The NBA will try to strike the right balance of celebrating All-Star weekend and remembering SternGETTY IMAGES
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he has been moved by the players' "desire to memorialize" Kobe Bryant and David Stern at the All-Star Game in Chicago on Feb. 16, and the events are "now coming together," according to K.C. Johnson of NBC SPORTS CHICAGO. Silver said the league plans to strike the proper balance between the celebratory nature of All-Star weekend and honoring the legacies of Stern and Bryant by "remaining authentic and not trying to force anything." He said they will be "putting in place the platform both for memorializing but also celebrating and letting these events play out in their own way." Silver: "The same advice I hear from experts in terms of grieving is that you must allow these emotions to unfold in a natural way." Meanwhile, Silver said the genesis of the latest tweak to the All-Star Game format "comes directly" from Thunder G Chris Paul. Silver: "[Paul] called me last summer and said, 'I'm a big fan of The Basketball Tournament. And are you familiar with the so-called Elam endings?' And I said I was. I've watched it a few times. I said 'It's fascinating.'" More Silver: "I've learned the hard way in my many years here that people generally don't like change. I mean, everyone talks a good game about innovation. But then when you try it, there are plenty of critics out there" (NBCSPORTSCHICAGO.com, 2/3).
