDATE: In Dallas, Brad Townsend noted Silver was asked about the status of Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban's $10M donation to women's organizations in wake of the team's culture scandal. Silver said he recently "got a report directly" from NBA President of Social Responsibility & Player Programs Kathy Behrens and Mavs CEO Cynthia Marshall. Silver: "Mark is absolutely meeting his commitment and has told me he's doing far more than that" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 2/17).
CHUCK'S TAKE: The WASHINGTON POST's Golliver noted TNT's Charles Barkley over the weekend "didn't mince words in a blistering critique of the league's lack of competitive balance." He said, "I hear all these clowns on television talking about how it's great that all these players are exerting their power. Workers ain't never going to have power over their ownership. ... When these guys are sitting home locked out in a couple years." He added, "With the invention of the superteam, we're going to raid the small markets and they're going to become extinct. That's not a good business model. The next couple of years, when we have to redo the [CBA], the owners are going to say, 'OK, you guys all want to play together and we don't have any competitive balance.' Let's see what's going to happen" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 2/15).
