Despite LeBron James’ criticism, Adam Silver defends the All-Star

On an All-Star Weekend Saturday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is usually in a crowded press conference room answering questions from reporters from all over the world – personally, but as we know, this isn’t an ordinary weekend. Silver still received questions on Saturday from reporters from around the world but was on Zoom, and Silver answered from the empty press room in Atlanta where All-Star events will take place on Sunday. Skills and 3-Point Contest (6:30 p.m. ET, TNT) All-Star (8 p.m. TNT) precedes the slam dunk competition in the first half, here are some of the points obtained from Silver’s press conference in which he talked about League Status: Responding to LeBron James’ criticism about All Silver said he did not attack Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, describing it as a “slap in the face” for the NBA for an All-Star match during a pressurized 72-match season just two months into the 2019 season -20. The season has ended at a quarantined site. “It would be incredibly hypocritical to tell LeBron that you should talk about the issues that matter to you, but not the ones where you criticize the league,” Silver said. “We are all part of a community. I respect him and his point of view. But at the same time, I also appreciate his professionalism.” But after becoming an All-Star leader with the largest number of fan votes, James looked cheerful during the draft aired on TNT. Last Thursday. James, who will appear for the seventeenth time in All-Star on Sunday, jokes with rival captain Kevin Durant and the TNT crew about his all-star picks. James also defended his selection and Durant of Donovan Mitchell and Rudi Joubert of Utah with the final picks even though the jazz team kept the best league record. “He did it with humor and took it very seriously,” said Silver. “My sense is that he’s going to be here because he’s always a top-notch professional and involved in the game. So I respect his point of view, but there can be issues that can be solved within the family, so to speak.” James was one of the NBA stars who questioned him. Having an all-star game. The Milwaukee Bucks striker Giannis Antetokounmo, Kohi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers and Paul George as well as Sacramento Kings keeper de Aaron Fox have criticized the rationale behind the All-Star game due to safety concerns as well as reduced vacation time during it. Compact season, but Silver defended the decision for a number of reasons. He predicted that “more than 100 million people” will watch the match on television or social media. He has indicated that the NBA All-Star Game will help HBCUs with more than $ 3 million in donations and exposures. He downplayed safety concerns since the National Basketball Association oversaw the bubble season with no injuries among the players, coaches and staff. “I have not hidden that economic interests are not a factor,” Silver said. “When I say economic interests are a factor, it’s not about economics one Sunday night on TNT in the US. It’s more about the greater value of the NBA brand and the fact that this is our first fan engagement event this year.” Silver Most players will take the COVID-19 vaccine The National Basketball Association does not plan to require players to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, Silver said: “Ultimately, these are personal decisions that players have to make,” however … “My intuition is that most players They will eventually choose to vaccinate. ” the reasons? First, the National Basketball Association (NBA) has launched several promotional and educational efforts to inform players of the efficacy and safety of the COVID-19 vaccine. Second, Silver said players who get vaccinated will face fewer restrictions with health and safety protocols than those that refuse to be vaccinated. “The CDC has already announced that when you get vaccinated, you don’t need to be quarantined as a close contact. You know, many of our players have had to sit down not because the test results are positive but because they were asked to quarantine because of close contact,” Silver said. “In addition, at the moment we are working under what is called a quarantine protocol at work, where players pretty much only move between their homes and arenas, once they get vaccinated, they will be able to do more in their communities. This is something that we have already started talking about with the Players Union. “. “No player I know has been vaccinated yet,” said Silver, in part because the National Basketball Association has refused vaccinations at the expense of essential workers, the elderly and the sick. But Silver said an unnamed number of coaches and employees received the vaccine because they fit the age criteria. The other staff member received it because they are considered healthcare workers. Regardless, Silver said he found it “realistic” to end the second half of the NBA season and play-off matches without a vaccine widely distributed. The National Basketball Association has postponed 31 matches so far because teams have not participated in at least eight players due to a combination of positive tests for COVID-19 and contact tracing. “The other precautions we’re taking, pretty much work,” Silver said. “The NCAA tournament will be held this year, again without vaccinations for their players. For me, we will make additional progress if players get vaccinated, but that definitely does not require them all to be vaccinated.” Silver optimistic about normality for next season, Silver admitted that the financial losses were significant , But he remains optimistic about the long-term league outlook on the run. Encouraged by the prospect of an increase in appearances in matches next season. “Nearly half of our teams have fans in the arena now, and if the vaccinations continue at their pace, they will continue to be as effective as they used to be,” Silver said. The plan will start next season “as soon as possible from the so-called normal” this season. May 22nd and ends July 22nd – just before the Tokyo Olympics. “We wanted those players who wanted to participate in the Olympics to do so, but in addition to that, we realized if we were going to come back in the tournament and the theater rs were going to have the right downtime before the start of Season, and we didn’t want to go deeper into summer or fall like we did last season. From the shortened Las Vegas Summer League, which was canceled last year due to the pandemic, and / or small camps for beginners and unsigned players trying to land a contract. “We know the teams value it so much as an opportunity to see unregistered players, and Silver also said to get some players drafted for some time on the field.” This would be a very difficult draft for our teams – a brief college season, not the same opportunity to explore and visit with the players as it was. They historically have. I think we’ll end up as a mixture of maybe the summer league shortcuts and the smaller camps and other opportunities. … Hope we can pull some of these together. “There is no change to the NBA logo soon anytime soon, Brooklyn team goalkeeper Nets Kyrie Irving recently called for the NBA logo to be changed to Kobe Bryant, and that has sparked some debate. The logo change – which has been around for 50 years and is recognized worldwide – is not happening.” Any time soon. ”There are no discussions going on at the league office right now about changing the logo, Silver said. “I’ve definitely seen Keri Irving’s recent comments. Again, everything changes over time so nothing gets fixed permanently. But the logo is creative. Even changing a logo, from a purely legal standpoint, is not an easy exercise, and it shouldn’t be this The obstacle. ”The suggestion that it should be Kobe Bryant gives me the opportunity to remind everyone that we named it the All last year – the Star Cup after Kobe Bryant, is without a doubt one of the greatest trophies ever in this league. … I don’t feel like this is the right moment to change the logo. “Although Jerry West is not officially recognized as the logo, it clearly resembles the West to say the least, and the designer has said that he drew inspiration from the image of the West.” (Jerry) is still thriving in our society, ”Silver said,“ I know He is wiping himself clean and he has said, “Please change it if that’s what people want to do.” But it just doesn’t seem like the right moment to think about it. This does not mean that we will not go back and look at it at some point. “Silver addresses diversity issues in the league – for all the importance the NBA places on supporting and assisting social justice issues, the league has unfortunately failed in its own business. Only seven of the 30 NBA teams have black-headed coaches in a league that is made up of about 74% of black players, and Silver said, “It will definitely take more than what we do now.” “We’ve been making progress over the years. But we’re constantly looking for how to do a better job.” Minnesota Timberwolves, who has the worst league record (7–29), recently fired Ryan Saunders. They have hired Toronto Raptors coach Chad Finch, who is white in color. , Instead of promoting David Vanderbull, assistant black coach and even looking for open training.One coach from Black was appointed mid-season in 2019-20 (David Wiesdale of the New York Knicks), while three other Black coaches were not kept at the end of the season (Doc). Rivers of the Los Angeles Clippers, Alvin Jenry of New Orleans and Indiana; Nate Macmillan) .The Atlanta Hawks recently sacked Lloyd Pierce after he finished the first half of the season in eleventh place in the Eastern Conference (16-20), and three black assistant coaches were promoted To the main training position after the shooting, including Atlanta’s Macmillan and the Clippers. Tai Lo and JP Pickerstaff of Cleveland. Houston Rockets appointed Stephen Silas after he served as assistant coach of the Dallas Mavericks. But only three out of eight major summer training matches. The past was filled by black coaches, Sylv said R: “I don’t think there are any quick fixes.” “I think we want to appropriately respect everyone who participates. No coach that I know wants to be appointed based on their skin tone, but they want a fair chance. Part of that is making sure that we develop the coaches appropriately in preparation and that they get the opportunities.” The occasion for interviews and appropriate opportunities for networking, as other coaches have historically done. I have no doubt that there is more work to be done.