Adam Silver on James Harden-Ben Simmons trade and other key talking points as NBA Commissioner hosts All-Star press conference | NBA News

The blockbuster James Harden-Ben Simmons trade shook up the entire balance of the Eastern Conference – and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was also left with a lot to consider after the deal was completed.

The nature of how the deal came about from both sides is exactly the kind of thing the league frowns upon. Harden nudged the Brooklyn Nets to move him just 13 months after he did the same thing to the Houston Rockets, similar to how Anthony Davis pushed the New Orleans Pelicans to trade him in 2019 to the Los Angeles Lakers (and only the Lakers).

“It’s no secret that I’ve expressed my unhappiness with public trade demands,” Silver said. “I don’t want to pretend standing here that I have some secret idea that I know can fix that problem.”

Simmons’ case in particular was even more convoluted. It was described, accurately, by Silver as a “stalemate,” with the player refusing to play and the team withholding salary. Harden’s was different, with the one-time Most Valuable Player appearing to modulate his performance or accentuate injuries to push Brooklyn management to deal him.

“I think you’re dealing with situations where you have players with literally a unique skill on the planet, and that’s always going to give them leverage,” Silver said. “And you have teams with leverage.”

Silver noted players being unhappy with their teams and asking for trades is nothing new. But the commissioner said Saturday a player taking the stance Simmons did with the Philadelphia 76ers, refusing to play knowing he would be fined, is more complicated.

“I don’t have something specific in mind that can prevent a situation like this,” Silver said. “But I think we and the players have a collective common interest in ensuring that contracts are honoured.

“In the case of Ben Simmons, I don’t think – I can’t think of a change to the system that to the extent you have a player that is willing to sit out and not be paid, which is the scenario we have right now. I don’t want to speak for Ben, but that was the posture we saw in that case of a player saying that, ‘I’m unhappy in the city, and I’m not going to play.’

“And you had a team saying, ‘We’re not going to pay you, and there’s going to be discipline.’ There’s a stalemate.”

Silver said he was sympathetic to the players’ wants, noting the additional stress caused by the pandemic. But he is also concerned for the teams, and the players who are affected when trade rumours leak.

“Of course, as the commissioner of this league, we want our players to be happy. We want them to find themselves in situations where they think they can be most productive,” Silver said. “At the same time, we want to run an orderly league, and so like a lot of things in life, we have to find the appropriate balance there.”

Simmons cited mental health concerns for his belief he needed to leave Philadelphia, saying last week they began before last season and the 76ers were aware of them. Silver said he did not know the specifics of Simmons’ situation, but that mental health was something teams were spending more time on even before the pandemic.

“I think it’s something that we have talked a lot more about in terms of all our community programs, and it’s another area where I really don’t have any doubt we can do more,” he said.

Silver on international games

As soon as it’s safe, Silver wants the NBA back in overseas markets and has had discussions about doing so as soon as next preseason.

“We’re very much a global league, and the opportunity to bring teams to other continents, to other places in the world, is part of how we believe we grow the sport,” Silver said. “Because we can have, I think, a dramatically larger impact by showing up in those cities, creating a lot of excitement around those teams.”

Silver on allowing reporters back into teams’ locker rooms

Reporters covering NBA teams have not returned to the locker rooms since the pandemic began in March 2020, with interviews being conducted in conference rooms or via Zoom.

Silver downplayed the possibility of a return to the old format, not only for health and safety reasons, but because he believes there could be a better system that would provide more privacy for players.

“I just think this is an opportunity in the pandemic – and there’s some real health and safety issues on top of that for all of you and our players as we’re still living with this virus that we should include in the mix – but I can’t believe we can’t find a better way,” Silver said. “Maybe it will require some additional appearances, additional media time from our players, but we should take a fresh look at it.”

Silver on Play-In Tournament’s success

Silver said he likes the Play-In Tournament that was instituted last spring more than he expected. “What I wasn’t anticipating,” he said, “[was] that we would create races to ensure that teams were within the first six slots in their conference so they could avoid” the one-game elimination risk of the play-in. Meanwhile, teams lower in the conference standings had something to play for deeper into the schedule.

“If my numbers are roughly right, we had 24 teams still competing to get into the playoffs with two weeks to go, which I’m told is a record for the league.”

The results were so positive, Silver said, they encourage him about an in-season tournament under consideration for as soon as 2023-24.

Watch the 71st NBA All-Star Game live on Sky Sports as Team LeBron takes on Team Durant on Sunday night at 11pm on Sky Sports Arena, and joined on Main Event from 11.30pm.