NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke to reporters on Tuesday after the league’s board of governors gathered in New York City, discussing several subjects including the hefty penalties imposed on the Los Angeles Clippers, prospective league expansion, and the outlook for the Portland Trail Blazers.
Below are several of his key remarks:
Clippers’ sanctions are ‘set in stone’
At the start of this month, the NBA disclosed the results of a year-long probe into the Clippers regarding claims of bypassing salary cap regulations in relation to Kawhi Leonard. The league stated that the inquiry revealed “a pattern of misconduct and multiple significant rules violations by the Clippers organization, a prior offender of the salary cap circumvention rules.”
Consequently, the Clippers are forced to surrender five of their future first-round draft selections alongside a $30 million fine. Furthermore, team owner Steve Ballmer and Gillian Zucker, the president of business operations, received one-year unpaid suspensions. Lawrence Frank, presiding over basketball operations, was handed a six-month unpaid suspension, while Leonard—whose transfer to the Toronto Raptors was reportedly finalized once more on Monday evening—received a personal fine of $700,000 from the league.
“I do not believe we have inflicted lasting harm on this organization, though it undeniably represents a major obstacle for them,” Silver remarked. “However, as previously noted, the primary purpose of executing these sorts of penalties is to deter other franchises from replicating such actions, meaning the response must extend past simple suspensions and monetary fines.”
At first, the Clippers stated they “strongly” disputed the NBA’s conclusions, labeling the probe as “deeply prejudiced.” The franchise also declared its intention to “actively contest these determinations and punishments utilizing all accessible legal channels.”
Nevertheless, on Sunday, Ballmer relented and offered an apology “for the distraction and distress this matter has caused, for which I accept responsibility as principal owner.” This shift in attitude prompted speculation that the Clippers might be trying to recover some of their lost draft assets, reminiscent of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ recovery during the Joe Smith incident in 2000. Silver firmly dismissed that possibility on Tuesday.
“The penalties are non-negotiable,” Silver declared. “It wouldn’t be right to detail our discussions with the Players Association. I recently had a face-to-face conversation with Kawhi, and we both believe it is best to put this behind us. Ultimately, we arrived at a reasonable resolution for all parties involved.”
Relocating the Trail Blazers from Portland would represent a ‘failure’
Back in March, the league gave its formal blessing to the $4.25 billion purchase of the Portland Trail Blazers by Tom Dundon, a Dallas-based entrepreneur who also runs the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. The initial phase of Dundon’s leadership in Portland has been marred by friction.
Dundon, nicknamed “El Cheapo” by popular commentator Bill Simmons, has aggressively slashed budgets across all divisions. Most prominently, interim head coach Tiago Splitter, who steered the squad into the postseason following Chauncey Billups’ arrest early last year, left the team after receiving an allegedly insultingly low offer. Portland subsequently signed Micah Nori to a single-season deal—an unprecedented move for a head coach in the NBA.
Dundon’s fiscal maneuvers, paired with unresolved stadium concerns, generated substantial offseason rumors regarding the franchise’s stay in Oregon. Silver emphasized on Tuesday his desire for the Trail Blazers, a local staple since 1970, to remain in place. Even so, he highlighted the urgent necessity of modernizing the Moda Center.
“It would be a massive failure on our part if the team did not stay in Portland,” Silver expressed. “I have frequented that region quite often over the decades. The local population has demonstrated incredible loyalty to the Trail Blazers. Their supporters are among the most passionate in basketball. Nonetheless, and this applies to our local WNBA expansion too, we require a modern facility. Evaluated impartially, their present home ranks near the absolute bottom compared to other venues across the association.”
Silver mentioned that he dedicated a “substantial portion of time” talking with Dundon during this week’s summit.
“My goal is to de-escalate the tension surrounding these discussions,” Silver noted. “I am extending my personal help and the resources of the league headquarters to support all stakeholders. Portland has a wonderful history with us, and failing to secure a resolution that ensures the long-term success of both NBA and WNBA basketball in the city would definitely be a disappointment.”
Silver supports ‘NFL-style’ second tax apron
The latest collective bargaining agreement negotiated between the NBA and the NBPA established the second apron, which serves as a highly restrictive threshold exceeding the luxury tax. Franchises that go beyond this limit face strict penalties that drive up roster payrolls and limit options for team acquisition and development.
A few months ago, the players’ union’s executive director, David Kelly, argued that the second apron should be relaxed or discarded altogether.
“We do not support the second apron,” Kelly stated. “It was not our proposal. In retrospect, we ought to have opposed it with greater vigor. Going forward, our union will stand far more united, and we will do a superior job of resisting such measures. … We are seeing this structure pull competitive teams apart and dictate choices that have nothing to do with on-court strategy.”
When questioned on Tuesday regarding the league’s responsiveness to the growing wave of criticism about the second apron’s roster-building impacts, Silver made it clear that the NBA administration is highly satisfied with the mechanism’s role in promoting competitive balance.
“Our objective was to construct a framework—and I am quite comfortable admitting it is modeled after the NFL—where every organization, no matter its market scale, has a realistic shot at winning a title,” Silver commented. “Having eight unique champions in the past eight seasons is a great indicator. While I don’t object to repeat champions, our evolving labor deals, shared revenues, and structural updates have brought us much closer to establishing the competitive balance we strive for.”
Essentially, do not anticipate any alterations to these rules before the current labor agreement runs its course in 2030.
The reasons Seattle might lead Las Vegas in the race for NBA expansion
While the league’s governing board authorized examining potential franchises for Las Vegas and Seattle last March, a definitive resolution remains pending. Silver anticipates a final determination before the year concludes. Although the league could potentially welcome two new franchises, his observations regarding venue readiness in both locations imply that Seattle holds a distinct advantage and could secure a team ahead of Las Vegas.
“Our conversations didn’t focus as heavily on Seattle because the situation in Las Vegas is far less defined, with no designated location or building finalized. As a result, the schedule to launch a franchise there is considerably longer,” Silver explained. “Conversely, we have already dispatched logistics groups to Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. That venue is already world-class. It might need small adjustments to accommodate basketball, but if we had to tip off in five weeks, Seattle would be prepared. Because we can only process so much at one time, we spent more energy talking about Las Vegas’ hurdles.”
Silver noted that multiple ownership syndicates are eagerly pursuing an expansion team in Southern Nevada, but significant obstacles must be cleared first. Among the potential routes under consideration is retrofitting T-Mobile Arena, where the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights currently play, Silver remarked.
“There is genuine enthusiasm for upgrading T-Mobile Arena,” Silver observed. “It is widely understood that if a basketball franchise shares that venue, major enhancements are required. Simultaneously, several prospective owners have pitched concepts for a brand-new, ultra-modern entertainment complex in Las Vegas. That city is a one-of-a-kind market capable of driving year-round events every single day.”
Although Las Vegas has never hosted its own NBA team, it has rapidly built up a professional sports scene with the WNBA’s Aces, the NFL’s Raiders, and the NHL’s Golden Knights, while an MLB team (the Athletics) is slated to join them soon. The destination has served as the annual home for the NBA Summer League for many years and previously hosted the All-Star Game back in 2007.
Meanwhile, Seattle was famously the home of the SuperSonics from 1967 until 2008, when the team was purchased and relocated to become the Oklahoma City Thunder.
