Sources – NBA commissioner Adam Silver finalizing extension،
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is finalizing a contract extension that will see him through the end of the decade, sources told ESPN on Saturday.
The completion of formal negotiations with the Board of Governors on a new agreement keeps Silver – as he approaches his 10th anniversary as commissioner – on track to pursue the NBA's next set of major goals: a new agreement on media rights and league expansion.
Vastly different from his predecessor David Stern, Silver built a reputation for seeking more consensus and partnership with owners, management and players. He managed to maintain respect – and even popularity – among these groups despite difficult decisions and negotiations.
Silver, 61, spearheaded dramatic initiatives including the introduction of play-in and season tournaments, player participation legislation, a proposed lottery reform that deterred teams from rushing to the low for top draft picks and an ever-increasing financial valuation of franchises. . The league's implementation of the freedom of movement focus in 2019-20 has increasingly inflated league scoring, including a 2023-24 campaign that includes four top 10s so far offensive teams in NBA history.
Silver reached a new collective bargaining agreement with the National Basketball Players Association in March that guarantees labor peace through at least 2029 and a revamped salary cap system that should give small and mid-sized businesses a better chance to compete major markets. franchise. The league was looking for an economic structure that would help distribute talent across more teams — and that appears to be happening now.
Silver has shown his ability to weather crises – including suspending the NBA season after Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 in 2020 and leading the way in an American sporting and societal response in the early weeks of the pandemic. Ultimately, Silver engineered the Orlando bubble to restart and complete the 2020 season, saving television revenue and player salaries.
Silver also oversaw bans, suspensions and eventual team sales by two problematic NBA owners: Donald Sterling of the LA Clippers and Robert Sarver of the Phoenix Suns.
Silver spent eight years as the league's deputy commissioner before succeeding Stern in 2014 and was a consensus choice to replace him when Stern announced his retirement date in 2012.
