Commissioner Adam Silver has commented on the situation surrounding Kevin Durant at the Brooklyn Nets, including criticism of Durant and his actions.
“It can’t be a one-way street,” Silver demanded at his press conference after the NBA met with the 30 team owners. “The teams give the players enormous securities and guarantees. In return, the players are expected to keep their end of the bargain.”
Durant is now the second player in a year to request a trade despite having four years left on his contract. Ben Simmons had done something similar the previous season, and the Australian’s contract still had four years to run at the time the request was made.
On the other hand, superstar trades per se are not a problem for Silver: “If it happens in free agency or through trades, I don’t think it’s a bad thing,” explained Silver. “It gives players and teams the opportunity to rebuild if things don’t work out. I want to separate that from when a player requests a trade.”
However, this cannot be completely ruled out, as Silver also knows. “There will always be discussions between teams, players and their agents behind closed doors, but what we don’t like is trade demands and we don’t like how the whole situation is unfolding,” Silver said.
NBA: Midseason tournament is discussed again
The NBA will not be able to change this in the short term, but Silver has already announced that the topic will be on the table in the negotiations for a new collective agreement next summer. “We want to discuss this with the players’ union and see if there are any solutions. The way it is at the moment is not a condition for us.”
Other things, on the other hand, were fixed at the Board of Governors. The “transition take fouls” are now punished more severely. With the exception of the last two minutes of the game and overtime, attacking teams are now awarded a free throw and the ball if the opponent fouls a fast break.
The play-in tournament is also becoming an integral part of the NBA calendar. In the past two years, the “pre-playoffs” have been waved through year after year, from now on it is a fixed date in the NBA calendar. Next year the game will be played on April 11th, 12th and 14th.
The possible introduction of a midseason tournament, which could happen at the earliest in the 2023/24 season, was also discussed again. All 30 teams are to take part, with the top eight teams then playing out the winner in a knockout system, with a final four to be played on neutral ground. Whether the owners will wave this through in the future is doubtful.
