Is Adam Silver going to step in like David Stern did in 2011?

[Tai]

I doubt it. Stern stepped in because the NBA was technically in control of the Hornets franchise at the time; this is nothing like that situation at all, as it is a FA signing, as opposed to a trade, and the NBA should have no say over this given that it is a perfectly legal signing.

According to the rules, the trade in 2011 was perfectly legal as well..

As the commissioner he should be able to step in, in my opinion. It's not just a knock on KD, it's anyone trying to form a super team. It ruins the league. We need parity, not the opposite.

Do you actually have a take on what the NBA "needs" or are you just injecting your personal feelings? No harm in that, but I do believe ratings were higher when Lebron was on the Heat; hardly "ruined" the league. Maybe you need to define better why we "need" parity, or how this "ruins" the league?

[NothingButLuck]

Just look at the terrible moves Dell Demps had made since. Thank goodness Stern stepped in and stop that cluster****. It would had devalued the franchise by a good bit with all those bloated contracts they would have taken in, with no light at the end of the tunnel because that team would have topped out at 8 seeds at best.

[Raptor_Guy]

People always forget that trade was vetoed because the NBA owned the Hornets, it wasn't just because of league parity..

[infinite11285]

No because KD was a FA.

Also, the NBA OWNED the Hornets so they had the power to veto a CP trade where the Hornets would get fleeced.

[TaylorMonkey]

Lol. The only reason the NBA stepped in on the Paul trade was because they OWNED THE TEAM PAUL WAS ON and it was a horrible deal for Charlotte.

Sorry Laker fans that for once you didn't get your way. Now you get to feel what it's like having the Logo close deals for a team that isn't yours.

[og15]

Technically, the only thing Silver can do is block any trade Golden State makes, which means they can't sign Durant. Warriors need to trade Bogut, just don't let that happen.

Can't do that without any grounds (some sort of illegal trade), the reason NBA could do that with New Orleans was because they were the owner and just like many owners give a GM the right to make moves, they also reserve the right to block moves if it isn't in the best interest of whatever it is they are trying to accomplish with their team.

Sterling was mentioned to have blocked some trades, a recent one was Caron Butler for Ariza back when Ariza was on the Wizards, it was said that Sterling blocked that. He also forced the Baron Davis trade that gave up the draft pick that became Irving for example, but the league is in no position to do anything like that.

[Kahn_2001]

**** KD, i hope he continues to choke like he has since he came into the league. Him and Steph will go down as the two biggest chokers in all of sports if they don't win the title. I have a feeling they wont be winning ****.

[LuckyLeprechaun]

It's not just a knock on KD, it's anyone trying to form a super team. It ruins the league. We need parity, not the opposite.

The league stepping in and just preventing teams from doing stuff sends a really bad message that things are rigged.

Preventing these super teams is something that needs to be addressed in the next CBA and IMO the only way to do it is to either do away with max contracts altogether or at least increase them from 25/30/35% of cap to 35/40/45% of the cap so it's mathematically impossible to fit more then 2 under the cap. If guys took big discounts to play together, or if a team drafted brilliantly and had stars on rookie contracts, or if a team gave up a fortune in a trade to get a super team that's an easier pill to swallow, but being able to sign superstars when you're already an elite team is disgusting.

[og15]

No because KD was a FA.

Also, the NBA OWNED the Hornets so they had the power to veto a CP trade where the Hornets would get fleeced.

It's not that they were getting fleeced, value was fine, it was because they were essentially building a mid-40's win team in which most of the guys traded for would probably end up leaving. The league was trying to sell the team then, and a mid-40's treadmill team is not a very exciting sales pitch as compared to rookies, chance for high draft pick and expiring large contract (Kaman).

Trades are also as good as what your goal as a team is. If the goal was to just win as many games as possible, then it was an acceptable trade. If the goal is to put the franchise in the best possible future situation, well then it's not so great.

[TOStateofMind]

lol yeah right. The only thing Silver wants more after this is for cleveland to get another star of their own now.

[OrlandoDream]

Do what? Durant is a free agent and he can sign wherever tf he wants. CP3 was a trade. NBA could block that.

[BigTrade92]

I'm not sour about KD going to GS.

Would've been worse if he had gone to BOS or SAS.

How?

If he goes to Boston or SA, at least we know they won't be crowned champs before the season starts.

Boston would still have to battle Cleveland. SA would still have to battle Golden State.

Now we know the 2017 Finals matchup and winner in July 2016......fun stuff.

[HotelVitale]

I'm not sour about KD going to GS.
Would've been worse if he had gone to BOS or SAS.

How? If he goes to Boston or SA, at least we know they won't be crowned champs before the season starts. Boston would still have to battle Cleveland. SA would still have to battle Golden State. Now we know the 2017 Finals matchup and winner in July 2016....

Cuz both teams just had dynasties like 2 years ago. It's not like we hate fans of those teams or anything, just isn't fun and seems unfair for y'all to be champ contenders again. Warriors are at least a) already champ contenders and b) only relevant for the last two years.

[the_process]

I'm not sour about KD going to GS.

Would've been worse if he had gone to BOS or SAS.

How?

If he goes to Boston or SA, at least we know they won't be crowned champs before the season starts.

Boston would still have to battle Cleveland. SA would still have to battle Golden State.

Now we know the 2017 Finals matchup and winner in July 2016......fun stuff.

Won't lie... don't care about that. My team is still building and trying to establish a nucleus so I'm just watching for growth. As to the playoffs, every year I can throw five teams in a hat and guarantee one of them will win the title. It's the nature of basketball.

[BigTrade92]

I'm not sour about KD going to GS.
Would've been worse if he had gone to BOS or SAS.

How? If he goes to Boston or SA, at least we know they won't be crowned champs before the season starts. Boston would still have to battle Cleveland. SA would still have to battle Golden State. Now we know the 2017 Finals matchup and winner in July 2016....

Cuz both teams just had dynasties like 2 years ago. It's not like we hate fans of those teams or anything, just isn't fun and seems unfair for y'all to be champ contenders again. Warriors are at least a) already champ contenders and b) only relevant for the last two years.

Boston had a dynasty? One title in 2008 and one Finals loss in 2010 is a....dynasty?

[MrBaynes]

Flashback to 2011 of course

http://www.sbnation.com/2011-nba-free-agency/2011/12/9/2622879/chris-paul-trade-l-a-lakers-basketball-reasons

No one, aside from Warrior fans (obviously) is happy about the decision.

Can Adam Silver step in and do something about it?

EDIT:

I understand it was a trade in 2011, and that the league owned the Hornets at the time.

Looks like you answered your own question.

[GIMME_DATT]

maybe after he sees the NBA ratings fall. It's going to get bad quickly after people get tired of seeing GSW blow everybody out

[MrSparkle]

He might want to consider eliminating the max contract / salary cap.

Or he might want to just consider adding another tournament, perhaps a 1-game elimination bracket so that there's something for different teams to cheer about.

The current format is BORING for 26 teams. Daf*q am I watching 50 meaningless regular season games for 1 week of playoff basketball, only to see my team get trounced by the squad with better free agency?

The keep referring to the NBA as a "business." Well, here you have it. Hard for any fan loyalty when it's this much of a business for everybody, from the superstars to the mid-tier players to the owners to the sponsors and agents.

I love basketball, but it's a shame it doesn't have the international talent of soccer. When you get sick of 1 league, there are about 6 other entertaining leagues, entertaining international/national and inter-club tournaments.

You're stuck with the NBA for any competitive basketball, and the competition keeps getting worse.

[AndriPerdhian93]

Just let durant get what he want, they are not gonna dominate forever anyway, just stick with your team progress and see how your team rookie develop(in knick case Kp) .

[Tave]

Most people have hit the nail on the head in terms of the mechanics, but I'll add this against the grain:

Guys, Stern didn't veto the Paul trade because he was afraid it wasn't fair to poor lil 'ol N'alens, he did it because a contingent of owners were complaining about the Lakers improving their roster. Moreover, his job as dual commissioner, temporary owner of the team was to avoid making any executive decisions that produced or tended to lead to a conflict of interest. Stern wasn't suppose to substitute his pesonal judgement even if it was based on a sincere desire to help the team because the conflict was unavoidable. But he definitely wasn't suppose to interfere with Hornets operations at the behest of other owners.

To justify his actions based on hindsight of the trade itself is missing the point. Not to mention that given how Gordon turned out in comparison to Dragic, hindsight doesn't even look that great.