The Luka Doncic trade was so bad, that the NBA commissioner has to remind everyone that he cannot veto trades. That is an all-time low. If you add in the fact that Mavericks GM Nico Harrison had to get additional security because of fans’ reactions, it might be time to acknowledge that the trade has the potential to be one of the worst in history. Adam Silver recently appeared on a podcast to talk about several topics, including the infamous Luka trade.
Adam Silver Explains Why He Didn’t Stop Luka Doncic Trade
It’s not often that a commissioner feels the need to speak on a trade in their sport. Whether Adam Silver liked the Luka Doncic trade or not, he was powerless. Speaking on the “Pardon My Take” podcast, he clarified the NBA’s position, saying,
“No, believe it or not. And there’s some confusion. People have yelled out to me for some reason in the last week or so when I’ve been at games that I should be vetoing that trade the way David Stern vetoed a trade back in the old days. There’s always some confusion there. David never vetoed a trade. When he was the acting owner of the New Orleans Hornets and the commissioner at the time, he turned down a trade that was proposed to him by the general manager of the team.”
The trade Silver referred to is the 2011 agreement between the Hornets and Lakers to send Chris Paul to LA and pair him with Kobe Bryant. At the time, the league owned the Hornets, and Stern acted as the president of basketball operations. Silver continued explaining,
“When a trade comes into the league office, what our basketball and legal folks do is they make sure that that trade works under the confines of the collective bargaining agreement, whatever rules are in place. And then it’s up or down—it gets approved or not based on those rules. We don’t get to weigh on what we think the merits of the trade are or should be.”
Adam Silver Secretly Might Want Luka Doncic in Los Angeles
Silver might have been powerless to stop the Doncic trade. But he cannot deny the fact that Luka in LA is good business for the league. According to ESPN, Doncic’s Lakers debut peaked at 2.55 million viewers. The Lakers led by as many as 34 points, and Luka played only 24 minutes. The game averaged 2.01 million viewers and was the most-watched content among the coveted demographics.
For comparison, Doncic’s Lakers debut had viewership up 42% compared to last year’s average NBA game on ESPN. The moment Doncic was traded to the Lakers, his jersey number went from being sixth, to first in sales. Fans in LA waited for hours in endless queues to get their hands on the coveted jersey.
The combination of Doncic, a 25-year-old global star, and the Lakers, will be a goldmine for the league for years to come. The Lakers are one of the most popular franchises in the league, and now they have a young, charismatic player to build around. Things are looking great for both the Lakers and the league.
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