Adam Silver says NBA ‘excellent’ but Draymond Green calls it ‘boring’

SAN FRANCISCO – National Basketball Association (NBA) commissioner Adam Silver said that he was happy with the state of the league despite complaints about too many three-pointers, but added on Feb 15 that the NBA will continue to study the issue.

Speaking during NBA All-Star weekend festivities, he also said that Dallas Mavericks fans who are angry over Luka Doncic being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers should have faith in club management. He is not worried about the NBA’s union deal creating more rough splits like Jimmy Butler’s move from the Miami Heat to the Golden State Warriors as well.

But playing style was the main subject after four-time NBA champion forward Draymond Green of the Warriors called the league “boring” earlier in the day.

“Physicality has been taken out of the game and to me that’s boring,” Green said. “The human element has been taken out of it. I don’t think that makes for a great product.”

Silver, however, said that he likes where the NBA is at, even with a surge in three-point shooting.

“I think the state of the game is excellent,” the commissioner said.

“It’s perfectly appropriate to be critical of the game, and I find it very helpful. We’re paying a lot of attention to it. I’m not going to say there isn’t room for improvement. We’ll continue to look at it and study it, but I am happy with the state of the game.”

Silver added that 25 years ago, a similar conversation about the NBA was that there were too many slam dunks and physical play was too dominating.

“Being around this game a long time, I’ve learnt not to overreact,” he said. “I do think it’s a beautiful game.”

On the topic of three-pointers, Silver said 50 per cent of points in the NBA still come from under the basket, adding: “What you’re seeing is a conversion from more two-pointers to three-pointers. And often those longer shots do take more skill.”

Asked about Dallas fans upset by the Doncic deal which also involved Anthony Davis, Silver had sympathy for the team and their supporters.

“I’m empathetic. I understand it. Dallas was in the Finals last year,” he said. “I also am sympathetic to the Mavericks organisation... they did what they thought was in the best interest of their organisation.

“All I can say to them is, time will tell whether it was a smart trade, but I think they should believe in their organisation.”

Silver dismissed the idea the trade was made to dim fan interest and help push a Mavericks relocation to Las Vegas or another market.

“I have absolutely no knowledge or belief there were any ulterior motives,” he said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that the Dumont-Adelson families bought that team to keep it in Dallas.”

Silver also said he did not see the union-NBA collective bargaining agreement (CBA) creating rifts as the one between Miami and Butler, but he did see teams in tough spots.

“I’m not concerned that will be the result of the new CBA. What the CBA was designed to do is force teams to make difficult decisions,” he said.

“Part of the design of that CBA in pushing down high-end spending was to create more parity in the league and to do a better job of distributing our best players around the 30 teams. You’re seeing that already.”

Meanwhile, Silver said NBA television ratings for this season are down slightly but rising after a slow start.

He added that the NBA might within a few years have technology, similar to automated line calls in tennis, to help decide out-of-bounds calls, allowing referees to focus more attention on potential on-court violations. AFP