INGLEWOOD.- The commissioner of the NBA, Adam Silverwarned this Saturday that all measures are on the table to stop the expansion of “tanking”, as the measures taken by teams to undermine their chances of victory are known.
The boss of the North American basketball league held his traditional press conference on Saturday on the occasion of the All-Star Gamewhich will be held on Sunday in Inglewood (south of Los Angeles).
Before the event, the NBA this week applied harsh fines to the Utah Jazz and the Indiana Pacers for sitting their best players while healthy, a practice more widespread than ever this season.
With these “tanking” measures, franchises try to finish in the worst places in the classification by prioritizing their medium and long-term interests.
The worst teams of the year have more chances in the draw for the first places in the next Draft, which distributes the best talents from universities and foreign basketball.
“Are we seeing worse behavior this year than we’ve seen in recent memory? Yes, that’s my opinion,” Silver acknowledged. “That’s what led to those fines… We’re going to take a closer look at the totality of the circumstances of this season and we wanted the teams to be on notice.”
“What we are doing, what we are seeing right now is not working, there is no doubt,” he said. “It’s time to look at this from a new perspective and see if that’s an old-fashioned way of doing it.”
Silver did not rule out that these measures could include withdrawing draft picks from teams that continue to act detrimental to the integrity of the competition.
“There are conversations about all possible remedies to stop this behavior,” he said. “It’s not a position we necessarily want to be in, but at the end of the day it’s not what the fans want.”
NBA Europe in 2027/28
Reviewing other issues around the league, Silver said talks about NBA expansion with new franchises will take place next month.
For several years now, the most mentioned cities to host the teams are Seattle and Las Vegas.
The commissioner said there is no imminent vote on the matter, which requires conversations with potential owners and discussions about rearranging conferences.
Regarding the ambitious project of a league in Europe, Silver reiterated that the plans are still to launch this competition next year, to which he wants to attract big football clubs such as real Madrid.
“Do I think it’s feasible for 27/28? Yes,” Silver said.
“The way we launch the league will not be the same as it will be several years later,” the commissioner said, citing the need to build new, modern fields.
