Adam Silver expands his thoughts on new teams, the Celtics' sale, the NBA's popularity, and the All-Star Game

Boston Globe

29-03-2025

'The short answer is no new developments,' he said. 'But I would only say in terms of looking at this year, I think we're still in the process of digesting the Celtics' transaction. There's no doubt that a major transaction like that becomes relevant to expansion.'
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With a $6.1 billion price tag on the Celtics, a better market for expansion teams' fees has been established, as well as a potential income for the remaining 30 owners. Also, some teams have uncertain regional sports deals with the dissolving of the Diamond Sports Group, which owned Bally Sports, a broadcast partner for several NBA teams.
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'That deal has just been presented to us, so we're still analyzing it,' Silver said. 'My sense is once we've been through that process that we'll turn to it in a more serious way. The league office has continued to model what potential expansion could look like over the last year or so. And again, that included both understanding dilution from an economic standpoint — we now have a better understanding of that now that we have our national [television] deals in place — and also from a player standpoint.
'I'd just add the last component, which also is giving me just a bit of pause, is that we'd like to have a better sense of where we're going with local media. It's well known that we've seen some significant declines there. Virtually two-thirds of our teams are now dealing with [regional sports networks] that recently experienced bankruptcies or have shut down. I think while we understand the national media landscape now, to the extent we're looking at expansion domestically, I think we'd really like to understand what that opportunity for local media is, because it's a pretty critical component of our teams' economics.'
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Silver also assured that the rumors of the NBA's decline in popularity have been greatly exaggerated.
'I am happy with where we are trending now,' he said. 'No question, we started slow. We were up against a Dodgers-Yankees World Series, a presidential election that commanded enormous interest, and our ratings were down significantly early on in the season. [But] we've gained so much over the last two months. In fact, the ratings for the last two months were the highest in six years, which has enabled us to get to roughly even with last year, regular season, which were our highest ratings in four years. In fact, we're up 10 percent on ABC right now. We're up a bit on ESPN. We're down a bit on Turner. When you blend that all together, I think we're, at the moment, down 2 percent.'
The decline in traditional media viewing is the primary reason why the NBA decided to accept the offer from Amazon over a return to Turner Sports. The league wanted to get involved in streaming and the hope is a more modern media package will boost ratings to new heights.
'In this environment, where particularly when you're largely featured in legacy media and particularly cable — and no question cable subscriptions are going down — that seems like a victory,' Silver said. 'I think given the momentum right now, we're well poised going into the playoffs.
'I thought we made almost an immeasurable amount of progress.'
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Finally, Silver addressed
LeBron James
pulled out the day of the game. Many NBA players were annoyed that a team filled with rising stars and rookies got the opportunity to play on All-Star Sunday. Meanwhile, the TV package was dominated by the narration of comedian
Kevin Hart
, who spent most of the afternoon criticizing the players and popping uncomfortable jokes.
'Sitting there, I thought this was a little better, but it was a miss,' Silver said. 'We're not there in terms of creating an All-Star experience that we can be proud of and that our players can be proud of. We are changing partners next year. NBC, as part of their new package, is going to carry the All-Star Game. I will say they are very enthusiastic about All-Star as a marquee property.
'It happens to be that next year when our All-Star Game will be on NBC, we're going to fall right in the middle of the Winter Olympics, that they will be both the lead-in into the All-Star Game and the lead-out will be out on the West Coast in Los Angeles, the Clippers will be the host, which given the Olympic competition, sort of is creating new thoughts around how we can bring national competition to bear.'
The league is still in search of the right All-Star idea that will encourage the players to play hard instead of avoiding injury. One issue that irritated the players was the 20-minute break in the middle of the final game to honor the hosts of Turner Sports' 'Inside the NBA.' Some players began running sprints on the floor to keep warm during the ceremony.
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'Of course, we took note of the great success the NHL had with their national team competition as their All-Star festivities,' Silver said. 'I'm not sure that [USA vs. World] makes sense with the level of development, if that's fair to lump all the other countries together these days. Maybe that we can single out, there are some different national teams that can compete.
'But I think at the height of this, it goes back to one of the earlier questions: We sell competition, and I think that our players recognize they're not putting their best foot forward. And I take responsibility, too, because we're both a sport and an entertainment brand, and we recalibrated for this year's All-Star Game in San Francisco around more of an entertainment product and don't think it worked.
'The breaks were too long. I get it. It was an opportunity to celebrate TNT as they were going to have their last All-Star Game. It was well intentioned, but I think the long stoppage in play, for example, in that final game didn't work for anyone. So, we're a bit back to the drawing board.'
SIXTH SENSE
Pritchard has shot to the front of the pack
NBA award time is approaching and, of particular interest to Celtics fans, is the Sixth Man of the Year, for which sharpshooter
Payton Pritchard
appears to be a favorite. It would be the Celtics' second recent Sixth Man honor, as
Malcolm Brogdon
was the winner in 2023.
Let's take a look at the candidates and their chances:
▪ Pritchard, Celtics — Perhaps one of the league's biggest surprises,
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▪
Malik Beasley
, Pistons — Another major surprise considering how he was discarded after one year with the Bucks, Beasley went into Friday's games 11th at 42.1 percent from the 3-point line and averaging 16.2 points for the resurgent Pistons. Beasley has been one of the reasons Detroit has an opportunity to nab the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. The advantage that Pritchard has over Beasley is rebounding and playmaking. Pritchard, despite being 3 inches shorter than Beasley, averages more rebounds (3.8) than his Detroit counterpart (2.7). Beasley may get votes because of the Pistons' rise and his ability to make big shots. Chances to win: 35 percent
▪
De'Andre Hunter
, Hawks/Cavaliers — The issue for Hunter will be games played. He had played in 57 games entering Friday, and any player needs to play 65 to be eligible for awards. Hunter is shooting a stellar 44.9 percent from the 3-point line since being acquired by the Cavaliers at the trade deadline, and he's leading qualifying Sixth Man candidates in scoring (17.2 points per game). Hunter's scoring numbers with the Cavaliers are lower than his first 37 games with the Hawks, but his effective shooting percentage is 63 percent. Chances to win: 15 percent
▪
Ty Jerome
, Cavaliers — One of the league's biggest surprises and perhaps the leading candidate for Most Improved Player, Jerome is one of the primary reasons why Cleveland has improved immensely offensively. Jerome, with his fourth team in six seasons, was averaging a career-high 12.2 points and, like Pritchard, has been a big shot maker. Having Hunter as a teammate may hurt Jerome's chances, though he's likely going to get more votes for Most Improved after playing just two games last season because of injury. Chances to win: 10 percent
ETC.
Leonard, Simmons key to Clippers' revival
The Clippers went into New York and thumped the Knicks this past week as they make a bid for the sixth seed in the Western Conference, thus avoiding the play-in tournament. The Warriors appeared to have a lock on No. 6 before a recent slump and a tailbone injury suffered by
Stephen Curry
.
The Clippers, who are in the middle of an important four-game Eastern trip, are nearly in full health, most importantly to
Kawhi Leonard
. After missing most of the first half of the season recovering from knee surgery, Leonard turned into prime Kawhi over 14 games, averaging 24.2 points, 7 rebounds, and 41.5 percent shooting from the 3-point line.
A healthy and productive Leonard, along with
James Harden
playing his best basketball since his Houston days and
Norman Powell
finally 100 percent from his hamstring issues, makes the Clippers a threat to win their first-round series.
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'[Leonard] looks really like how he's supposed to look,' Harden said. 'The more he looks like that we'll feed off him and vice versa, and I'll feed off him, he'll feed off me, then you know Zu [
Ivica Zubac
] gets involved and then it just trickles down. I don't even know what game this is that he's been playing, but we're still a fairly new team in the sense of adding Bogey [
Bogdan Bogdanović
] and figuring out our lineups, adding
Ben
[
Simmons
]. I mean, we'll continue to get better individually and then the more we talk and communicate, I think it'll help our teammates and the team as well.'
The Clippers were on a 9-2 run heading into Friday's game in Brooklyn, but their final schedule is difficult. They will have games at Cleveland and Orlando, a pair of home games with play-in-chasing Dallas, and then season-ending games at Sacramento and Golden State that could determine their seed.
'We've been playing well and, obviously, the last home game [a loss Sunday to Oklahoma City] hurt us, but other than that we've been playing well we've been feeling the energy and turning in our favor, so just want to keep that momentum for us,' Harden said. 'Momentum is a huge thing in sports and for us actually understanding each other what we're trying to accomplish and how we're going to get there is very important for us.'
Leonard has not only improved his outside shooting but his playmaking. Leonard is playing his best basketball since he was felled with a torn ACL that caused him to miss the 2021-22 season.
The Clippers took a chance on the much-maligned Simmons, who is in the final year of that massive and regrettable five-year deal he signed with the 76ers. Simmons has played well, doing the things he actually does well — passing and playmaking — decent enough to etch minutes. Of course, Simmons's lack of offense and reluctance to shoot has always been an issue.
Simmons averages just 3.8 shots per game in 17.7 minutes, both career lows. But the Clippers aren't asking him to score or even shoot. He still has the ability to rebound, defend, and run the floor. He has quickly gained the regard of his new teammates.
'I think, with him, it's just about getting comfortable; you know how good he's feeling with his body wise and I think he's getting better,' Leonard said of Simmons. 'He had a little setback with his health, but now he's getting stronger. He's playing more with us, playing with pace, guarding well, and I think that will just keep slowly improving.'
Layups
The Magic placed former No. 1 overall pick
Dwight Howard
in the team's Hall of Fame and Howard had nothing but positive things to say about his eight years with the team before he forced a trade to the Lakers. It was an awkward situation for the 39-year-old Howard, who still has hopes of returning to the NBA although he hasn't played since 2022. Howard still appears to be in premium shape but the league appears to have passed him by. Howard is also expected to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. (The Class of 2025 will be announced April 5.) As much criticism as Howard has faced for his behavior, and as much as his seriousness and commitment to the game was questioned, he's a first-ballot Hall of Famer and should receive appreciation for his contributions to the game. For those who doubt Howard's résumé, he's an eight-time All-Star, three-time Defensive Player of the Year, and five-time league leader in rebounds. And he also was a member of the 2020 champion Lakers. Returning to the NBA is likely out of the question for Howard, so this is the time for him to express gratitude for the accolades and consider life after retirement . . . Despite the Heat losing 10 consecutive games before a victory last week against the Hornets, they are firmly in the play-in race and are now battling the Bulls for the ninth spot. The four play-in teams in the Eastern Conference are basically set with the Hawks and Magic joining the Heat and Bulls. The winner of the potential play-in game between the Hawks and Magic will face the Celtics in the first round. The most intriguing race in the East is between the Bucks and Pistons for the fifth seed. The Bucks will be without star guard
Damian Lillard
indefinitely after he was diagnosed with a blood clot on his calf that is being treated with blood thinners. The loser of the race for the fifth seed could end up with a first-round matchup with the Knicks.
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at