SAN FRANCISCO — The National Basketball Association is considering shifting the NBA’s voting process for each season’s NBA selections from the current center-based system to one in which voters choose the top 15 players regardless of position, Commissioner Adam Silver said. Silver said it’s something he plans to address to the National Basketball Players Association.
“In terms of decisions for the All-NBA, I think there is a fair amount of consideration that will be considered. [the media] “It should just be picking the best players rather than picking by position,” Silver said at a press conference before Game One of the NBA Finals. It results in some tolerances based on the chance of what your site is.
“That’s something we’re looking at. It’s something we’ll be discussing with the players’ union because it affects incentives and player contracts, and it has, you know, deep meaning to their legacy as well. So we’re going to look at those things.”
The topic of whether suffrage should continue to be determined by positions has gained momentum over the past two years, as centers- Nikola Jokic Denver Nuggets and Joel Embiid From the Philadelphia 76ers – finished 1-2 in the league vote for the Most Valuable Player award.
But because of the current system, only one of them has the potential to be an All-NBA team player, while the other—in this case, Embiid in both last season and this season—must be a second-team selection.
Silver also said there would be more discussions about whether contract bonuses would be tied to the media awards vote, but also added that both sides agreed it was the best in a series of imperfect options.
“In terms of the final selection process, and to the extent that in some cases it could have a direct financial impact on a player’s contract, we have now agreed with the players’ union to use these appointments to unlock certain bonuses in player contracts, frankly because we haven’t been able to come up with a better way. That would feel objective for everyone involved,” said Silver.
During his roughly 30-minute session with reporters, Silver touched on a number of topics:
• Both the NBA and the NBPA have the ability to withdraw from the current collective bargaining agreement in December before it expires next summer. The situation was similar the last time the deal was done in 2017, the two sides agreed to a new deal in December 2016 before the withdrawal date arrived.
Silver said he hopes to pursue a similar scheme this time around, but said it’s too early to say that will be the case, given that he is still partly acquainted with the NBPA’s newly appointed CEO, Tamika Trimaglio.
“I think we all know that for any negotiation, it seems like collective bargaining in particular, deadlines are really helpful in getting people to put their best offers across the table,” Silver said.
Silver also added that all the discussions the two sides have had over the past two and a half years about everything that has happened due to the COVID-19 pandemic has led to more talking than ever, helping to increase his faith. From a deal to be agreed amicably again.
• Silver said that the idea of a mid-season championship is still on the table, although it is not finished yet, as further discussions are needed with the NBPA. Additionally, when asked about players dealing with the wear and tear on their bodies over the course of an 82-game season, Silver said he would likely be open to discussions of shortening the season – but only if that could be demonstrated. Help relieve injuries.
“Like I said before, what we don’t see is an increase in the number of injuries as the season goes on. It’s not as if because of fatigue over the course of the season, you see more injuries,” Silver said. “We see a correlation between actual fatigue, for example, back to back or three in a row. We think it’s likely to lead to more injuries.”
• As he has done in the past, Silver has dropped the notion of near-term expansion, although he did repeat it again and is something the league will do again at some point. He went on to say that one potential problem is the weakening of talent as a result of expansion.
“Even kind of adding 30 or so other players that can be roughly compared, there’s still quite a lot of really top-tier talent,” Silver said. “That’s something other teams have in mind when we think about expansion.”
• Silver said the NBA has lost “hundreds of millions” due to its strained relationship with China, and said that this is an acceptable cost of doing business when it comes to protecting the freedom of speech of the league’s players, coaches and staff.
“We accept that, and I said that while we’ve said that we stand behind our players and our executives, and their right to free speech, whether on issues in the United States or issues anywhere in the world, if those are the consequences, that’s what I mean that Our values travel with us,” Silver said. “Others, you know, have since spoken out about their views on China and elsewhere in the world, and if the consequences are that we’re taken off broadcasts or we lose money, we accept that.”
Silver also said that he still believed that dealing with China did not conflict with the values of the association in light of the alleged human rights abuses taking place within the country.
• When asked about the woman away from her position as a coach, Silver said this work is still in progress. He said Becky Hammon’s move to the WNBA as coach of the Las Vegas Acces shouldn’t be viewed as a negative thing.
“But I’ve said it before, and I had to say earlier, there’s no reason why women can’t be head coaches, and more of them shouldn’t be assistant coaches in the NBA,” Silver said. “There’s no reason not to have more female officials. We’ve made progress in both areas around the league now. There are a lot of female assistants in our teams, but we have to break through that glass ceiling.”
Silver also said the National Basketball Association increased the number of its black coaches to 15 with the Los Angeles Lakers hiring Darvin Hamm last month, a product of the league’s continued emphasis on the need for diversity.
• When asked if a positive COVID-19 test next year will mean a player will not be able to play, Silver said the recommendation would come from medical staff, and that it was too early to say, adding that the NBA is only a small team part of the world from Where learning how to live with the virus is moving forward.
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