Silver defends tax apron: Helps all teams compete

LAS VEGAS — Soon after the LA Clippers lost star forward Paul George to the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency, the team cited “the constraints of the new CBA.”

In short, the team was referencing the rules in the agreed-upon 2023 collective bargaining agreement that aimed to level the playing field by creating team-building restrictions for franchises that spent far into the luxury tax — blowing past the so-called “second apron.”

That phrase came to define much of the conversation around the league during the July free agency period as the Clippers lost George, the Denver Nuggets lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and other teams maneuvered to manage their books.

“We’re now in the apron world,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said in early July. “We’ve seen contending teams or championship-level teams have to lose players. That’s a result of the apron world we’re living in. So, does it make trades more challenging? Yes. Does it make good trades impossible? No.”

On Tuesday, after the league’s board of governors meetings held in Las Vegas, NBA commissioner Adam Silver defended the new rules and their impact on team building.

“What I’m hearing from teams, even as the second apron is moving to kick in, the teams are realizing there are real teeth in those provisions,” he said. “I don’t know how to view this, but I know reports have come out that the summer was boring from a fan standpoint. I don’t certainly think it was. We still saw a lot of critically important players moving from one team to another as free agents.

“But at the same time, I think this new system, while I don’t want it to be boring, I want to put teams in a position, 30 teams, to better compete. I think we’re on our way to doing that.”

The league has had six different champions in the past six years, most recently the Boston Celtics winning over the Dallas Mavericks, and Silver, in part, suggested that changes in successive CBAs have helped the league become more competitive over time. He also downplayed the idea that the league was trying to limit teams from going on dynastic runs.

“As long as we can create something close to a level playing field in terms of the tools available to teams to compete, I’m absolutely fine with dynasties and I’m fine with new teams emerging every year,” Silver said.

Silver also touched on a variety of other league-related topics.

• Silver said it was “bittersweet” that Celtics governor Wyc Grousbeck announced that the franchise would be up for sale, calling Grousbeck a model owner during his tenure that dates back more than two decades.

“He’s been a leader in terms of our committee system at our board. He’s been intimately involved in every aspect of the league, from collective bargaining to revenue sharing to media,” Silver said.

“I understand the family circumstances and why he and his family have elected at this moment to sell the franchise. I’m frankly saddened by it, just because not only have they won two championships, but beyond that they’ve operated the team in a first-class manner and he’s been a first-class owner in this league.”

• Silver said the league is closing in on a new media rights deal, which was discussed during the board meeting, but that other rights needed to be worked out with other partners, which limited him from speaking in detail. In all, Silver said the full deal was not yet finalized. He did say that making the league’s games more available on streaming products was an important goal.

“That’s something that we’ve been very focused on in these deals, not just reach in the United States but reach globally as well,” Silver said.

• Silver confirmed ESPN’s report Monday that Knicks owner James Dolan sent a letter to other owners and to the league office that complained about aspects of the new media rights deal, but Silver said he wouldn’t comment on the matter.

“My response is that we try to keep these issues in the family,” he said.

• Silver declined to comment about whether the league office would arbitrate the lawsuit between the New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors. Recently, a New York court asked the league to decide whether it could settle the dispute.

• Silver said the league would more seriously consider expansion in the fall after finalizing its new media rights deal.

“I will say it’s a bit more complicated than is suggested sometimes, because just think of the new media deals, for example,” he said. “Once they’re completed, when you bring in new partners, you’re diluting those payments, of course, to teams. Sometimes it seems as if we’re printing money when we expand. Actually, it’s no different than selling equity in any business.”

He added, “I think there needs to be a fair amount of modeling at the league office, working with existing owners and really thinking through the long-term prospects, again not just economically but also for potential of dilution of talent.”