Commissioner Adam Silver is having a hard time excepting star NBA players who rest. In a letter to each team in the league, Silver talks about the significance this issue is having on fans, the media, and corporations who support the NBA. Per Yahoo!… Teams resting star players for nationally televised games has officially crossed over from mere trend to become a genuine worry for the league. Although absence-filled games such as the March 11 matchup between the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors (minus Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala) and Saturday’s contest featuring the Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers (without LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love) are somewhat rare in the context of the entire schedule, contending teams sitting big names for two straight Saturday night ABC games has opened up plenty of discussions about what teams owe paying customers and media conglomerates. Is the pursuit of a championship all that matters? Or do they have to give the people a show? Commissioner Adam Silver unsurprisingly seems to think teams need to think more about their responsibility to fans and corporations. As reported by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Silver sent all the league’s teams a memo regarding resting stars: “NBA commissioner Adam Silver has called the practice of teams resting marquee players “an extremely significant issue for our league” in a memo sent to team owners Monday and obtained by ESPN. Adam Silver, NBA Commissioner (photo courtesy of SFGate.com) In the memo, Silver informed teams that the issue will be a prime topic of discussion at the next NBA Board of Governors meeting April 6 in New York and warned of ”significant penalties” for teams that don’t abide by the league’s standing rules for providing ”notice to the league office, their opponent, and the media immediately upon a determination that a player will not participate in a game due to rest.” He states that it is unacceptable for owners to be uninvolved or defer decision-making on this topic to others in their organizations, who may not have the same awareness of the impact these decisions can have on “fans and business partners,” the reputation of the league and “perception of our game.” Silver also warns that teams will suffer “significant penalties” if they don’t provide adequate notice when it’s decided that a player will not play due to rest. There are league rules that govern when and how teams must notify the league office, their opponent and the media about such decisions. […] Golden State coach Steve Kerr told ESPN’s Tom Haberstroh that he made his decision as a way to navigate the team’s stretch of eight games in eight different cities in just 13 days — including two cross-country flights and 11,000 total miles covered. Underlying Kerr’s frustration was the fact that six of those eight games were nationally televised, meaning some of the dates could have been affected by the needs of broadcast partners.” Read more HERE.
