Adam Silver only speaks the truth.
Less than a year into his tenure as NBA commissioner, Silver has not held back. From wanting to impose a new draft age limit to banning super-sized shitbag Donald Sterling for good, he’s shot straight from the hip, never shying away from the big decisions or questions.
Talking about Team USA and the FIBA World Cup is no different for him. When asked about Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban’s sentiments on international play, Silver gave an honest answer, per ESPN New York’s Ohm Youngmisuk:
“It is a big risk without enormous financial reward,” Silver said when asked about a sentiment shared by outspoken Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban during a “Commitment to Service” news conference to discuss a collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense at Madison Square Garden.
“But I am sitting next to our highest ranking military official,” Silver said of General Martin Dempsey.” I’m almost embarrassed to be talking about the risk that our players face compared to what our men and women in uniform face.”
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“I’ll only reiterate that ultimately it is a personal decision for these players,” Silver said. “I should point out that it is not just U.S. players we are referring to. Collectively we have close to 50 NBA players participating in this World Cup on behalf of their national teams.”
Classy as ever. Love that Silver made it a point to acknowledge how arbitrary the risk of injury is for NBA players compared to what military members face. Soldiers aren’t being paid tens of millions of dollars no matter what; NBA superstars are. That’s perspective—paramount perspective not to be lost on anyone, regardless of opinion.
And yet this is still a hot topic following Paul George’s (likely) season-ending compound fracture. His max extension kicks in this year, and now the Pacers are forced to plow on without him. And while initial prognosis is good, we cannot, without 100 percent certainty, guarantee he’ll ever be the same, starry figure upon return. We just can’t.
Derrick Rose isn’t to be forgotten here, either. He’s trying to participate despite missing time with knee soreness—the very knees that have enabled him to appear in only 50 games between the regular season and playoffs since 2010-11. Should he really be participating? (Um, no.) Should stars be participating at all?
That last question is more complicated.
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Alternatives to the current structure suck. The NBA could impose an age limit, thereby ensuring players older than 22 or 23 or something don’t partake. But what good is that? Team USA is a multi-year commitment. Players cannot enter the league until one year of college is under their belt, so by the time they reach the NBA, they’re possibly participating in only the FIBA World Cup or the Olympics before being ineligible. That much turnover isn’t necessarily good for the team and will likely deter players from wanting to join up.
Using college players also has its flaws. Sure, it prevents NBA players from injuring themselves, but the catch-22 is it could ruin a player’s career and earning potential before said career even starts. Is that right? Of course not.
The present format is, without question, the best. Leave it up to the players. If teams take issue, there has to be something within the contract that gives them power to decide. This isn’t perfect, but it works.
What happened to George is a fluke. It’s sad, but fluky. Injury-prone players—like Rose—would be wise to take notice and opt against participating, but until some tweaks are made to an already solid decision-making process, the power, in most cases, lies with the players.
Owners, for now, must deal with it.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
