RUNNING NBA FROM OFFICE NOT FOR SILVER
Adam Silver had his revelatory moment as NBA commissioner.
“Like Bill Clinton said, ‘It’s the economy, Stupid.’ ‘It’s about the game, Stupid,’ ” Silver told USA TODAY Sports. “Sometimes … maybe you start focusing too much on the business side of basketball.”
While partnerships — such as new ones with Nike, Pepsi, Verizon, Under Armour and Stance and renewals with State Farm and Anheuser-Busch — are necessities, Silver has concentrated on basketball since taking over for David Stern. Silver had his twoyear anniversary Feb. 1.
“In the last two years, I’ve spent a lot more time talking directly to general managers and talking about the game,” said Silver, 53.
He meets with owners and players and travels regularly, hearing from fans..
“What I’m learning is how critically important it is that I get out of the office, that I not spend my time behind my desk and that I be out there hearing directly from our fans (and) our consumers in terms of what they think of the game (and) what changes they would make,” Silver said.
Silver listens, too. In the last year, he has:
uImplemented a schedule that reduced the number of back-toback games and four-games-infive-days in an attempt to make sure the league has the best possible product on the floor.
uTweaked the playoff format so teams are seeded 1-8 in each conference, regardless of division champions.
uAdded a full-time referee to assist in the replay center.
uBegan releasing reports detailing correct and incorrect calls by referees during the final two minutes of close games.
uPushed for a reduction in the use of strategically fouling the worst free throw shooters.
Working on little sleep — he can’t always stay up for the finish of the West Coast games — and still finding time to attend Broadway shows (he loved Hamilton) and read important books ( When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi), Silver thrives in his role.
“I realize every day how fortunate I am to be in this position and how lucky I am that the league is in such great shape,” Silver said, “that I have such wonderful colleagues, and by colleagues I mean everyone from the owners of the teams, to the group many of whom you know that I have here in the league office with me, to the excellent team executives, and, of course, our players, who really are a fantastic group of young men.”
Silver presides over an exciting time for the league, led by tremendous players, the Golden State Warriors’ joyful style and success, the San Antonio Spurs’ steady brilliance and an increase in the competitive balance, especially in the Eastern Conference.
“What we’re seeing now is that players are moving to markets that have cap room and players are moving to markets where they see opportunities to play,” Silver said. “It’s not a function of market size these days. It’s a function of the management of the team and the opportunity in that market.”
But there is potential trouble. The lucrative nine-year TV deal with ESPN/ABC and Turner Sports will inject $2.66 billion into the league annually starting next season.
That money will result in a record jump in the salary cap — from $70 million this season to at least $89 million next season — and it has the potential to alter the competitive balance.
“It will be disruptive, and, hav- ing been around the league for a long time, I only know it’s going to be disruptive in ways that we can’t even predict,” Silver said. “It’s not the way we modeled the CBA going into the last collective bargaining agreement. We thought we would have more regular increases from year to year (in the salary cap).
“You like to have a system where planning is rewarded and management is rewarded. Now, with all this unexpected cap room, teams that should not have had that kind of room (to spend), of course, will have it.”
All that money sets the scene for the next collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association.
Both sides can opt out of the 2011 CBA by Dec. 15, and Silver said, “Clearly we’re operating under the premise that if we can’t get a new deal negotiated by then, they are likely to opt out.”
Encouraging signs exist — even if there is a lockout — that regular-season games won’t be lost, as was the case in 2011. The sides are meeting regularly, building relationships and trust. The NBA is dealing with new leadership on the union side: Michele Roberts, the NBPA executive director, has been on the job for about 17 months, and NBPA general counsel Gary Kohlman was hired at the start of the 2014-15 season.
“My cause for optimism is based on, to me, the spirit of the discussions and the directness in which we’ve been dealing with each other,” Silver said.
That doesn’t mean talks will be easy. Both sides pledged not to negotiate publicly, but it’s not hard to see where the divide might be: over money and the salary cap/luxury tax.
Players see the money coming to the league and might want a bigger split of basketball-related income (about 50%-50% now). The NBA fought hard in the last negotiations to put restrictions on team spending that fosters competitive balance and might seek a model that ensures that.
How this will play out, nobody knows. For now, the majority of eyes are on the game. That, Silver says, is what’s important.