10:55 p.m. ET
Tim Bontemps ESPN
SAN FRANCISCO — Commissioner Adam Silver said the NBA is considering changing the voting process for All-NBA selections each season from the current position-based system to a system where voters choose the top 15 players regardless of position. Silver said this is something he wants to address with the National Basketball Players Association.
“In terms of decisions for the All-NBA, I think there’s quite a lot of thought going into whether [the media] should only pick top players instead of looking for position,” Silver said at a press conference ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals some injustices based on the chance of your position.
“So that’s something we’re looking at. It’s something we’re going to be discussing with the Players Association because it impacts incentives and player contracts and also, as you know, has deep meaning to their legacy. So we’re gonna do it look at these things.”
The issue of whether to continue to dictate the election by positions has gained momentum over the past two years, as two centers — the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic and the Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid — finished 1-2 in the league voting for the Most Valuable Player Award.
But due to the current system, only one of them can be a first-team All-NBA player, while the other — in this case Embiid in both last season and this season — would have to be a second-team selection.
Silver also said there would be further discussion on whether contract awards would be tied to the media pricing vote, but also added that both sides agreed it was the best of a number of imperfect options.
“In relation to the final selection process and what in some cases can have a direct financial impact on a player’s contract, we have just now agreed with the Players Association to use these designations to frankly trigger certain bonuses in player contracts because we couldn’t think of a better way that would feel objective to everyone involved,” said Silver.
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During his roughly 30-minute session with reporters, Silver touched on a number of issues:
• Both the NBA and NBPA have the option to opt out of the current contract in December before it expires next summer. When the deal was last completed in 2017, it was a similar situation when both sides agreed to a new deal in December 2016 before the opt-out date.
Silver said it was his hope that a similar plan would be followed this time, but said it was a little too early to say as he is still partially meeting the NBPA’s newly appointed chief executive, Tamika Tremaglio.
“I think we all know that in any negotiation, especially collective bargaining, deadlines are really helpful in getting people to get their best offers across the table,” Silver said.
Silver also added that all of the discussions that both sides have had over the past two and a half years about everything that’s happened because of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in them speaking to each other more than ever about what’s going on helped reinforce his belief that a deal had once again been amicably struck.
• Silver said the idea of a midseason tournament remains on the table but is not finalized as further discussions with the NBPA are needed. Additionally, when asked about players struggling with wear and tear on their bodies over the course of an 82-game season, Silver said he might be open to discussions about shortening the season — but only if it could be proven to help injuries to alleviate.
“As I said before, we don’t see an increasing number of injuries as the season progresses. It’s not like you see more injuries over the course of a season due to fatigue,” Silver said. “We see a correlation between actual fatigue, for example from back to back or three in a row. We believe this could potentially lead to more injuries.”
• As in the past, Silver has dismissed the idea of short-term expansion, although he has reiterated that the league will do so again at some point. He went on to say that one potential issue is the dilution of talent as a result of the expansion.
“Even if you add in about 30 other players who are roughly comparable, there’s still a finite number of really top-notch super talents,” Silver said. “It’s something that the other teams have in mind when we think about expansion.”
• Silver said the NBA has lost “hundreds of millions” because of its strained relationship with China, saying it’s an acceptable cost when it comes to protecting the freedom of expression of the league’s players, coaches and workers.
“We accept that, and I said that at the time we said that we stand behind our players and team leaders, their right to freedom of expression, whether it’s about issues in the United States or issues anywhere in the world, if If these are the consequences, that’s what I mean by our values traveling with us,” Silver said. “Others, as you know, have since voiced their views in China and elsewhere in the world, and if the consequences are that we get taken off the air or lose money, we accept that.”
Silver also said he continues to believe that working with China is not at odds with the league’s values amid allegations of human rights abuses in the country.
• When asked if women were far from becoming head coaches, Silver said it was a work in progress. He said Becky Hammon’s move to the WNBA as the Las Vegas Aces coach shouldn’t be viewed as a negative thing.
“But I’ve said it before, and I should have said it earlier, there’s no reason why women shouldn’t be head coaches and more of them shouldn’t be assistant coaches in the NBA,” Silver said. “There is no reason why there shouldn’t be more women officials. We’ve made progress in both areas around the league now. There are many more female assistants on our teams, but we need to break that glass ceiling.”
Silver also said the NBA, which increased its number of black coaches to 15 with the Los Angeles Lakers’ hiring of Darvin Ham last month, is a product of the league’s continued emphasis on the need for diversity.
• Asked if testing positive for COVID-19 next year would mean a player could not play, Silver said the recommendation would come from medical staff and that it was too early to say, adding added that the NBA is only a small part of the world when it comes to learning how to live with the virus.