Adam Silver’s decision on how he will handle the Clippers fraud situation, will define his legacy as Commissioner

[Memories]

Everyone knows Silver was running that high and goodwill for being given a layup to ban Donald Sterling from the NBA, and has done so for a long time while getting away with incredibly greedy and crap decisions after: ads on jerseys, jerseys no longer giving teams an identity thanks to his partnership with Nike, a pointless “NBA cup”, getting sponsorship deals with many gambling companies and increased rigging attempts to influence results of games, clearly influenced the Luka trade and the Dallas draft lottery, how he handled other past incidents with kids gloves like the Ja Morant incident, etc.

But now that honeymoon period from that Sterling ban is over, and now Silver is at the crossroads of a blatant fraud act committed by the Clippers organization and Kawhi Leonard. The organization now owned by the 6th richest person in the entire world who could buy every NBA team if he wanted to on paper. An act historically, that is much more heinous than the infamous Wolves/Joe Smith incident that resulted in the Wolves losing 3 consecutive first round picks.

This incident will define Silver’s true legacy as Commissioner. If he does nothing or gives the Clippers/Bahlmer the equivalent of a “slap on the wrist” with a laughable $ fine, he will essentially prove that he is just a worse, weak version of David Stern who himself, was always tough on these situations, and has essentially “ruined” the NBA as we know it. With teams in the future that will look to commit similar acts of fraud to compete with absurdly rich teams like the Clippers with money under the table deals.

Or

He finally sets an example of wrongdoing acts like this by throwing the book at the organization: forcing Ballmer to sell the team/being banned, voiding Kawhi’s contract while keeping his cap hold on the Clippers, suspending Kawhi for a year from playing, and taking away 4 consecutive first round draft picks from the Clippers away. Forever setting an example to other owners/players out there that even think about trying to pull that same circumvention of the salary cap ever again. Marking Adam Silver as a no-nonsense Commissioner that will do what he needs to do to keep integrity in the league.

[neno]

If the penalty is light but the reward is heavy
It's just a cost of business
Lifetime ban 4 ballmer and leonard
Or it will spread to the other 29
No need to ever see them again
League was here before them
League will be here after them
Remove stains once and for all

[meekrab]

If the penalty is light but the reward is heavy
It's just a cost of business
Lifetime ban 4 ballmer and leonard
Or it will spread to the other 29
No need to ever see them again
League was here before them
League will be here after them
Remove stains once and for all

Kawhi hardly plays anyway, no big loss to the lee

[Memories]

If the penalty is light but the reward is heavy
It's just a cost of business
Lifetime ban 4 ballmer and leonard
Or it will spread to the other 29
No need to ever see them again
League was here before them
League will be here after them
Remove stains once and for all

Fully agreed. Especially the part of the league being there before and after.

The NBA is so much more than these mega billionaires that only hurt the longevity of the league in the name of short-term profits.

[liquidswords]

Doesn't the league have to do an extensive amount of fact checking? The "reveal" was done by an investigative sports reporter.

[JayMKE]

Doesn't the league have to do an extensive amount of fact checking? The "reveal" was done by an investigative sports reporter.

Administrative punishment has a much lower bar the legal, the NBA can make decisions based on circumstantial evidence. There is a lot of evidence tho and more to be discovered with the fraud investigation into Aspiration Inc.

[Mr Puddles]

The Mavs got a slap on the wrist for effectively pulling a Donaghy. My guess is the punishment is going to be light, and that Silver will do his best to spin the narrative into "nothing to see here".

[Dominator83]

Adam Silver is neutered man.... He has no balls

[Memories]

The Mavs got a slap on the wrist for effectively pulling a Donaghy. My guess is the punishment is going to be light, and that Silver will do his best to spin the narrative into "nothing to see here".

Again, if he does that, then it just confirms 100% to the public eye that the league is fully corrupt in every aspect of the game.

There is no way Silver can allow that kind of perception to run rampant among the league.

[Curmudgeon]

Silver will do what a majority of the other 29 owners want him to do. He's not an independent actor. It's the leagues' legacy that is at stake, not Silver's.

[floppymoose]

Silver's net worth is thought to be around $120 million. I'm guessing he doesnt care what his legacy is.

[The Servant]

If the penalty is light but the reward is heavy
It's just a cost of business
Lifetime ban 4 ballmer and leonard
Or it will spread to the other 29
No need to ever see them again
League was here before them
League will be here after them
Remove stains once and for all

The league needs to have and maintain integrity. To force your way to LA and then get paid like this to get around the salary cap is ridiculous.

People were already questioning the league with the Luka trade and the Mavs pick.

[chilluminati]

People are calling for a heavy handed response. I just don't see it happening. I hope there is a harsh punishment, but they won't want to hurt the bottom line.

[makubesu]

Silver is celebrating that days before the nfl opener his league is dominating the news cycle

[Dez]

No it won't, he's already established himself as s***.

[Karate Diop]

Stern was about that life, Silver is not. He's not going to come down hard.

[Veepy]

Whatever Silver and the league decide to do will determine whether we are watching a basketball version of the wwe or a legit competitive sports league.

[MrBigShot]

It will blow over once the season is underway.

Silver's legacy is already written. His legacy is that of rules that overwhelmingly favor perimeter players for easy scoring and player empowerment. NBA team valuations are through the roof compared to 10 yrs ago so i'd say most nba owners are pretty happy with him as the comissioner.

[Memories]

Whatever Silver and the league decide to do will determine whether we are watching a basketball version of the wwe or a legit competitive sports league.

Exactly. I will legit never view the NBA as a whole: a legitimately competitive sports league ever again if this doesn’t go the way it SHOULD.

[NZB2323]

People are calling for a heavy handed response. I just don't see it happening. I hope there is a harsh punishment, but they won't want to hurt the bottom line.

If the Clippers lose 5 1st round draft picks, does that really hurt the bottom line? The Lakers are the premier team in LA and those players would just go to other teams.