NEW YORK – With the new National Basketball Association (NBA) season a little more than a month away, the league is watching trade demand situations by Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lilliard and Philadelphia 76ers’ James Harden, and waiting for solutions to develop.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed those and other issues on Wednesday after a meeting of team owners, saying he did not like the stand-off situations that have lingered for months.
“As a league, we want players and teams to honour their contracts,” Silver said.
“I’m watching both the situation in Portland and Philadelphia, and hope they get worked out to the satisfaction of everyone before the season starts (on Oct 24). I’m glad that things seem to have settled down somewhat at least in terms of public discourse.”
Both guards Harden and Lillard have made no secret of a desire to be traded.
Lillard has indicated he wants a deal to the Miami Heat, while Harden has said he felt betrayed that the 76ers have not managed to move him after he picked up a US$35.6 million (S$48.5 million) contract option to stay with Philadelphia, a deal reportedly falling through with the Los Angeles Clippers.
But a new NBA collective bargaining agreement has made it tougher to create teams with multiple stars, although the Phoenix Suns have made off-season strides by landing Bradley Beal to join Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.
“We love super teams as long as they’re formed in a way that seems competitively fair across the league. Smart drafting, smart trades... as opposed to one team who has the ability to spend an enormous amount more than another team does,” Silver said.
Meanwhile, the NBA will launch an in-season tournament in November and December similar to European football’s League Cup competitions, with Silver saying on-court energy from players could be a measure of success.
The NBA will examine factors such as attendance compared to typical regular-season contests, television ratings and social media interest, but he believes that there is something “less tangible” which is the energy on the floor.
“If you watch 30 seconds of a game you can tell the difference, for the most part, between play-off games and regular-season games. They’re played with a different sense of intensity,” Silver explained.
“(So) if we’re seeing early indications of success (of the in-season tournament), you’re going to see something a little bit ratcheted-up intensity than you see during a typical regular-season game. I think that will be a sign of success.”
The NBA will tweak as needed to improve the product, he added. AFP
