On Tuesday, we passed along some of the most noteworthy comments that Adam Silver made at his press conference following this week’s Board of Governors meetings, relaying the NBA commissioner’s remarks on the Clippers’ sanctions, as well as his latest update on potential expansion to Las Vegas and Seattle.
Silver’s media session on Tuesday covered plenty of additional ground beyond those two topics. Here’s a recap of some of the other issues the commissioner discussed:
On the dispute between the Trail Blazers and the city of Portland over funding Moda Center renovations:
(story via Sam Amick of The Athletic)
“I want to be very direct about it: I would see it as a failure if we did not keep the team in Portland. I’ve spent a lot of time in that community over the years. They’ve shown amazing support for the Trail Blazers. They’re some of our best fans around the league.
“But at the same time — and now I speak for our WNBA team in the market, as well — we need a state-of-the-art arena. I think by any objective measure now, the current building there is in the bottom measure of any in the league. And I think everyone in the community acknowledges — not just for NBA and WNBA basketball, but for all the multi-uses of these modern arenas … concerts, conventions, graduations, you name it — that the community needs the same thing.
“… I had an opportunity to spend some significant amount of time with (Blazers owner) Tom Dundon while he was here in New York at our meetings. We did discuss the situation around Portland in one of our committee meetings with Tom. I think he was able to bounce ideas off of other owners who have been through similar negotiations in other communities. I think there’s some lessons to be learned there.”
On NBA Europe, a possible EuroLeague partnership, and a target launch date of fall 2027:
(story via Eric Nehm of The Athletic)
“We did discuss ongoing negotiations with the EuroLeague (during this week’s Board of Governors meetings). As I said earlier, we are making progress there. We believe that the (NBA) league would be strengthened by joining forces with the EuroLeague. It doesn’t have to happen, but I believe we would all be better off as a unified front in Europe.
“… In terms of the potential investors, I’m not sure they’re so impatient about next season. I think if it were up to some of them at least, we’d wait longer to launch. At the same time, depending on where we stand with the EuroLeague, I do think it’s important that we introduce competition into the market next summer. What the initial product that you’d likely see … a year from now will be different than when we ultimately have brought all the teams together and are formally operating the league.”
On Mark Walter’s decision to sell the Lakers less than a year after taking majority control of the franchise amid a federal probe into his financial dealings:
(story via Eric Nehm of The Athletic)
“I would say at the time we vetted Mark Walter to be the principal governor … we went through the full process we all do. We spoke to governmental agencies. We spoke to, in the case of Mark Walter, a heavily regulated insurance industry. We spoke to other leagues in which he has investments, and we found no red flags.
“… We take the vetting process very seriously. A lot of what we do is intensive database searching. I mean, you would think in this day and age, with AI and everything else, that everything is centralized. It’s not. In many cases, you’re going state-by-state. In certain cases, people are part of industries that are regulated state-by-state, so you have to look there as well. We also talk to as many people as we can find who have knowledge about these people, and we do interviews.
“… So, again, we’re always seeing if we can do things better, but I don’t see a trend or some widespread issue, certainly among our principal owners, that gives me cause for concern.”
On working with a search firm to hire a new WNBA commissioner to replace the retiring Cathy Engelbert and the league’s increased independence from the NBA:
(story via Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press)
“We’ve heard from several potential candidates. We’ve heard from others who are recommending candidates. We’re keeping that list right now at the office. Again, we will move forward on that process.
“… I felt (Engelbert becoming the first person to hold the WNBA commissioner title) was more than symbolism. Under Cathy, we fairly significantly increased the portion of our office who is solely focused on WNBA. I would say on issues particularly around basketball and player issues, I believe those people should be independent of the NBA and should be under the direct control of the WNBA commissioner.”