If there isn’t satisfactory resolution to North Carolina House Bill 2 by the end of summer, Charlotte risks losing the 2017 All-Star Game, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said before Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.
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“Not anytime soon”, Silver said when asked about a potential rule change, “and largely because when we’ve changed the rules in the past – and much of that happened before my time in the game – it was because there was a view that a particular player because of his skill had, frankly, an unfair advantage over other players”.
On Hack-A-Shaq, Silver reiterated his past message that he expects reform to come, noting that the tactic has increased in usage and is not aesthetically pleasing for viewers. “Not only is that something that is bad for our network partners”, Silvers said, “but for all of the fan research we have shows that the fans hate it”.
“It was a value built from the ground floor up in this league long before I ever got involved in it, and I’m sort of carrying the mantle now”, Silver said. At the same time, we would be moving on if I didn’t think there were constructive discussions going on.
“I’m very supportive of Joe Lacob, Peter Guber and Rick Welts and their desire to move the franchise to San Francisco”, Silver said.
Silver said he met last month with business leaders working behind the scenes with city and state officials for a compromise due to what he called “enormous economic damage”.
Silver said he believed that the portion of the law involving bathroom use has overshadowed what, for the league, is the bigger issue of inclusion and diversity. It just seems like the game is being reinvented. Their opponent in the Finals, the Cavaliers, averaged the second-most three-pointers made per game, with 10.7.
Golden State set a season record for 3-pointers by a team on the way to an NBA record 73 wins, with repeat NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry breaking his own record with 402 3-pointers to win the scoring title. “And my sense is that Steph together with Klay, what they’re doing when it comes to three-point shooting, they’ve overcome a psychological barrier for a lot of players who just never thought the kind of shots they make were possible”. I think that in some ways Steph’s 3-point shooting becomes an equalizer. “It’s just incredibly exciting”.
Yet Silver said Curry’s eye-opening three-point numbers – and the style in which he compiles them, often pulling up from well beyond the three-point arc – may also be opening minds.
But Silver admitted the faster-paced style might require more eyes to catch fouls. “And it’s my job to look out for the greater good of the game”.
DRAYMOND’S KICKS: Green has been the subject of scrutiny this postseason for kicking his legs out in the act of shooting, driving to the basket or grabbing rebounds.
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“There is no line in the sand and intentionally we didn’t want to draw a line in the sand”, Silver said.
