San Francisco (AFP) – NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he was happy with the state of the league despite complaints about too many 3-pointers, but added Saturday the NBA continues to study the issue. Speaking during NBA All-Star weekend festivities, Silver also said Dallas Mavericks fans angry over Luka Doncic being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers should have faith in club management and he isn’t worried about the NBA’s union deal creating more rough splits like Jimmy Butler’s move from Miami to Golden State.
But NBA style was the main subject after four-time NBA champion forward Draymond Green of Golden State called the NBA “boring” earlier on Saturday. “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 he likes where the NBA is at even with a surge in 3-point shooting. “I think the state of the game is excellent,” Silver said. “It’s perfectly appropriate to be critical of the game. I find it very helpful. We’re playing 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.”
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Silver said 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 learned not to over-react,” Silver said. “I do think it’s a beautiful game.” Silver said 50% of points in the NBA still come from under the basket. “What you’re seeing is a conversion from more 2-pointers to 3-pointers,” Silver said. “And often those longer shots do take more skill.”
Asked about Dallas fans upset by the Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis deal, Silver had sympathy for team and supporters. “I’m empathetic. I understand it. Dallas was in the finals last year,” Silver said. “I also am sympathetic to the Mavericks organization… they did what they thought was in the best interest of their organization. All I can say to them is time will tell whether it was a smart trade but I think they should believe in their organization.”
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,” Silver said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that the Dumont-Adelson families bought that team to keep it in Dallas.”
– ‘Create more parity’ – Silver also said he didn’t 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,” Silver 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.”
Silver said NBA television ratings for this season are down slightly but rising after a slow start. He also said 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.
© 2024 AFP
