During the Summer League, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has commented on some of the most important issues currently facing the league. Among other things, there was a possible reorganization of the playoffs, the dominance of the Golden State Warriors and a lowering of the age limit.
On Tuesday, as every year, the Board of Governors met in Las Vegas and subsequently Silver summarized the key points of this meeting with the League and the team owners. The most important statements:
“I’m not here to say we have a problem. I love the current state of the league. But I think we can create a better system. We have learned from past deals, we try new things, we make predictions about the salary cap and exceptions, we have people from business, just like the Union, but it is not an exact science with which we can predict the behaviour of our teams and the market. I don’t think it’s bad per se that the Warriors are so dominant. As I said before: We are not trying to force any parity. What we want to achieve is a parity of possibilities… there are ways in which we can change the system and how we can achieve a little more balance in competition and opportunities. People didn’t necessarily complain during the discussion, but as business people they are naturally focused on shaping the future and finding ways to improve things.”
“Let me get this straight: With our current system, we want the teams to compete with each other like madmen. I therefore believe that the warriors should do everything in their power, within the framework of the regulations, to further increase their dominance.”
“The biggest obstacle to organizing the playoffs from 1 to 16, although that seems very appealing to me and many fans, is the dramatic increase in travel that would result. According to our estimates, this increase could amount to around 40-50 percent. That does not mean that this is not possible, but we cannot implement it quickly. That would involve a complete reexamination of the game plan and the TV deal. We’ll take a look. I think it has a real incentive for the team owners, and I know it is the same for fans. It’s just not that easy to do.”
“Personally, I think we are prepared to make this change. It won’t happen right away, but looking at the pros and cons, and noting that Condoleezza Rice and her commission have recommended to the NBA that one-and-one players should now come straight into the league, and that in the end the college community says they no longer want these players, then that makes me seriously think about lowering the minimum age to 18.”
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