By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver addressed the issue of star players sitting out many games in a recent press conference Wednesday, following a two-day meeting of the Board of Governors in Manhattan.
Silver was asked about the Ben Simmons – Philadelphia 76ers‘ arbitration which subsequently raised the issue in a general context. “A trend of star players not participating in a full complement of games“, per Silver is the NBA’s biggest concern.
“I’m not standing here saying I have a great solution,” Silver commented. “Part of the issue is injuries. One of the things we have focused on at the league office and we’re spending — we had begun to spend a lot of time on pre-pandemic — are there things we can do in terms of sharing information, and resources around the league to improve best practices, rehabilitation?”
“The other way we can get at it, in terms of player participation, is creating other incentives”, he added. “The play-in tournament, I thought, was a beginning of creating renewed incentives for teams to remain competitive and be fighting for playoff position. It might be through in-season tournaments and changes in format where we can get at it.”
Silver also went on to suggest that there’s a chance the 82-game schedule might be changed, with possibly more in-season tournaments besides the play-ins, which were introduced in 2020 during the beginning of the pandemic as a way to pique the interest of players.
“The other way we can get at it, in terms of player participation, is creating other incentives. The Play-In Tournament, I thought, was a beginning of creating renewed incentives for teams to remain competitive and be fighting for playoff position. It may be through in-season tournaments and changes in format where we can get at it”, Silver further mentioned.
“I also have said in the past, if we have too many games, that’s something we should look at as well. It’s something, as we sit down and we’re looking at new media deals and looking at a new collective bargaining agreement, we will be studying. […] From my discussions with players, they recognize it’s an issue, too. The style of the game has changed in terms of the impact on their bodies. I think we’ve got to constantly assess and look at a marketplace going forward and say, what’s the best way to present our product and over how long a season?”
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