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Club 520 - Adam Silver on Luka Doncic to Lakers trade, NBA Draft, All-Star Game changes
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- [00:00]
Ryan Seacrest
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:04]
DJ Wells
Okay? Have you heard about this? Last year, Degree changed the formula for their Cool Rush deodorant. The fans rebelled and wanted the old scent back and Degree listened and that doesn't happen often. They admitted they effed up and are bringing the original Cool Rush scent back. And it's exactly how you remember it. Cool, crisp and fresh. There's a reason why it's the number one men's antiperspirant and it's back in Walmart, Target and other stores now for under $4. You so try it and see what the fuss is about. Head to your local Walmart, Target and try to og cool rush for yourself.
- [00:33]
Ryan Seacrest
Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. And every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now it pays to Discover. Learn more@discover.com credit card based on the February 2024 Nielsen report. Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and safeway. Now through June 24th. Score hot summer savings and earn four times the points. Look for in store tags on items like Kraft Mac and Cheese, Celsius energy drinks, Quaker Chewy bars and sparkling ice flavored water. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event long savings. Enjoy savings on top of savings when you shop in store or online. For easy drive up and go pickup or delivery subject to availability restrictions apply. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details.
- [01:31]
Adam Silver
Oikos presents 15 Seconds of Strength. Here we go. Steve's got a trunk full of groceries and no one to help him.
- [01:37]
DJ Wells
Oh, that's tough. Jim Looks like a five trip load at least.
- [01:40]
Adam Silver
He grabs the first bag, the second bob. It looks like he's trying to do.
- [01:44]
DJ Wells
It all in one trip.
- [01:45]
Adam Silver
He shimmies the door open, steps over the dog.
- [01:47]
Jeff Teague
Oh, and he stumbles.
- [01:48]
DJ Wells
Oh, right into the kitchen without missing a beat. Jim now that's a man who eats his protein packed Oikos.
- [01:53]
Adam Silver
With 15 grams of complete protein in each cup. Oikos Triple Zero can help build strength for every day. Oikos Stronger makes everything better.
- [02:03]
Jeff Teague
The volume.
- [02:06]
Adam Silver
This show is a blast. It's hilarious, it's personal and it seems like it has no limits. Make some noise as loud as you can. For Jeff Teague Behen and DJ Wells, host of the Club 520 podcast. Make some noise. Get yourself some Jaws. Get yourself some Jaws. There you go.
- [02:26]
Jeff Teague
Make some noise.
- [02:27]
Adam Silver
Get some draws. Hit them in the back behind. Back there in the back, behind. There you go. Yes, sir.
- [02:45]
DJ Wells
Yo, yo, yo, yo, Fanatics.
- [02:46]
Young Nacho
How y' all doing? How y' all doing?
- [02:47]
Jeff Teague
What up, what up, what up, what up?
- [02:48]
Young Nacho
Yeah.
- [02:49]
DJ Wells
Love this energy. Y' all know the time. It is. It is Club Five Twenty. I'm your host. My name is DJ Wells. Live at Fanatics Smacks. Man 1 Time for boost mode. We know the vibes. 25 unlimited talk text data.
- [03:00]
Young Nacho
Where they at with the Teague 5G nationwide. Y' all know what time it is.
- [03:04]
DJ Wells
Come on, man. Tap in. Get you a phone, man. Still got my gang with me up here. To my far left, we got my dog, Bishop B, heading out the Pearlies. How you? What? Nasty?
- [03:12]
Jeff Teague
What's happening? What up, Fanatics? My boy. What's up, baby? What up? What up?
- [03:16]
DJ Wells
Tapped in for sure. To my right, my dog, Young Nacho. Young Teague.
- [03:19]
Young Nacho
How you? What? What's good? We got a good one today. Got a good one today.
- [03:24]
DJ Wells
Come on, man. Listen, man. We got a special special guest, man, we couldn't imagine that we would have this gentleman on our platform, but it's a blessing. We about to have a dope conversation. We happy to share this moment with y' all. We have the one, the only, the commish, Mr. Adam Silver. Join the 520. Make some noise.
- [03:41]
Adam Silver
Yes, sir.
- [03:43]
DJ Wells
Yes, sir.
- [03:44]
Jeff Teague
Let's go. Let's go.
- [03:46]
DJ Wells
Yes, sir. It's a pleasure.
- [03:48]
Young Nacho
It's a pleasure. Thank you, man.
- [03:51]
Jeff Teague
Boss man.
- [03:55]
Adam Silver
Hello.
- [03:56]
DJ Wells
Yeah. Energy, energy. Love this.
- [03:58]
Adam Silver
Wow.
- [03:59]
DJ Wells
First and foremost, we want to say thank you. We appreciate you joining us, sir. How you doing?
- [04:03]
Adam Silver
I'm doing great. This is incredible. I mean, I. For the fans, this must be fantastic. Just the whole environment here. I mean, congratulations to Michael Rubin. I can't believe what he's built.
- [04:15]
Jeff Teague
For sure. For sure.
- [04:16]
DJ Wells
Listen, this is a blessing to have you on this stage, obviously. You know what I'm saying, T? You got to walk across that stage. But for me, and being this our draft night moment, baby, we got.
- [04:23]
Adam Silver
Yeah.
- [04:24]
Jeff Teague
The real draft night.
- [04:27]
Young Nacho
Yeah, I got.
- [04:27]
DJ Wells
I didn't get.
- [04:28]
Young Nacho
I didn't walk across the stage. I didn't go to the draft. But I got a chance to hear my name called. It was pretty cool.
- [04:33]
Adam Silver
You got a championship ring, though.
- [04:34]
Young Nacho
Yeah, I got a championship ring.
- [04:35]
Adam Silver
It's better than being drafted. Yeah.
- [04:38]
Young Nacho
Talk about it. I snuck out of there with one. Yeah.
- [04:41]
DJ Wells
Now, I wanted to ask you this question. Because everybody's moment, you know, is their dream to get across the NBA stage, shake your hand and hold a jersey. What was it like for you the first time that you got to be in that position and host the draft as the commissioner?
- [04:53]
Adam Silver
It was. It's. It's a. It's emotional. For me, it still is, because, you know, for that moment to come into the NBA, for these players, and just as importantly, for their families. So when you're standing up on stage, particularly for, you know, the top draft picks who are sitting there right in front of you, you're staring often at their parents, their siblings, their friends. So it's truly emotional. I mean, I feel it along with them. And then when the guys come up on stage, I mean, obviously these are some of the best athletes in the world. They've already performed at a high level in college, in Europe, or whatever else. Like, when I put my arm on them and I shake their hand, they're often. You can feel how nervous they are. You know, it's such. And I think it's just a lot of them been holding in the emotion, and it's just a release because even if you're projected to be the fifth pick or the fourth, but whatever it is the reality of that actually happening. So I'm just saying, like, I'm holding it together, too. For a lot of them, it's just. And I'll just add it. It's a privilege to be up there. I don't have any particular talent, unlike a player, so I realize I'm fortunate to be part of the experience.
- [06:04]
Jeff Teague
Who was the first player you introduced to the NBA? I said, who was the first person you introduced to the NBA? What was your first pick?
- [06:11]
Adam Silver
Oh, man, I gotta think about that because I was the deputy commissioner for several years and did the second round as well. So I got to think about that. I can't remember who the first player is that I drafted.
- [06:25]
DJ Wells
Most definitely. I wanted to ask you this question. Obviously, you know, legal background, worked in the NBA as well. Recipes, obviously, the, like, great. David Stern, what was that moment like when you found out that you were going to be the commissioner?
- [06:40]
Adam Silver
Oh, man. I mean, I. Again, I just remember feeling how fortunate I was. I had, at that point. I had already worked for the league for 20 years.
- [06:50]
DJ Wells
Yes, sir.
- [06:51]
Adam Silver
At the time I found out I had worked for David Stern that entire time. So I had a seat in the room, so to speak, for a lot of that had transpired over that time. And again, I worked hard, but at the same time, I Realized it takes a fair amount of luck to be in the right place at the right time. I saw it as tremendous responsibility to carry this league forward off of all those great players that had come before me, great commissioners, you know, David Stern being the most recent. So, you know, it was momentous. There's no question about it. But, you know, it takes a while to sink in. You just. Again, just. And I still feel that even 11 years later, just, it's an awesome responsibility because in addition to the literally hundreds of millions of fans globally that for the players, their families, the tens of thousands of employees of the NBA, you know, and now the WNBA that we're part of, it's, you know, you feel the weight of the responsibility. And in this league, I mean, there's. There's incredible things that happen every day, but there's also things that are a risk to the business, you know, and it's ultimate responsibility working together with the players, with the team owners to make sure the league continues to operate smoothly. So I would say I'm awestruck, but also feel that sense of responsibility.
- [08:17]
DJ Wells
Most definitely.
- [08:17]
Young Nacho
I got a question. We was talking about draft night and you being up there calling names, and it's been some nights where guys names didn't get called in that first round. What's that feeling like? Do you ever be like, man, I just hope this kid gets called because obviously I didn't go to the green room. But that was a scary feeling for me to be in the green room and not get my name called. And we had some guys go super, super late in the first round and be the last guy in the green room. Like, what's that feeling?
- [08:43]
Adam Silver
You know, I'm. Often. It happens occasionally where there is a player who's projected to go higher and drops for whatever reason, and often in some cases in between, break in between picks. I'll walk down and just say hello to the player and their family. I've, you know, we have a luncheon the day of the draft, so I've talked to them and I. And I see them before the draft, but also just to remind them that nobody can predict the future that, I mean, I think about, you know, I mean, our MVP in Shea, I forgot. I don't know, he's like the 11th pick or whatever. He wasn't a top 10 pick. Tyrese wasn't a top 10 pick. But not only were they not 10 top 10 picks, but they were both traded. And you have incredible players. You know, Jokic was a second round pick. Young man, just pointed out to me, you know, Draymond Green was a second round pick. I mean, you have, look at the current finals, you know, you have players who are enormous contributors who weren't drafted at all. And so I always see it as my responsibility to remind them that this is just one point in time and you should take motivation from, from this and that, again, that understandably these teams are making these decisions. But don't let that sort of prediction be controlling on you and go double down on your work because there's a reason that they're there, that they were projected to be there. And even if, you know, if you think the NBA is the 450 best players in the world, so we have a relatively small draft compared, like if you watch the NFL draft, how many rounds they have, it's only a two round draft. So again, I just remind them, like, yeah, it sucks in that moment. It feels embarrassing potentially, but go get them. You know, this, this isn't going to determine your fate most definitely.
- [10:42]
DJ Wells
You brought a very interesting point up. We're looking at the finals right now. Obviously game seven will take place very, very soon. We have two small market teams. You see a lot of the narrative just like, oh, the NBA is upset. We don't have bigger markets than that. We would love to have that conversation with you because obviously it's been great basketball being played. The energy's been high. You've been in both arenas. The fans there seem happy. Is it just a narrative? Is it just like, nah, y' all not really tuned in, into the actual product?
- [11:06]
Adam Silver
You know, I, I could say so much about that, A few things. I'll say. One of the points I made the other night was, you know, I'm sure there's a lot of NFL fans here. When the Steelers and the packers play, you know, Pittsburgh and Green Bay, nobody says two small market teams. Instead, it's two storied franchises. And I want to emulate the NFL from that standpoint. I mean, our goal, and we're on our way there, that whatever market it is, they have passionate fans, they're competing for the championship. And just like in Milwaukee, where you won that championship, Jeff, the story isn't that it's a small market, it's the best franchises in the NBA, the best teams in the world competing for championships. And increasingly in a digital world where the incremental difference between Indianapolis and Chicago should become irrelevant because we have a global fan base. We have something like a 2 billion person social media community. I mean, something like 70 million people will have watched the NBA Finals this year. So the fact that there may be a million more people that live in one market or another shouldn't be the issue. Now, I accept that it's a narrative going in the other thing I'll point out, some of those markets are only smaller relative to the size of other NBA markets. The mayor of Oklahoma City pointed out that 300 million Americans, close to 90% of Americans, live in cities and towns that are smaller than Indianapolis and Oklahoma City. Most of us, I'm from the suburbs of New York, but I grew up in a town, Rye, New York that had 15,000 people. And in my growing up, yeah, New York City wasn't that far away, but it seemed like it was a million miles away. That was my town. When Little league season started, we had a little League parade. My high school class only had a couple hundred people in it. That was my world. So I think this small versus big market narrative only becomes relevant because of historically how we've looked at things. But again, the world's changing quickly. To me, if you're Giannis Antetokounmpo and you're in Milwaukee, you're globally known and nobody's going to convince him that if you went down the road to Chicago, then you can be that much of a bigger star. And lastly, saying just having gone back and forth from Indianapolis to Oklahoma City and vice versa over the last two weeks, the passion is unbelievable in those towns. I just came in from Indianapolis this morning. I mean, you're there. Every storefront has banners in it for the Pacers. Same thing in Oklahoma City. Every building has a huge banner on it. Everyone's wearing merchandise. If you see on television, everyone's wearing the team colors. It's like a college environment. And so in some ways, when you're in those markets where they're smaller, it captures people's attention even more than, you know, I live in New York City now. When, when we have teams in this town that are competing for championships, as big as that audience is, it's not as all consuming as it might be in a so called smaller market.
- [14:18]
Young Nacho
Most definitely, for sure. I mean, we were talking to a guy yesterday, he was telling us about how it was in New York when they were just making the Easter conference finals. And I think that's what the narrative is. Because when you see all the people outside, it was what, a million people almost outside.
- [14:32]
Jeff Teague
Yeah.
- [14:32]
Young Nacho
You start thinking like, man, if they was in the finals, what would that look like?
- [14:36]
Jeff Teague
Exactly.
- [14:37]
Young Nacho
So I think that's what people, you know, talk about. But to me, being from Indiana and seeing how the Pacers react and the fans are. It's crazy. I think it's beautiful for the league.
- [14:47]
Adam Silver
It is. And also, I mean, when it comes to basketball, no state is more closely associated with the game than Indiana, obviously. I know you're still coaching high school.
- [14:57]
Young Nacho
Yeah.
- [14:57]
Adam Silver
Ball there. Same in Oklahoma City. I mean, it's. This sport feels endemic to those markets. It's. As I said, it's not. There's the support for the Thunder, for the Pacers, but also people just love the game.
- [15:13]
Young Nacho
Yeah.
- [15:13]
Adam Silver
In those cities and states, and you can really feel it. And I think particularly the way these Finals are being played, just the selfless style, the pass first. I mean, both teams, it's a great defense. Really physical. I think people are really eating up these Finals. They're just really enjoying them.
- [15:29]
Young Nacho
For sure.
- [15:30]
Jeff Teague
We'll be getting some expansion teams here soon.
- [15:33]
Adam Silver
They what?
- [15:33]
Jeff Teague
The expansion teams, man. How you feel about that?
- [15:36]
Adam Silver
You know, I. It's something we're going to look at.
- [15:38]
Jeff Teague
Okay.
- [15:41]
Adam Silver
It's more complicated, I think, sometimes than people realize, because I think some people look at expansion that you're printing money, but it's not. Because it's like if you own something, you're selling an interest in it. If you're one of the 30 owners in the NBA and just say you expand by two teams, it's not that different than selling a portion of your team to someone else. Having said that, there's so many great markets out there that love the NBA. It's something we're definitely going to look at.
- [16:07]
Jeff Teague
Okay. For sure.
- [16:09]
Adam Silver
Yes. Hi.
- [16:11]
DJ Wells
Hello.
- [16:12]
Jeff Teague
Now, he says Seattle. We were just trying to figure out, like, what cities would be good to bring a new team to.
- [16:17]
Young Nacho
Obviously, they do the summer league in Vegas, so it's equipped for NBA basketball. So I know Vegas would probably be a cool spot. Like you said, Seattle had a team already.
- [16:26]
Adam Silver
You know, it's interesting. I mean, we had a team in Seattle before. It's such an incredible market. Many of my years at the NBA were spent when we still had a team in Seattle. There's no doubt about the love for basketball there in Vegas. You just mentioned where we have our summer league. I feel like we have a team there because, you know, the two weeks or so that summer league goes, it literally, like, it consumes the whole basketball world. Those games, when we first started playing the summer league there, those games were hardly even on television. Now, sports centers operating out of Las Vegas, studio shows there, you know, it's. It's like They. I never been to the baseball winner meetings, but that's what it feels like. You know, all the general managers are there, teams are doing deals. Guys who weren't drafted are there, the draft picks are there. They're selling out in the arena. So, like, I feel like we already have a huge presence in Las Vegas.
- [17:19]
Young Nacho
Oh, definitely.
- [17:20]
DJ Wells
I want to ask you a fun question. I recently introduced somebody to the movie Eddie, and then we watched Celtic Pride. So those old NBA movies that used to integrate all the things between us, me and his fans, fictional and the NBA, I wanted to know, how does that happen? Is there a licensing or a conversation that happens? Because, you know, you see a lot of things being used. Some of the players, some not. I would love to see. Is that something that's in the works future, as the game is going, we get back into that. But how has a conversation or something like that happen?
- [17:45]
Adam Silver
Well, the way it works. And I was at the league for Eddie and Celtic Pride, and there's a division of the NBA called NBA Entertainment that I used to run. And so when people, and for anybody here today or is listening to this, wants to make a movie involving the NBA or its teams come to us. I mean, we try to make it easy. You know, in essence, we come and say, if you want to license, you know, our logos or our name, you know, we want movies to ultimately be positive, of course, about the league. So, you know, most people realize that. So it's not that we're not approving things that come to us, but we'll have discussions with the producers and the writers and the directors. But we want people to be talking about basketball. We want them to be talking about the NBA and the WNBA and all the things we're doing. So, you know, I think over the years, we've learned to try to make it a bit more turnkey for people who want to use our intellectual property and say, please, you know, to the extent that you have a new angle and it may be people want to do something about mascots. It's not always just about, you know, there was a movie called, like, Mike Some May Remember, you know, there's, you know, the Michael Jordan Last Dance, you know, that came out in the middle of the pandemic.
- [18:57]
Jeff Teague
What's the movie with Common?
- [19:00]
Young Nacho
Just right.
- [19:00]
Jeff Teague
Just right.
- [19:01]
Adam Silver
Yeah, yeah. You know, I mean, but also, even, like, one of my favorite basketball movies is Hoosiers, even though NBA had nothing whatsoever to do with that. Like, any movie that's about the love of the game is, we think, is really positive for us. So we're always encouraging people who want to do anything around basketball. You know, when I walk through this fan festival, I want more attention focused on basketball. I mean, that's like my job is to get more people to love this game.
- [19:28]
Young Nacho
Most definitely.
- [19:29]
DJ Wells
You say your favorite basketball is Hoosiers. That's very interesting. Have you seen Hoosiers?
- [19:35]
Adam Silver
Come on. Yeah, I see Hoosiers.
- [19:37]
Young Nacho
Did you see Hoosiers? I haven't seen Hoosiers.
- [19:39]
Jeff Teague
Did you play back in the day in high school or anything?
- [19:41]
Adam Silver
Did I play? Yeah. That's why I wear him wearing a suit. Respect. I played, but not well.
- [19:47]
DJ Wells
I don't know. I mean, when you walked in, I was like, okay. He might set a screen and slip to the.
- [19:51]
Jeff Teague
I didn't know you was that tall.
- [19:52]
Adam Silver
I said, yes, sir.
- [19:53]
Young Nacho
Yeah, I was like, he might have been a sniper.
- [19:54]
Jeff Teague
Big guard back in the day.
- [19:56]
DJ Wells
We might need you in the park.
- [19:58]
Adam Silver
Yeah, 3 and D. I'm in the office. Thank you.
- [20:02]
Young Nacho
So I had a question. Like, when the like a trade like Luca.
- [20:06]
Ryan Seacrest
Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and safeway. Now through June 24th. Score hot summer savings and earn four times the points. Look for in store tags on items like Dove ice cream bars, Chips Ahoy Cookies, Arrowhead bottled water and Charmin bath tissue. Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event long savings. Enjoy savings on top of savings when you shop in store or online. For easy drive up and go pickup or delivery subject to availability restrictions, apply. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details.
- [20:35]
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- [21:38]
Jeff Teague
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- [22:33]
Colin Cowherd
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- [23:35]
Young Nacho
Happens, right? And it kind of shocks the league. Like, what's it like in a league office? Like, do y' all know? Like, whoa, this is about to be wild.
- [23:43]
Adam Silver
Or, you know, since before I. You know, first of all, I'll say one of the misnomers I think out there is that I have the power to disapprove a trade. Yeah, I don't. The only. What the league's role is, as you can imagine, in a cap system and a set of rules around trades, what happens is before the trade is known publicly, although sometimes they're leaked or they're informally announced. But for a trade to be official, it gets called into the league office. It's kind of old school where both teams have to get on the phone and lawyers and people in basketball operations literally line up the contracts. So if somebody make it up is making $8 million, you have to ensure that the other team has $8 million of cap space in order to sign that player. You have to assure that it complies with all of our rules. And so we get. Assuming a trade hasn't been leaked, a call will come into the league office. A team will say, we want to set up a trade call. Both sides will be on the call. It's a little bit like anybody who's bought a home and there's a cloud closing. It's the closest thing where you got to make sure, like, you indeed have the title to the house. There's been an inspection and there's a contract, all those things. So there's in essence, a checklist, and then the trade becomes official. So we don't. And. And because the teams often in particular trades, and Luka is a good example, where the teams are very secretive, they're not necessarily tipping us off. We. We learn about it. I mean, we learn about it, be ahead of the public. But only it's usually only a question of hours because we have to go through that official process of approving it, but. But not sooner than that.
- [25:28]
Young Nacho
Was that like, when you seen that come across? Were you kind of shocked? Like.
- [25:32]
Adam Silver
Yeah. I would only say, I mean, because in many ways I'm a fan like others, and teams aren't necessarily calling the league office for suggestions on player movement. So there's the fan in me that only because that's not a player move that people were talking about or the shows like yours were talking about. I was surprised from that standpoint.
- [25:56]
DJ Wells
I want to ask you that question. Obviously, with the grain growing, media is evolving, ever changing, Right? You got player podcasts, got independent stuff like that. What's one thing you think that the actual media outlets could improve that could actually help the game? I know we get a lot of criticism, but what's something that we could actually help promote the game better or help progress?
- [26:12]
Adam Silver
Well, first of all, I'll just say kind of in the same lane when I was talking about movies, about the NBA. I'm very appreciative of the amount of media coverage we get. I recognize it's not all going to be positive, but to me, as long as it's genuinely from the heart and it's real passion and people aren't making up stories about us, I appreciate it. And you know, it's one of the things great about sports is people come with their opinions and they like things, they dislike things, and we learn from that too, you know, and it's. We pay attention to social media, we pay attention to traditional media. You get great ideas from there. I think the only thing I'd add to the extent there's more media that's educating fans about what goes into championship basketball. I think sometimes if you haven't been close to the game, and I've learned a lot over my time because I didn't play at a high level to understand that it's not just about effort, it's about the plays that are unfolding. It's about the sophistication of the coaching, it's about the sophistication of the scouting. I mean, I think sometimes like understanding what goes into being an NBA player, the amount of hard work, the amount of training, but also I think sometimes because the way our game is called, you know, it's moving so quickly. Even for the best announcers, play by play announcers like Mike Breen or the best color commentaries, the best color commentary, it's moving so fast, there's not necessarily time to explain everything that's happening that, you know, it's not just this guy is off tonight, but he may be off because this incredible defense and what is the scheme and what is that defense. So I think sometimes like those other shows, whether it's a pregame show or halftime or it's an afternoon show, podcast, you name it, about the NBA. Just to be talking about more about the game and what goes into team basketball and what makes and what goes into making the NBA and staying in the NBA for sure.
- [28:27]
Young Nacho
Most definitely.
- [28:28]
DJ Wells
Now, T, you always talk about how the NBA is a business in a fraternity and what they do for the players after they leave the game. You want to indulge in that a little bit more.
- [28:37]
Young Nacho
Yeah, obviously it's a bunch of programming now that it's becoming into the league. When I first came in the league, the rookie transition and all those great things that you have to do when you first get in the league, I was wondering how can we like, I'M not going to say better. It. I think it does a really good job and everything is nice when you retire from basketball. But is anything like you would suggest for some of the guys who might retire at the age of like, 30, 31, is there anything you could suggest to help them with that process?
- [29:06]
Adam Silver
It's a great question. A few things. Number one. So for the first time, we have a former player who's running the Players Association, Andre Iguodala.
- [29:16]
Young Nacho
Yep.
- [29:17]
Adam Silver
So he's very attuned to the issues of not just former players, but the transition for a player to go from being on the floor to then the rest of their life and to how they're going to use the skills they've developed as a player and what new skills they might need to be successful at whatever they choose to do, whether it's to be in the media or to run business or whatever else. The other thing Andre is doing is building a closer relationship between. Between what has been a separate organization, the Retired Players association, and the union that currently represents the players, because I think that can help with a smooth transition as well. And then you mentioned the rookie transition program. So that's a program for players coming into the NBA, the transition of coming from college or Europe, wherever it is. Now, the world's changing quickly because now with nil deals and collectives, guys are now coming into the league. And same thing for the women in the WNBA now, in many cases, having been paid. So they already have a certain sophistication around payments and being, you know, shoe deals and things like that. But so they come in. We have the training in. I think one thing that Andre is very focused on and in fairness, and the union leaders before him is enhancing those programs so that while you're a player, there's a lot of different counseling on managing your money, managing your life, dealing with social media, all those things. And the union's done a fantastic job. There's a role for our teams and a role for the league in doing all those things. And then I think also where Andre now, I think the focus is, all right, what more can we do for helping the players manage that transition? And then once I said they become a retired player, because I often. And Jeff, you can speak this when you're right off the floor, there may be a period of sort of decompressing.
- [31:10]
Young Nacho
Yeah.
- [31:11]
Adam Silver
Taking some time. There's that change from being on the road the whole time. Often guys are getting reacquainted with their families or they, you know, they. They've had Kids while they were playing and haven't been around as much. So there's that period. But then now you have essentially the rest of your life and ahead of you. What kind of programs can we help provide to train people? And I'll just say lastly, I mean there's also one of the things that we put in place several years ago and Michelle Roberts was head of the players Association, Chris Paul was president of the union is lifetime health insurance for guys who play in the league, which is a huge deal, and also enhancing the pension programs, the 401k program. So that for somebody who has played a certain minimum threshold of years in the league, you know, to a certain extent you'll be set, you know, you're gonna have health insurance, you know, you're gonna have a pension. Now, you know, that's not suggesting they should just be satisfied with that. But on top of that, there's all these other opportunities and you're obviously a great example of it, of what can you then use that platform you have by virtue of being an NBA player and then building careers beyond what you accomplished on the floor?
- [32:25]
DJ Wells
For sure, most definitely. We talk about the nil situation all the time. I know you probably get asked this a million times, is it a possibility the high school players go back to the NBA straight? Maybe. But the nil impact, you say you got lesser people in the draft this year. Do you think is that something that's going to be an ongoing issue or is it just a new transition period? Because it's just new.
- [32:42]
Adam Silver
Yeah, when you think about it, we don't, as I said, we only have a two round draft. And the fact, I think it's really positive that some of these young men are getting good information, in essence and realizing that they're unlikely to be selected in those two rounds. And if that's the case and they can remain in college and be paid and in many cases paid significant amounts of money that so one, they're getting compensated for their skill and maybe even more importantly, to the extent they want to be professional basketball players, they're getting real minutes, they're getting great coaching and they're continuing to train and improve at their craft. So it's a win, win for everybody as opposed to losing eligibility because somebody's convinced you that you're going to be a top draft pick, not getting drafted, you can't go back to college and now you're going to play maybe in Europe or Asia or something else, as opposed to really honing your skill and having your best shot. At playing in the NBA. And the other thing is, if you're not going to be drafted and you're going back into school, it shouldn't be lost that you're also, you know, continuing to get an education because realistically, you may not have an opportunity to play in the NBA. It may be great, you know, it may to go play in Europe. There's great basketball playing played around the world, but that may, you know, not compensate you at the same level as being in the NBA. You might not be able to do it for as long. So now you finish, you play for three, four years in Europe, whatever it is, but now you have a college education, and then you can go out and then pursue another career. So I think the fact that some of those young men are withdrawing their names is very positive. To me, that just means there's better information out there in the marketplace.
- [34:33]
Jeff Teague
Will we ever get back to kids being able to come straight out of high school? Like, would that ever be a thing again in the NBA, do you think?
- [34:41]
Adam Silver
You know, we've talked about that. You know, just so everybody understands, like, that's not a decision we can make on our own. It can only it has to be negotiated with the players association. And when we last discussed it, I think that the general feeling from the teams and the players is to the extent that those young players have that extra year, honestly, whether it's in college or playing in Europe, it's better for the league because they come in better skilled, with a little bit more maturity.
- [35:12]
DJ Wells
We've talked about, obviously, the all star format possibly being the USA versus the world. We've got a lot of great international players. A lot of them won MVP recently. We got camps around the world. Is there a possibility that we could get a expansion team that's not in the United States?
- [35:27]
Adam Silver
Well, we have the Raptors, of course.
- [35:29]
DJ Wells
But, you know, they around the way they don't come.
- [35:32]
Adam Silver
I know they're attached. It's not the same. Yeah, over time, I mean, one of the things we've been looking at the league, at the league is whether we can help operate a new professional league in Europe. I mean, don't get me wrong, there's incredible basketball being played in Europe and there's some really great teams. And, you know, several of our most recent MVPs have come from Europe. But I think from a commercial standpoint, basketball, professional basketball hasn't been nearly as successful in Europe as the size of the market might suggest. So that's one path. I wouldn't call it expansion directly but it's building off the NBA brand and potentially doing more in Europe. To your direct question about teams in Europe, I think over time it's definitely possible. Like I was in Paris last summer for the Olympics. I mean, the interest was off the charts. I mean, to me it was the hottest sport there. I mean, like we were selling out every game, not just the games involving usa, but you know, the gold medal game was USA versus France. I mean, the game before the US Serbia game was some of the best basketball I had seen. So there's great players, enormous interest. I think part of the limitation is on players bodies. It's not just the length of the flight, but when you're jumping multiple time zones, it's important guys get proper rest for being on the floor. It's disruptive. You know, there's people, remember there used to be supersonic jets that went back and forth from New York to Paris, you know, the Concorde, that there's some commercial airliners now who are talking about restoring supersonic jets. I mean, I think that if the travel were faster, honestly, that would be a game changer. It would make it easier to do. But as I said, I think the next step is to sort of plant a flag in Europe, potentially with the European League, and then go from there. But I think if any league could do it, you could easily imagine teams in Paris, London, Madrid, Berlin. I mean, it's not for lack of interest, that's for sure.
- [37:46]
DJ Wells
Most definitely. Imagine having a back to back in Paris, man.
- [37:50]
Young Nacho
Yeah, like he said, that fight would have been crazy. But it'd probably be a lot of fun though. I think guys will be open to playing in Paris. I've seen guys go over there for preseason games, exhibition games, and they're like, this is cool to be over here.
- [38:05]
Jeff Teague
You got any adjustments that you would like to make for the All Star? The All Star game? You want to bring something new, take something out? Like how you feel about All Star Weekend?
- [38:14]
Adam Silver
Well, the weekend itself, which we're not judged on for those who are there, is fantastic. I mean, I think anybody who was in the Bay Area, in San Francisco last year, I mean there's tons of events and parties and there's a fan festival kind of like this. I mean, people love that experience there. The game itself, we've not put our best foot forward and I think the players recognize that, we recognize that. So as you mentioned, we're talking about changing the concept. Doing something maybe close to what the NHL did in the four nation face off. I mean, I think if it were just straight up USA world. As much as fans would love that, I'm not sure it'd be fair to the players because roughly 30% of the players are from outside of the United States. So it wouldn't be fair to pick half the team from 30% and the other half from 70%. But I think we're. Look, I know we're looking at different formats now, talking to the Players association, because we need their agreement where we would use that concept again, similar to the NHL did, where you create that passion around the USA playing other countries, other regions in the world. I mean, I'm particularly excited about it. I'll just add, so next year our All Star Game is moving to NBC where it was in the old days. And we'll be in the middle of the Winter Olympics. So on the Sunday when the All Star Game takes place, for TV watchers, they'll be watching the Olympics, you know, all day. Then you'll come to our All Star Game. And then after our All Star Game, we'll be going back to the Olympics. So I'd love to play off that theme that will be smack in the middle, as I said, of that Olympic competition. So I think it's a good time for us to be looking at those formats.
- [40:00]
Jeff Teague
Okay, cool, Cool. I wanted to ask too, though. So LeBron, you know, he's on his last leg of the league.
- [40:08]
Adam Silver
Yeah, you make sure you said that, not me.
- [40:11]
Jeff Teague
I'm saying that. Who you think that can fill that void of, like, the new face of the NBA? Just give me like, you know, I.
- [40:18]
Adam Silver
Always say, like, you know, we don't create those faces at the league office. They earn it on the floor. Yeah, it's interesting. So watch these finals. Obviously, Shea is our mvp. Yeah, he was the scoring leader this year, but again, I mean, he's. He's having a great final so far. But ultimately, LeBron is a face of the league. And Michael was, and KD was and these guys and Steph, because they win championships. I mean, I. It's. Look, in fairness to any individual player, it's also a team sport. And LeBron made that point the other day for sure. But look it. Sports are about competition. It's about winning.
- [40:51]
Jeff Teague
Yeah.
- [40:52]
Adam Silver
And the great news is kind of like what I was saying about the draft earlier. I don't have to sit here and predict sort of who our next face of the league is. They. They earn it. You know, they are established by what they do on the floor. And it's. It's great to see. Now this next generation, I think in a way, it's the best of all worlds because LeBron is still, at 40 years old, playing at an incredibly high level. Steph is playing an incredibly high level. So is Kevin, you know, so it's wonderful to see that generation still here mentoring this next generation. But. And ultimately, ultimately that. That this next generation who want to take that mantle from them again, that that's where the competitive juices come in. They got to earn it by demonstrating they deserve to be the face of the league by their performance on the floor.
- [41:44]
DJ Wells
I wanted to ask, I think for all those basketball heads in the offseason, we get to see all the players playing different situations now, which you're integrating the NBA, like having the Drew League on the NBA app, things of that nature. Is that something that's like purposely saying, okay, we're going to embrace every aspect of this game and keep growing, or is this something organically? You guys are just like, you know what? If everybody's rocking with this, we might as well include ourselves in that.
- [42:06]
Adam Silver
I would say that's a case where it's definitely both. I mean, what's cool about the Drew League or Rucker or anything else is that it's truly organic. I can take zero credit for that. But then we can be very intentional about it and say the NBA app is a central repository of basketball, of every, you know, over time, truly everything basketball. But right now, anything involving NBA players, NBA players are playing in those summer leagues, whether it's summer leagues here in New York or in LA or Drew or whatever else that you know, especially one thing about social media, it's not always fine, but it's not always easy to discover what you're looking for. If you think about X or Instagram, whatever else, like, those algorithms are pretty good at feeding you more basketball, but you show an interest in it. But there's nothing like that ability to go to the NBA app. And that is identifying for you. If there's great basketball out there involving NBA players off season or future NBA players or what's happening in Europe or Asia, we're going to deliver it directly to you. And that. And that's a place where we're trying to get a lot more sophisticated, but we want to take advantage of all that great content, all those great games that are already out there, most definitely, for sure.
- [43:24]
DJ Wells
Now, listen, I got the jersey on. I'm saying the goal. A lot of fans miss the classic jerseys. Is there a world where we could possibly have the All Star Game back into the original uniforms of the players.
- [43:36]
Adam Silver
You know, I'm looking around. There's a gentleman out there named Sal La Rocca and he oversees all of merchandising. So, Sal, you heard that? Are you nodding your head yes? He's saying yes. We're looking at that idea. No, we go back and forth like people want new uniforms. They want all. But I love the idea of the classic jerseys.
- [43:55]
DJ Wells
I love how you put him on the spot and everybody start clapping. Show some love to my man.
- [44:00]
Adam Silver
Hey, you know, the feedback from our fans is great, critically important. So thank you, everybody.
- [44:04]
DJ Wells
Most definitely. Well, listen, Commissioner, we appreciate your time at Mason Noise in Mississippi one time. Yeah, thank you.
- [44:10]
Adam Silver
Thank you for having me.
- [44:11]
DJ Wells
Most definitely. One time for Fanatics x 2lbs for Boost Mobile $25 unlimited talk text data.
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Young Nacho
Where they at T5G nationwide for sure.
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DJ Wells
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Ryan Seacrest
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- [45:54]
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- [46:34]
Ryan Seacrest
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