The NBA commissioner, Adam Silver says that resting the superstar players is "an extremely significant issue for our league." He recently sent a memo to all the team Owners in the NBA Monday. In the memo, Silver told the teams this issue will be the prime topic at the NBA board of Governor’s meeting on April 6 in New York. Adam Silver is warning teams of penalties if they don't abide by the league's rules. Teams are supposed to provide notice to the League, their opponent, and the media immediately if they are going to rest a player.
Silver standing up for fans
He is claiming that owners really can't be uninvolved in these decisions. These people making these plans to sit the NBA superstars are not aware of the impact they have on the fans, business partners, and the reputation of the league. All of the talk is getting drummed up after the Cavaliers sat Lebron, Kyrie, and Kevin Love. The loss came against the LA Clippers during a nationally televised game on ABC. Directly after the team announced the move to sit their superstars the league office called David Griffin, the general manager for Cleveland. The GM said that it's not his job to appease the league and its television partners. Griffin went on to say to ESPN, "They're paying me to win a championship."
TV networks getting nervous
This is the second consecutive week, in a row that a team has rested their superstars during a nationally televised game on ABC.
The news is getting serious enough for ESPN to put out a statement about resting players. Their main concern being to serve the fans of the NBA and putting out the best matchup possible. They are pushing for involving the league's top players. They go on to say that they are going to work closely with the NBA to solve this issue going forward.
Adam Silver has a lot to think about in terms of how to correct this problem. Fines or punishment for the teams will be very hard to enforce and most of all prove. There isn't an easy fix, with them already collectively bargaining a shorter pre-season and more off days during the regular season.
