Adam Silver plans to change the free agency rules after this summer’s hectic NBA free agency in which several stars switched teams through deals that were apparently agreed upon prior to the official kick-off of free agency at 6 p.m. ET on June 30.
Silver admits that there always have been at least some talks before the official start of free agency. This season’s free-agency window, however, showed us how much of that business was done ahead of time as practically only Kawhi Leonard’s pursuit for a new team took place after the opening 24 hours of free agency.
Silver has said repeatedly tonight that the league "has work to do" to refine free agency rules to ensure NBA offseasons operate under regulations that the league can properly enforce
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 10, 2019
“My sense in the room today was, especially when it comes to free agency and the rules around it, that we’ve got work to do,” Silver said. “And as I said, it’s still the same principles of a fair balance of power and a sense that it’s a level playing field. I think that’s what teams want to know. I think they’re put in difficult situations because when they’re sitting across from a player and whether it’s conversations that are happening earlier than they should or frankly things are being discussed that don’t fall squarely within the collective bargaining agreement, it puts teams in a very difficult position because they are reading or hearing that other teams are doing other things to compete, and at the end of the day, that’s what this league is about: competing for championships.
Silver was also asked about the drop in TV ratings last season, which he said could be attributed to a few things, including pirating and cord-cutting, but stressed he isn’t concerned about it.
The Commissioner did say that the media landscape changed since the NBA’s current television deal was struck five years ago, and it could lead the association to reopen talks with ESPN and Turner Sports, the league’s media partners. Potential discussions would be held to improve the league’s business.
Silver also stated he isn’t worried about the number of rookies either skipping out of the summer league entirely or being shut down early like 2019 NBA Draft No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson, describing it as “unique circumstances.”
