NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on LeBron James' All-Star Game criticism, vaccines and returning to normal
On Saturday of All-Star Weekend, NBA commissioner Adam Silver normally would be in a packed press conference room fielding questions from reporters from all over the world â in person.
But as we know, this is not a normal All-Star Weekend. Silver still took questions on Saturday from reporters from around the world but it was on Zoom, and Silver answered from an empty press room in Atlanta where All-Star events will take place on Sunday.
The skills competition and 3-point (6:30 p.m. ET, TNT) precedes the All-Star Game (8 p.m. TNT) with the slam dunk contest at halftime.
Here are some takeaways from Silverâs press conference in which he addressed the state of the league:
Responding to LeBron James' criticism about All-Star game
Silver said he did not take offense to Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James calling it a âslap in the faceâ for the NBA to hold an All-Star game during a compressed 72-game season just two months after the 2019-20 season ended on a quarantined site.
âIt would be incredibly hypocritical of me to tell LeBron you should speak out on issues that are important to you, but not ones when you are critical of the league,â Silver said. âWeâre all part of a community. I respect him and his point of view. But at the same time, I also appreciate his professionalism.â
James had said he has âzero energy and zero excitement about an All-Star game this year.â But becoming one of the All-Star captains after receiving the most fan votes, James appeared jovial during the draft that was televised on TNT last Thursday. James, who will make his 17th All-Star appearance on Sunday, bantered with opposing captain Kevin Durant and the TNT cast about his All-Star picks. James also defended he and Durant selecting Utahâs Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert with the last picks despite the Jazz holding the leagueâs best record.
âHe did it in good humor and took it very seriously,â Silver said. âMy sense is heâs going to be here as he always is as a top-notch professional and engaged in the game. So I respect his point of view, but it can be issues that can be worked out within the family, so to speak.â
James represented one of several NBA stars that questioned having an All-Star game. Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Los Angeles Clippersâ Kawhi Leonard and Paul George as well as Sacramento Kings guard DeâAaron Fox all criticized the logic behind having the All-Star game because of the safety concerns as well as the reduced time off during a compressed season.
But Silver defended the decision for a number of reasons. He predicted âover 100 million peopleâ will watch the game through television or social media channels. He touted that the NBA All-Star Game will helping HBCUs with over $3 million in donations and exposure. And he downplayed the safety concerns since the NBA oversaw a bubble season with zero infections among players, coaches and staff members.
âI havenât made a secret that economic interests arenât a factor,â Silver said. âWhen I say economic interests are a factor, it has less to do with the economics of one Sunday night on TNT in the United States. It has more to do with the larger brand value of the NBA and the fact that this is our No. 1 fan engagement event of the year.â
Silver optimistic most players will take COVID-19 vaccine
The NBA does not plan to require players to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
âUltimately these are personal decisions that players need to make,â Silver said.
And yetâŠ.
âMy hunch is that most players ultimately will choose to get vaccinated,â Silver said.
The reasons? One, the NBA has launched various promotional and educational efforts to inform the players about the effectiveness and safety of the COVID-19 vaccine. Two, Silver said vaccinated players will face fewer health and safety protocol restrictions than the ones that decline to take the vaccine.
âThe CDC has already announced when you get vaccinated, you donât need to quarantine as a close contact. As you know, many of our players have had to sit out not because they tested positive but because they were required to quarantine because of a close contact,â Silver said. âIn addition, right now as we operate under this so-called work quarantine protocol, where players are largely only going between their homes and the arenas, once they get vaccinated theyâll be able to do more in their communities. Thatâs something weâve already begun talking to the Players Association about.â
Silver said âthere is no player that I am aware of that has been vaccinated yetâ partly because the NBA has refused to administer vaccines at the expense of essential workers, the elderly and the sick. But Silver said an unnamed number of coaches and staff members have received the vaccine because they fit the age criteria. Other team staff have received it because they are considered healthcare workers.
Regardless, Silver said he found it ârealisticâ to finish the second half of the NBA season and the playoffs without widespread vaccine distribution. The NBA has postponed 31 games thus far because teams did not field at least eight players due to a combination of positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing.
âWe know that for the most part a testing protocol, together with mask wearing and all of other precautions weâre taking, largely works," Silver said. "The NCAA Tournament is going to be played this year, again without vaccinations for their players. To me, weâll make additional progress if players get vaccinated, but it certainly doesnât require that they all get vaccinated."
Silver optimistic about normalcy for next season
Silver acknowledged financial losses have been substantial, but he remains bullish on the leagueâs long-term outlook. Heâs encouraged by the possibility of increased attendance at games next season.
âRoughly half of our teams have fans in the arena right now, and if vaccines continue on the pace they are and they continue to be effective as they have been against the virus and its variants, weâre hopeful weâll have relatively full arenas next season as well,â Silver said.
Silver said the plan is to start next season âas close to so-called normal as possible.â
This season, the playoffs are schedule to begin May 22 and end July 22 â just before the Tokyo Olympics. âWe wanted those players who wanted to participate in the Olympics to do so, but in addition, we realized if weâre going to get back on cycle and the players were going to get the appropriate down time before the season began, we didnât want to go deep into the summer or fall as we did last season,â Silver said.
In between, Silver also said itâs possible the league holds some kind of abbreviated Las Vegas Summer League, which was cancelled last year because of the pandemic, and/or minicamps for rookies and unsigned players trying to get a contract.
"We know that the teams very much value it as an opportunity to see undrafted players and also to get some of the drafted players some time on the court," Silver said. "This is going to be a very difficult draft for our teams â abbreviated college season, not the same opportunity to scout and visit with players as theyâve had historically. I think weâre going to end up as some combination of maybe an abbreviated Summer League, mini-camps and other opportunities. ⊠Iâm increasing hopeful weâll be able to put together some of those events."
No NBA logo change coming anytime soon
Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving recently advocated changing the NBA logo to Kobe Bryant, and it generated some discussion.
Changing the logo â which has been in existence for 50 years and is recognized globally â isnât happening any time soon.
âThere are no ongoing discussions right now at the league office about changing the logo,â Silver said. âI certainly saw Kyrie Irvingâs recent comments. Again, everything changes over time so nothingâs permanently fixed. But the logo is iconic. Even changing the logo, purely from a legal standpoint, isnât an easy exercise, not that that should be the impediment.
"The suggestion that it should be Kobe Bryant gives me the opportunity to remind everyone that last year we named the All-Star trophy after Kobe Bryant, no doubt one of the greatest ever in this league. ⊠It doesnât feel to me this is the appropriate moment to be changing the logo."
While itâs not officially acknowledged that Jerry West is the logo, itâs clear it resembles West at the very least, and the designer has said he took inspiration from a West photo.
â(Jerry) still is thriving in our community,â Silver said, âand I know heâs so self-effacing and has said, âPlease change it if thatâs what people want to do.â But it just doesnât feel like the right moment to be thinking about that. It doesnât mean we wonât turn back and look at it at some point.â
Silver addresses league's diversity issues
For all the importance the NBA places on supporting and helping social justice causes, the league has fallen woefully short with its own business. Only seven out of 30 NBA teams have Black head coaches in a league that is comprised of about 74% Black players.
âItâs going to take certainly more than what weâre doing now,â Silver said. âWeâve made progress over the years. But weâre constantly looking at how we can do better.â
The Minnesota Timberwolves, which has the league's worst record (7-29), recently fired Ryan Saunders. They hired Toronto Raptors coach Chad Finch, who is white, instead of promoting Black assistant coach David Vanderpool and even having an open coaching search. One Black coach was hired mid-season in 2019-20 (New York Knicksâ David Fizdale), while three other Black coaches were not retained at the end of the season (Los Angeles Clippersâ Doc Rivers, New Orleansâ Alvin Genry and Indianaâs Nate McMillan). The Atlanta Hawks have recently fired Lloyd Pierce after finishing the first half of the season ranked 11th in the Eastern Conference (16-20).
Three Black assistant coaches were promoted to the head-coaching spot after a firing, including Atlantaâs McMillan, the Clippersâ Ty Lue and Clevelandâs J.B. Bickerstaff. The Houston Rockets also hired Stephen Silas after he served as a Dallas Mavericks assistant coach. But only three of eight head-coaching openings last summer were filled by Black coaches.
âI donât think there are any quick fixes,â Silver said. âI think we want to appropriately respect everyone that is involved. Thereâs no coach that I know that wants to get hired based on their skin color, but they want a fair opportunity. Part of that is ensuring that weâre developing coaches appropriately in the pipeline and theyâre getting the right opportunities to interview and the right opportunities to network as other coaches have historically done. I donât doubt thereâs more work to be done.â