Author: Monojit Mandal
Commissioner Adam Silver expressed strong feelings about the trade demands and emphasized the importance of a full 82-game season during a recent press conference following the acceptance of the NBA’s new rest rules. In response to a question from Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck about the trade requests for key players Damian Lillard and James Harden, Silver made it clear that he does not support such requests.
The trade requests made by these two All-Star players dominated the headlines throughout the summer. Damian Lillard stated unequivocally that the only team he would play for would be the Miami Heat, while James Harden openly accused Miami Heat general manager Daryl Morey of dishonesty.
Silver’s opinion on this issue is solid. Famous players seeking changes after signing long-term contracts cast a shadow over the league. This encourages these players to first acquire valuable contracts and then request trades, rather than first completing contractual commitments and then exploring free agency.
This situation puts the teams in a difficult position. They need to decide whether to accept the trade request and risk losing an important player or alienating the player and future free agents. Furthermore, when exchange requests and complaints are made public, this can damage your prospects of reaching an agreement, as interested parties can be deterred by the associated drama.
In addition to dealing with exchange requests, Commissioner Silver emphasized the need to increase involvement in the games and commented on the recently enacted “Player Participation Policy”. “We need to go back to the principle that this is an 82-game league,” he said, emphasizing his commitment to the entire season.
Although the aim of the policy is to encourage fair play, its practical application can be difficult. Teams can assess the risk of fines in relation to the safety of their key players, or they can even think about labeling injuries as “fake” to get around the restrictions.
The final results of the Player Participation Policy, as well as the future fates of James Harden and Damian Lillard for the 2023-24 season, are still unknown. Commissioner Silver’s message, on the other hand, is unequivocal: the public nature of trade requests, as well as the increased resting of healthy players, have negative ramifications for NBA business.