NBA commissioner Adam Silver addresses the media following the Board of Governors meeting in New York City.
With the regular season only five weeks away, and with training camps and preseason games booked between now and then, NBA commissioner Adam Silver understandably is excited for what’s to come.
“I don’t remember a season where the competition was as hotly anticipated as this year,” Silver said Tuesday at a news conference after this week’s Board of Governors meetings. “There are so many good teams, so many interesting situations out there. … I can’t wait for the season to start.”
First, however, there was leftover and ongoing business to address, including questions about the penalties imposed on the Los Angeles Clippers in the Kawhi Leonard salary cap circumvention case. The media session in midtown Manhattan at the end of the two-day BOG event was the first time reporters could seek details from the commissioner.
For instance, Silver was asked how the Clippers’ punishment – suspensions to owner Steve Ballmer, president of business operations Gillian Zucker and general manager Lawrence Frank, a $30 million fine and five forfeited future first-round draft picks – was determined to be neither too harsh nor too light.
“That’s in some ways the most difficult part of adjudicating these disputes,” the commissioner said, “because while there have to be competitive consequences, our view, if these rules are violated, we still want to be a 30-team league.
“We recognize that in some ways we’re unfortunately punishing the fans of that team as well. That’s the balance we’re trying to seek. I don’t think in any way we’ve done permanent damage to this franchise.”
Hammer the offending team too much and it might flat-line in the standings for a decade or more. Go too easy and neither it nor an ambitious rival from among the other 29 might be deterred from similarly cheating again.
“No question, this is a setback for the team,” Silver said. “The ultimate goal in terms of these type of sanctions is to ensure that other teams don’t engage in this type of behavior in the future.”
In penalizing the Clippers for arranging endorsement deals for Leonard as a prohibited work-around to the league’s salary cap, the NBA used the precedent of Minnesota’s illegal contracts with Joe Smith back in 2000. That same precedent could be invoked again, if the NBA were to modify the punishment: the Timberwolves eventually had two of their five stripped picks rebated for dropping any legal challenges and complying with the verdict.
Said Silver: “Putting aside the precise words he chose to use, most importantly he indicated a willingness to accept the league’s decision in this case and the accompanying sanctions.
“Our plan is to move forward. Every reason to believe that at the end of the year [suspension] he’ll return to be an owner in good standing.”
The commissioner dismissed a suggestion that similar illicit side deals might exist with other players and teams. “I’ve had lots of conversations with general managers, team presidents, owners as to the kind of conduct that goes on,” he said. “We know around the lines there’s been slippage over the years, but nothing of this nature that I’m aware of.”
As always, the BOG agenda included a variety of topics, most of which Silver touched on in taking questions from the media:
Expansion inches closer for Las Vegas, Seattle
There was enthusiasm in the boardroom for Las Vegas and either a renovated T-Mobile Arena or what Silver called a new “modern entertainment palace.” He added: “It’s a unique market where you could truly see essentially 365-day-a-year activity.”
Seattle got less attention at this week’s meetings only because it’s arena situation is more solidified. Silver reaffirmed the NBA’s goal to reach an expansion decision by the end of 2026.
NBA Europe on track for next summer
Silver said the NBA continues to negotiate with the EuroLeague about partnering in the new endeavor. But he said some version of NBA Europe would begin play in 2027 regardless.
Despite all the complexity of a start-up league overseas, Silver said: “We want to get going. … There will be announcements [on markets and franchises] coming over the next few months.”
Uncertainty around the Trail Blazers’ arena
A standoff between the city of Portland and team owner Tom Dundon has some fans nervous that the franchise might seek to relocate. Silver deftly avoided taking a side, talking about the importance for Dundon and public officials to reach an agreement for a “state-of-the-art arena.”
“It’s my hope that we can lower the temperature honestly a bit in these negotiations,” he said. Silver said he spoke at length with Dundon this week in New York and knows the Blazers owner consulted with other team owners about their similar civic negotiations.
Silver added: “I would see it as a failure if we did not keep the team in Portland.”
Tanenbaum out, Arison in
This BOG session was the last with Toronto’s Larry Tanenbaum as chairman, who held the post for nine years. Miami’s Micky Arison now assumes that role.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
