Over the past few years, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has attempted to increase player movement around the league with shorter contracts and encouraged players to change teams to facilitate roster rebuilds. But that does not mean he supports players demanding trades.
In an interview with Sage Steele on ESPN’s SportsCenter, Adam Silver was asked about players demanding trades, like Brooklyn Nets stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant have done recently. And while Silver does support player movement around the league, he made it clear that he does not support players demanding trades.
“There aren’t, again, any simple fixes here, or else we would’ve done it,” Silver told ESPN. “I think on the other hand, a certain amount of player movement, now, not focusing on demands, but this year, for example, in the week leading up to the trade deadline, something like 12% of the league changed teams. And that’s something that we were intentional about because we shorten contracts. We recognize that that ability for teams to rebuild, now it’s not just about players, but for teams to make changes in direction, and that’s healthy around the league.
“So again, it’s about finding the right balance around player movement. But trade demands are a bad thing. We don’t want them to happen, and we got to focus on that and make sure that everyone is honoring their agreements.”
It remains unclear if the league will do anything to prevent players from demanding trades in the future.
[ESPN]
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