Commissioner Adam Silver Joins Us Ahead Of NBA All Star Weekend In Indianapolis | Pat McAfee Show

and joining us now ladies and gentlemen is the fifth commissioner of the NBA a man's in town for the NBA allar weekend which is happening right here in Indianapolis Indiana Adam [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Silver uh yeah you just going ra around y great dab that was a very good dab good yeah Roger gell I you know I don't know what he's doing with you coming in with full Deb how you doing boss I'm doing great thank you thank for having me no problem at all that should be good I think it is it no I think so you can hear yeah all right hey you look amazing hey you know the TV doesn't do this studio Justice what do you mean I mean first of all it's bigger than I thought it was I mean I could tell but also you got to show some shots from outside I mean I know I guess are we technically still in Indianapolis or the suburbs of Indianapolis yes we are in suburbs but we are still technically in Indianapolis Indianapolis does that whole like a our City's 40 mes so but when you say sub there's like a guy house across the street he actually it's not like we're in like a complex with other companies and things like there there's a bunch of houses houses house and all a sudden the guy's driving me up he goes that's it that's the Thunderdome and this this a parking lot I don't want to give you guys up not a lot of security lot of Security Seals you could see but it's uh it's just we're in a nice neighborhood so that neighbor hey we're lucky to have you here thank you for making the trip uh that neighbor you're talking about he actually went to the city council meeting whenever I had to get this place rezoned and he did not want us here so that neighbor you're talking about might have red dot on our building at all times he's a Vietnam warvet right thanks for your Ser SM his name we know him we well we haven't met him but he hates us uh thank you for making the trip not only to our Thunderdome but to Indianapolis thank you for picking Indianapolis for the home of the all-star weekend this is huge for our city huge for obviously local businesses and I think we're going to crush it obviously celebrity allstar game on Friday then the skills in the game on Saturday and I I want to lead off with this we obviously just saw the Pro Bowl games and the NFL has had to cook up so many things to try to make the Pro Bowl matter and a lot of the big name guys don't go there's a lot of opt outs a lot of opt outs for the NBA there isn't really that all your big stars show up for your Allstar why do you think that is the case well I think there's a different tradition in the NBA around our Allstar uh Super Bowl of course is neutral site we don't have a neutral site finals and and for us for our community it's a place where people people can plan a year in advance they know we're going to be in Indianapolis oh um you know we can whether it's our our our business partners media from around the world that cover the NBA they that's that's I think why we generate such a big audience and so much interest for the weekend I mean I think the the game itself you know is something that the guys show up I think that one of the things we're returning to the traditional East verse West format this year and frankly hoping to get a little bit better of a game I mean I also get it I know when I was a kid and you watched an All-Star Game in any sport it was almost your only opportunity to see players from other teams unless there was a World Series or finals or something like that and now because these guys are so available in terms of digital media you know League passes you can get any game any sport that it's not so unusual to see stars that you wouldn't otherwise see I mean if you live on the east coast de Curry is a perfect example I mean the old days because it was a later time zone and stuff in the East you'd see a guy like that of course in the playoffs but even then a lot of their playoff games would be late in the finals now of course you can watch every Warriors game if you want so I think and plus these guys know each other in our sport in a way differently than they did in the old days they grow up playing AE or you know ebl through Nike together they just they've built relationships as kids they've been around each other so even I think for them it's not as unique and special to be around players from players from other teams and also contracts are shorter a bunch of things but long long story short it's still for us in our community to have them all come together to be on the court together and also to have fun I know sometimes there's criticism that there's not enough defense played in All-Star games that it's it's not a game again I think it's going to be more of a game this year in Indianapolis I think the guys recognized that last year we needed to do more I mean people want to see a little bit of Defense they but but they but they they don't they know they know it's not a playoff game nobody wants to get hurt but I think we can have a little bit of both but also make sure everybody remembers this game's about joy and fun some of the things you were just talking about about teamwork guys coming together that that's all part of what this is Sunday is the All-Star Game East vers West Saturday skills challenge Friday night celebrity All-Star game taking over all of Indianapolis and downtown Indianapolis that's a very good point about how we don't have a Super Bowl so everybody can't just plan to be in one spot so this kind of acts as that we were just in Vegas for the Super Bowl which leads to the next question W Vegas getting a team here we go that place was perfect like it is is as as people that spent now that's the first time I've spent 4 days there and I only had four drinks thank you Adam I'm an adult very mure but it was like business but you see how everything's set up like perfectly to host and it feels like they have a real need and a yearn for more professional sports they show up for everybody that's a question I guess that you have to handle on a very regular basis but when is Vegas getting a team and is that in direct eyesight of right now yes so a few things one we have a WNBA team oh the AC is back back we should forget about Chelsea pman team hey shout out and also a point that I've made to uh the mayor both you know there was Oscar Goodman was the mayor now his wife Carolyn Goodman is the mayor so there's been a long stretch of Goodman as Mayors and from the days when sports leagues weren't playing in Vegas and some leagues weren't even taking advertising from Vegas we brought our summer league there and then an allar All-Star Game there so we've never been anti Vegas as a league and furthermore our summer league now it by virtue of taking up the first two weeks of July has become almost like a franchise in Vegas and I'm not saying it's quite the equivalent it's not our 31st team but it's two weeks of basketball at a time of year in Vegas when there's not a lot else going on and I don't know if you guys have ever been to our summer league it's sometimes people compare to sort of baseball winter meetings and that not only do you have actual games though of the guys who are just draft and some of the young players but the whole Community comes together there so you have most of the Vets come to meet their new teammates that there there's team activities all the general managers there Etc so I feel like we already have a big presence in Vegas I think in terms of expansion to Vegas what what we've said for a while now is we have one more year left on our television deals in the US after this year and so we want to figure out what our media relationships are going to look like but then we will turn to expansion and Vegas is definitely on on our list what's what's remarkable about Las Vegas it's not that large a market I mean as the US goes I mean I forget like last I looked I think it was the 44th largest market or something like that wow but man do they punch above their weight and and to your guys Point um about the Super Bowl I mean record rating obviously and I mean that says so much about the game and the NFL but it seemed like everyone I knew was there for the Super Bowl just the number of parties you guys of course chose to broadcast from there for the week it was the center of the sport in world and and and by that I really mean world I mean and even though the NFL is is just now pushing to become more Global I can tell you by virtue of how Global we are there was enormous awareness of Las Vegas and awareness that that that our Super Bowl was there and and and from everything I saw in addition to having an incredible game it was a huge success I mean when we were there years ago for our All-Star Game honestly and I I I think everybody knew it at the time the city felt a little bit overwhelmed but I think now all these years later with multiple pro sports teams you know they built the airport up a lot more properties and everything else I mean they they know how to host events in a first class way yeah and uh people love going there love it like that ra those Raiders games if the Raiders were to be terrible which I don't think they will be I like Antonio Pierce I like that would still fill up with the other like it's a trip it's a destination you know back to the neutral sight notion I think what the NFL does so well by virtue of making every game an event so you know if you're a Giants fan and that's the week weekend or whatever that's the date that your team is playing in Vegas you know you can at the once the schedule comes out you can Circle that date you know and and you and your buddies can say all right that's our weekend in Vegas and and and you remember even be even when dates when the Super Bowl of course hasn't been in Vegas it was always a big date in Vegas for the Super Bowl weekend because a lot of people say that's where we're going to go we're going to be in a sports book or whatever whatever else cuz I mean it wasn't that long ago where that was the only place you could legally bet of course on the NFL okay so we got one year left on the TV deals I I should have known that obviously before you said that but live sports up and to the right right like right now League I assume you guys are in a very good spot because of the way the content business is are you thinking about streaming or linear like how do you kind of balance what the future of the NBA looks like because I had to have this much smaller level we were a show on YouTube and everybody says the future streaming streaming streaming streaming everybody's trying to get subscribers everybody's trying to get people everywhere but linear television still has a hammer how long will it remain that way we don't know especially with this new merger that just allegedly took place between ESPN Fox War which we knew nothing about until it kind of got announced but like how do you balance all neither did I okay really really you had no idea well no I mean there's no secret about that that they it's a joint venture among those companies and I I think they're not claiming they told the League's about it beforehand but so we'll see what it becomes but go on but that's obviously a massive piece of this entire thing what what do you look at the future how do you kind of balance when we go to tomorrow or do we stay in today how do you balance all that you know and and I can talk forever on this so so feel free to cut me off I mean because the answer is all of the above like up and to the right absolutely in terms of Premium live sports there's no question that and it's not just the United States but around the world premium live sports cuts through in a way no other content does and as great as all the dramas are on the the great on on these well-run streaming platforms or even the the dramas that may still be on network or traditional cable channels they're not appointment viewing you know you can sit down if there's a great show that you want to watch on on Netflix you know Hulu whatever else you're going to not to take anything away from it but you're going to watch it when you're going to watch it or you're going to binge watch it or you till you're on a plane and you know watch a bunch of hours at once I think what what live sports are are Contin to separate themselves from everything else because even for advertisers who and and and your show of course is live and it's meaningful to advertisers because they know when it's on day a week and all but I'm just saying that for for live sports they can aggregate an audience a live audience like nothing else and if you look at what's happening in ratings over time and I will say to the there the NFL and everything else I mean I I you know we're very Global in a way that the NFL isn't quite and maybe will become one day but in the US to your point what linear television can still do if you had been asking experts I don't know 10 years ago or even 5 years ago would the NFL be breaking records for an audience at at at a medium on traditional broadcast television I mean it was also streamed but in that the Super Bowl but in in a traditional medium where people thought or felt was going backwards I don't think people would have been saying whatever the number was 123 million people you know average viewer you know per minute that that and by the way I I I qualify that because people forget too that rating we all hear about that's the average number of people per minute so the total I I may have this slightly off but the total people in the US who will have watched some portion of the Super Bowl is closer to 200 million 202 okay exactly I mean so so it's interesting everybody talks about the 123 million but I would be talking about the 200 million number because that's the number of people watching yeah our show too much smaller number yeah the 202 million people yeah I mean that that I mean that's and they're 330 million people in the United States so I mean I don't how many people are under a certain age who wouldn't be making that decision I mean essentially everybody was watching and also I was just listening to you before it came out I mean one of the things that live sports continues to do what else brings people in in a divided World divided country where everybody comes together for a game and every and by the way and not just for the game but everybody accepts that these are the rules of the game that when the game is over this is the team who won uh you know this is is how many minutes it is I mean I I I've said the same thing about the World Cup of soccer before you know that was in Qatar and you had you know I don't know 125 countries that that that competed to be in the World Cup countries with completely different systems different values different governments and everything else it yet the gamees start those are the rules everybody accepts that that's how the competition works and then when the finals are over you Crown a champion everybody says that that's it that's how it works so that it's quite amazing what sports can do and and again I think the NFL is an incredible example of that and that game by I mean it helped of course that it was a fantastic game and people look forward to watching Usher and the commercials I mean it's it's the total package and Taylor Swift that too yeah no she I I just heard like maybe they don't want her at the parade because that'll overwhelm the city I mean that's that's how big a factor she is so all of those things but but that's been true of all sports I I just think where the NFL has done fantastic job is commanding traditional broadcast television and now the other that's why I said I could talk about this forever to your point about streaming like streaming on the other hand for us as we look to to reach a younger audience if if you think about what's happening in traditional television cable and even broadcast television most people at the end of the day are watching broadcast television through cable or satellite most people don't have an antenna you know in their house where they kid people did when I was a kid but not anymore I mean some people do and and it and it's and makes sense for people who complement a streaming package by having an attendant and stuff but most people are still watching through traditional cable and satellite and I mean this is a generalization to say but it's largely younger people who either never subscribed to cable or or cut the court economically and so that portion of our fan base that tends to be very young probably the youngest of the major sports they are they become disenfranchised if our games are on ESPN and TNT and ABC but they're not subscribing to traditional cable or satellite they're feasting on social media um a and you know watching Tik Tok or Instagram or whatever and getting a lot of highlights and stuff but they're not watching our games and so partly for us in terms of going to streaming we want to make sure that our fan base can can if I mean they're going to have to pay but that a reasonable price but that those games are accessible to them and particularly not it's it's not not just because they're cutting the court for digal cable and satellite but they live on their phones like when their their their first instinct when they want watch programming or or even when something's happening in the world is not to go to their television like of course like my generation if you heard something was going on in the world you wanted to see the images you went I got to get to a television yeah now it's any generation you just take out your phone yeah so you said a lot there but like the uh the first screen second screen thing is flipped now you know first screen in marketing used to be the TV second screen was the phone now first screen is phone second screen is TV because even one TVs on it's just background for a large portion of people so let's talk about the streaming thing a little bit here so like apple is worth 2.9 trillion congrats to that yeah that that'll P I got to figure it out that's the wealthiest company on Earth if they were to I think Microsoft topped them slightly I think M Microsoft hit three trillion believe it or not what I mean but that but they're very close ex but but another technology compan to your point boom and they're getting in the streaming they obviously got the MLS right that was a massive deal so like Howard Stern whenever he decided to go to sirusxm a lot of people thought the decision was made by a person who was like I'm going to take a massive paycheck but I'm also going to lose a portion of my audience because free Radio is free radio and everybody will listen like if Apple wants to get in the game they have more money than anybody's if they want Amazon if they want to get in the game completely will you keep it like because the NFL has like uh Thursday night football is on Amazon you got to do that one playoff gamees on peacock I believe they just agreed another playoff game is going to be on Amazon exclusively there's a Black Friday game on Amazon but then a large majority of their games I think like 92% or something like that are free on linear television is that how you have to break it up and how do you start parceling that because with a year out I assume you're already in these negotiations right now I would assume yeah and and and don't forget your partner YouTube Google yes you know is also a huge Factor now in streaming media and I'll just go back one of the points you made you know even using your own show by you know as an example I mean think about where how you started on YouTube and I know this this show is still streamed in part on YouTube right there H yeah right now you're on YouTube right now YouTube but then you have an exclusive portion of it on YouTube right and the fact that we're here in Indianapolis in this studio and that um and where does AJ come from Dublin Ohio wherever he is I mean it's it's it's quite remarkable that I'm watching in New York to me you guys I mean to most viewers you might as well be either in Bristol iate at ESPN or in a studio I me like so much has dramatically changed I don't think people have caught up with yet like even as I was saying if people could see this studio I mean when I'm watching I mean the quality is perfect I mean it's not but it's not as if we're thinking his mic kind of stinks today actually breaking up yeah but but but it's not as if people have to understand that you could essentially be anywhere you can take your show on the road you can take a former Church like this and this becomes a studio that you can have guests that can be anywhere I mean the the nature of the whole business has changed I think more than people even understand at this point and we have people that watch in New Zealand and Australia live during the show and and for the NBA people in 215 countries and territories watch our programming and and what's happening now in in This Global Market is and I think it's it's good news for Content creators like you guys are for the MBA that at the end of the day regardless of the platform broadcast cable streaming satellite you know that old adage content is King PE people will find great content like when they had that that NFL game on peacock um the playoff game and there was a lot of conjecture well yeah it's so difficult you know is are my parents going to figure out what they have to do to stream the you know all the things talk 23 million up ratings up 23 because people find great content and you know there was a time roughly 20 years ago when the NBA led by David Stern when we frankly for economic reasons went more heavily to to Cable you know from where we had more of our games back then on NBC then we moved to ABC but they wanted a big portion of the package to be on ESPN and we remain on TNT a lot of people are saying that was going to be the demise of the MBA because you've left broadcast television and this cable thing you know that and and and now it's interesting that 20 years later now here's the next generation of technology and people are saying oh my God it's streaming now I I would say that I think what streaming can do the what what people forget sometimes like the the peacock game in a way you could take a game that let's say would have been on NBC and they put it exclusively on peacock instead and it's essentially the same game I mean that there there's some slight variations but you're watching the game you just got to find on peacock I think it's it's early days but Amazon's been experimenting a lot there um YouTube TV e Etc in terms of what the functionality what the personalization customization you're going to be able to do when you move off this traditional television and you know you guys were talking about sports betting before I mean the great news about sports betting when you get to those formats to extent your either it's CU there's minors or you personally want nothing to do with sports betting you don't want to hear odds you don't want to talk about click click it's done yeah or if if you want like show me everything I want to know the odds on every play you got that you know I I only care about you know watching I want to follow Steph Curry wherever he is on the court I want to hear unlimited languages I want to be in the locker room I want to buy product while the game is going on I want to be having a conversation like you guys are I want to replicate this I want to sit and talk to my friends and just talk about it that you know I'm going to tune in and out of the professional announcers I just I I want to call the game I want to treat it like I went to a game with my friends like we're in a sweet we're just talking about it I mean that it's such early days there to me of how much richer the experience can be when when it comes to streaming and as I said that's going to change dramatically as well and then there's also the availability that you know now sure I think people to extent they have a beautiful large highdefinition screen and they're at home presumably that's where they're going to prefer to watch it but not always I'm often I I live in an apartment in New York but many in many cases it's easier for me if I'm going through the NBA league pass there's a lot of games on it's it's easier from a technical standpoint for me to flip through on my iPad to go from game to game than to do it on my television well let's not even start talking about the Apple Vision I mean the Apple Vision had like five games on at one time where they were swapping it out so good luck negotiating all that honestly good luck negotiating all that we're excited to see what you do let's talk about the on floor stuff so the 65 game minimum uh agreed by you and the Players Association I think it was an attempt obviously for whenever fans show up to games and there's obviously load management happening and all the stars aren't playing on particular evenings like there was a couple times where somebody was coming to Indiana to play and literally the place sold out for whoever and then they get there and that person's D they're just sitting there that's not good for the player cuz that player is getting booed by those fans that are there not good for the league because obviously you're maybe selling something that isn't the case so you come to this 65 game agreement where you have to play this amount of time to get Awards now in your league if you get awards that bumps up paydays and future contracts so they very much matter now with Joel embiid Tyrese Hal Burton in a little bit of backlash of the situation how do you feel about the 65 game minimum thing will that evolve will that change and do you think this has been good good overall for the NBA Fan Experience which I think is the only thing that really matters at the end of the day in the conversation great point I I think generally it's been very positive and you can look at the numbers in terms just take the the the the pool of All-Star players and if you looked at the number of games to date that they had played last season essentially to the all-star break and compared it to this season it's up significantly in terms of because they care about eligibility for awards I think because that what that means for their legacy and there's Financial implications too for being all NBA or or winning other Awards as well so I think from that standpoint it's been effective I think we always knew once you were going to establish a cut off and remember the the 65 I mean it's not an exact science but it was intent when we sat down with the player association to incorporate both injuries and resting because certainly there wasn't the sense that you could rest 17 games and that you should still be eligible it was like all right there on average guys are going to be injured a certain number of games so we tried to come up with a line that we thought was fair you know Andre gual is is is head of the former players now head of our Players Association he and I had a conversation about this the other day and and his he wasn't there when this provision was negotiated and Tyrese is a great example where somebody it's it's there's no question about rest I mean he you know he wants to be out there every night and and these kind of injuries this again when when you're injured you're out for for successive games nobody's questioning his character nobody's suggesting by any means he's not out there every night he can be and I think the question from from Andre was is this something that we should take a fresh look at and I and my response was first of all let's wait till the end of the season because one tyres like he's still for I forget if it's ex exactly three or four but he could still miss a few more games and still be eligible for those Awards so he's not below and like an extra 40 million or something like that oh yeah so so he's not he's not below the six well he he'd also then also need to become allba I'm not suggesting he won't but it's it's not just automat he plays those number of games but I I think most importantly we got we should wait till the end of the season and look at the numbers because you you know and I and I and I think and Andre sees it the same way his obligation is to form 50 players as as you began your question ultimately this is about the fans and about putting the best product forward and it's in everybody's interest that's why when we sat down in collective bargaining there wasn't a lot of of um dispute about the fact that load management was not working well for this league I mean there's a whole separate issue as to whether even there's sound science behind it whether it even works frankly like a you know and we've done more research on that sure it it affects I mean you guys know as athletes if you're tired there's no question if it's the second game in a back to back back to back it may reduce performance but there's no good data that that leads to more injuries so so parking that for a second gez I'm excited to hear the rebutt of that yeah there's some analytics person I'm sure there is and by the way when one thing that we did and and you guys end up waiting into science and and medical issues not now when we did when we did that research with with a group of doctors I said let's publish it like this is this shouldn't be we the league decided like put it out put all our data out there and like have edit that's what cool about science in a way that you know people you can put information out there and then if people have better data better research other science or just other opinions like let's let's consider them all so this is not don't you get into that I'm moving on from that so so so so anyway I the shorter answer your question I think it's generally working it's having the desired effect that guys are out on the floor and I think there's a realization just back to your question about media all these things connect to each other the one thing that's really change it's more pay forplay these days I mean the biggest issue for streaming services and you hear this all the the time is churn and that is people who are saying um I watch my show that I that I bought this service for it's over click and remember like churning out of cable was all right uh the truck has to roll and they're like all right can you be home between 9 and 5 you know on March 12th and you're like ah like you know the windows you know the window to get it back and so and often if you wanted to switch providers they literally had to you know whether they had to put a dish on your roof or you know or install you know other wiring in your house literally like to to switch in and out of these Services is is a click and so part of um what what we have to focus on as leagues and all entertainment programming is people staying with you and and and just back to your your early question about us going to market the WNBA has grown Leaps and Bounds and popularity look what K Caitlyn Clark is doing coming into com to the fever next year that would be incredible it would be that that the NBA is 260 nights of programming a year the WNBA is 60 so as we go together to potential Media Partners that's 320 nights of programming so I mean nothing is churn proof but the extent that you can have great content throughout the year that's going to strongly encourage somebody to stay with that service yeah and you need your stars to play like I just stars to just talking as a human that would potentially pay a ticket to go watch if I want and I think every OG of the NBA was on the same page as well like this load management is crap like they're talking about what Michael Jordan and like Kobe and the great how they had to play and like their obligation to the league almost is what you heard a lot of the ex Stars talk about and I can appreciate them saying that anytime Charles Barkley speaks I'm going to be listening of course but like just as a fan that might pay money in Indiana to go watch somebody who's coming to town and then you go down there let's say I paid 50 bucks for a ticket food is what another 30 bucks probably for I'm spending a 100 bucks okay to go watch this and then I get there and I'm told 20 minutes before they're not going to like that's not good that's not good for the NBA that's not good for anybody so I think you're you're on the right path I think personally Piston's great Joe Dumars is the head of basketball operations at the league now and he he he recently joined the league and he has so much credibility as a player than as a GM where he won a championship and I love when I hear Joe say because to me frankly he more credibility than me saying his former player when he says we are an 82 game League yeah we're in 82 game league and of course that doesn't mean we're trying to turn the clock back because in the old days in every sport guys probably played at times when they were legitimately injured and they ended up hurting themselves physically you know where you know long past their playing careers I think you know there's a distinction between injured CAU and hurt or banged up and I and I think as professionals and again it's everybody has to find where that line is but I think what you hear from you were saying the ogs in the league that partly they see an issue with the young a younger generation player com in the league where it's happening everywhere it's just professionalism and and again I don't want to pick on athletes because it's it's in every field you hear from old lawyers talking about young lawyers old doctors talking about young doctors oh I didn't know suits are talking about suit interesting wow and this just about like you know and and maybe that was time Memorial when I was a kid right I don't think there's anything new going on but I think teaching that that that ethic the professionalism that comes to Sport and particularly in a team sport yes yes because it's not just about you h yeah Connor's got a question for you yeah commit one thing that the NBA does that it feels like not many other leagues do is the teams that get formed in the off season are just massive obviously this year Damen Lillard going from Portland till Milwaukee was a huge Story I mean Lillard has been a story for a couple years now but is that something that the NBA wants and is cognizant of like the Pacers for instance they just made a move for Pascal seaka like are those type of teams where there are multiple stars on each team something that the NBA likes or is you know this kind of contract 65 game rule is that something that also kind of factors into the hey if guys do stay with their teams longer then they do have that potential to you know have the escalators in the contracts like we talked about and a piggyback on that LeBron was almost at the Golden State Warriors just a couple days ago I I read that I have no other knowledge other than I read that there was those discussions so who knows oh say they don't they don't run that b like LeBron going to the Golden State Warriors that it only comes to the league office if they actually have a proposed trait then we have to approve it but for as I just read the reports that if owners are talking to each other about possible moves or GMS absolutely not and in fact I I they they're laughing to hear me say this they don't trust the league office if they're thinking about something like that we're the last people they're going to tell until they have to would you approve that trade you know it's for for us we don't have discretion if a trade because I get this question all the time if a trade was in is within the rules it's within the rules and I don't think you would want back to my point before about the sort of rule of law around Sports I don't think people would want me sitting here saying I don't think that's good for the league that I mean the rules are the rules if we don't like the rules next time we sit down and collect the bargaining we should change it but to your question so so you would approve that if it were if it fit under the rules I would have to it's not within my discretion Chris PA is that a new rule because Chris Paul got the Lakers the all right I'm gonna defend my my my former bosson Mentor David Rest In Peace So at rest in peace at at that point David was acting as the in essence owner of New Orleans got it he it was an unusual situation there and he was wearing two hats and his view when that trade came to him he didn't think that trade was in the best interest of the team incidentally when I learned my lesson there was a period when the league office was running the Clippers when When Donald Sterling was was banned from the league and I brought in a guy named Dick Parsons and who'd been the the former CEO of of Time Warner and I said dick you are now running the Los Angeles Clippers you're making decisions about basketball not me so and now to Conor's question that so we in successive Collective bargain agreements have I think done a good job incrementally creating more I would say parody around the league and and by parody not to me it's it would be fake parody If you sort of played it as if let's just divvy up the players around the league and say everyone every team should get one Superstar of this level one there I I to me think of it as parody of opportunity because the great GMS great Management in this league should have an advantage and you're seeing that now in small and big markets when you have really good people running teams and then to your point about someone like Damen Lillard leaving I mean one of course we want guys to honor contracts in some cases behind closed doors I think teams and players are coming to agreement that it may be time for the player to move on and so it's it's a mutual decision but I I also think one of the things we've worked towards again over over the years through collective bargaining is shortening contracts and trying to find the right balance because remember in our system we pay out in the aggregate call it you know 50% of the revenue of the league not a penny less penny more and then it's just the question of how that money gets distributed among 450 guys so when when when we come up with a system where for example a team can pay its own player more that of course creates an incentive for the player to stay in that Market but the player could choose to still move on when we shorten contracts on one hand if I were representing the players I'd say well you want guaranteed money you don't want a position where oh yeah guy blows out his knee or whatever there's just all kinds of risk where a guy is out of luck or or just his skill declines let a guy let a guy take advantage of the leverage when he has it but remember Magic Johnson had a 25-year contract damn and people went crazy at the time and Jerry bus was a genius and probably made incredible good business sense for Magic Johnson but now you know we've essentially reduced maximum contracts to 5 years in some cases six so now you know we used to refer to it in the league as sort of dead money at the end of the bench you'd have a star player but then enter let's say a nine-year contract or eight-year contract or seven-year contract they would know at the time they negotiated that contract just analytically it was unlikely that this player was going to be at the top of his game towards those end years now the player had the leverage in totality to get money but it also me meant and and not to take anything away from the player but if that player were sitting at at the end of the bench and were max player there wasn't sufficient money to have guys on your roster that were going to help you win Champions so I think again when you shorten contracts again if you have a system where in the aggregate you're going to pay out 50% by definition it has to go to someone else so it's it it might surprise you guys but when you're sitting across from a group of players and you move more towards a paper performance and it's a fixed pool of money that's not something the players come in who are automatically against especially players who believe in themselves you know who are saying like it's fine I like this paper performance because the other hand if you have a shorter contract and you feel you're underpaid or you haven't had a chance to to you become a free agent also it's like I'm going to show them and then my next contract I'm I'm going to make even more yeah I think everything that you guys do business-wise with the players is idolized by every other league so you need to know that as a guy that's running one of the power fours and Allstar Weekend is a celebration I'm excited to see how Indianapolis treat you how you appreciate the hell out of the city I think you're going to love it obviously you've been here before and uh I can't wait to see you guys put on a show this weekend we appreciate the hell out of you yeah well thank you also for uh participating in the celebrity I not as a player as I understand it but I'm in balling season okay I got it but uh now's not time to jump you're going to be out there so for being there yeah thank you for the invite Friday night and uh no Indianapolis has been fantastic uh I I just quickly about herb Simon who is the the principal Governor owner of the team he's Simon MS he he and he and his brother Mel created Simon Property Simon Malls they they own the bought the team together Mel died some number of years ago um but herb is he's very senstive I'm not going to say the oldest owner in the league but he's the longest standing he truly is the longest standing owner in the NBA um he's an incredible person uh this guy Rick fuson who runs the team he was here in 1985 when the last NBA All-Star game was in Indianapolis you know and also just just a shout out to your city I mean to me just as someone who travels all over the country and all over the world for that matter this is the city that works yes you know and the state too you know with you know the party doesn't even matter a governor of one party a mayor of a different party they work so well together just the way the community comes together for big events I mean no one quite does it like Indianapolis I mean Las Vegas is just at a different scale because of who they are but I'd say it's someone coming into a market just to make it TurnKey for us to business um it's been fantastic here so so thank you to the community hey we thank you for joining us and thank you you're awesome we'll be back in about 3 minutes take [Music] care

Channel: The Pat McAfee Show

Views: 74,996

Keywords: pat mcafee, podcast, sports, nfl, ncaa, football, for the brand, punter, kicker, pat mcafee show, american football, nfl news, pat mcafee clips, pat mcafee reacts, pat mcafee highlights, pat mcafee live, pat mcafee show live, pat mcafee podcast, the pat mcafee show, McAfeeESPN2023, adam silver pat mcafee, adam silver nba, adam silver interview, adam silver mcafee, adam silver stephen a smith, adam silver in season tournament

Id: QzeUg9Rd2pE

Length: 38min 13sec (2293 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 14 2024