© Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver believes the back-to-back NBA Champion Golden State Warriors should be celebrated for the way they’ve constructed their roster.
“I get it in terms of Kevin Durant going [to the Warriors in 2016],” Silver said on ESPN Radio Wednesday morning. “It was a bit of an aberration in our system; we had a spike in our cap, it enabled them to have additional cap room. The Warriors will tell you they would have figured out a way to get it done anyway.
“I’ve said repeatedly, let’s also celebrate excellence. Ownership, the job Bob Myers has done as a GM, Steve Kerr, of course, one of the great coaches in our league. Steph Curry, drafted; Klay Thompson, drafted; Draymond Green drafted 35th by Golden State Warriors.”
Silver said some changes to the salary cap will likely be discussed when the current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires in 2023-24, including the move to a harder cap.
“There’s always a next collective bargaining agreement and over the years we’ve talked about a harder cap than we have now. The NFL has a much harder cap than we do; ours is somewhat soft. Obviously, it allows teams to go significantly above the cap and the tax level and that’s the case with both Golden State and Cleveland. They are significantly above where our tax level is right now,” he said.
“The 28 other teams, they’re the biggest complainers that these two teams have met four times in a row [in the NBA Finals]. Ultimately, collectively our 30 teams are in charge with what system we have, along with the players. And by the way, the players on 29 other teams want a system regardless of where they are drafted or where they sign to be able to compete for championships, and that’s what you want,” he said.
Silver closed by saying that the Warriors dominance is nothing new.
“There have been dynasties forever in this league,” Silver said. “There’s an old Sports Illustrated cover you guys should look up from 1997 and there’s a picture of Michael Jordan on the cover and it’s saying, ‘Are the Bulls bad for the NBA?’ It’s kind of the same storyline right now.
“I don’t remember the same conversation back then, I think because you didn’t have the Kevin Durant factor. That sort of bugs people a little bit, because a team that was already a championship team gained Kevin Durant. There wasn’t quite the equivalent with the Chicago Bulls. From a system standpoint, I’ll take that as an issue for the league because we always — through collective bargaining — can be sitting down with our players association figuring out what’s the best way to design competition throughout this league.”