NBA commissioner Adam Silver can see both sides of the Luka Dončić deal. Shortly after the trade was made, Silver defended the Dallas Mavericks, saying he believes the team did what it believed “was in the best interest of the organization.”
Silver has also heard and seen how fans reacted to the trade. In the days immediately following the move, Mavericks fans protested outside the team’s arena and directed a lot of ire, to put it mildly, at Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison.
Silver spoke about Mavericks fans during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday, saying he understands why Dallas fans are upset.
Here are Silver’s comments on the fans:
“It’s been a rough time since they made the trade, there’s no question about it. A combination of Anthony Davis — my God — going down in the very first game he was playing for the Mavericks. Kyrie [Irving], then, with the season-ending injury. You know, I’m proud of that team. Obviously, they are still playing hard. They still have a chance to play into the playoffs tomorrow night.
“I get the fan’s passion. I understand, again, why Dallas Mavericks fans are so upset. I, personally, am a fan of Luka Dončić. I think he’s a great young man. Let’s see how this turns out. I want him to be great. I want the Dallas Mavericks to be great.
“I’ve been in the league for a long time. It’s been remarkable, I think, how much interest there’s been in this trade.”
Silver also addressed theories that new Mavericks owner Miriam Adelson made the trade in an effort to eventually move the team.
“The only place where I feel defensive on behalf of the Dallas Mavericks and new ownership there that there were some suggestions early on that the trade wasn’t done for basketball reasons. That, somehow, the new owner didn’t want to pay a maximum salary or was focused on … real-estate development or something else. The only thing I can say, and I feel very confident about this knowing Patrick Dumont, who is the governor of the team, and the people involved, they believed that they were making the best trade on behalf of the Dallas Mavericks. Whether that turns out to be true, again, only time will tell.
I’ve known Nico for a long time, Nico Harrison. He was a longtime executive at Nike before he was at the Dallas Mavericks. Again, whether he made the right trade, he’s a really decent person. I know he’s trying to do the best he can to run that franchise.”
Silver later reiterated the Mavericks aren’t moving and are looking to build a new arena in Dallas.
The Adelson and Dumont families were asked about relocation shortly after the team traded Dončić. In a statement, the families said they were “committed to investing and building in Dallas/Fort Worth.” Adelson and her family are majority shareholders in Las Vegas Sands resorts, fueling speculation she could move the Mavericks to Las Vegas.
Given the players and teams — namely the Los Angeles Lakers — involved in the trade, some wondered whether Silver could have vetoed the deal if he felt it wasn’t in the best interest of the game. A similar thing happened in 2011, when then-NBA commissioner David Stern vetoed a trade that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers. McAfee brought up that move during Silver’s interview Thursday.
Silver explained the commissioner does not have the power to veto a trade. He then talked through the Paul trade, saying that was a unique situation because the NBA owned the New Orleans Hornets at the time. Stern felt the Hornets — who were trading Paul — were better off keeping the superstar, so he, as the team’s acting owner, vetoed the deal. Paul was eventually traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.
As Silver stated multiple times in the interview, time will tell whether the Mavericks can come out ahead after shipping out Dončić. But given Donćić’s superstar status and everything he meant to the franchise, Silver completely understands why fans were — and still are — angry about the move.
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