Adam Silver talks playoff seeding, lottery, and CBA negotiations
NBA commissioner Adam Silver had media availability ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday. The highlights are as follows:
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Playoff format changes coming
The 2014-15 NBA Finals could look different in a universe in which division winners aren't rewarded an artificially high playoff seed.
While the Golden State Warriors juggernaut would have been the favorite in any series, their path to the finals was made somewhat easier thanks to a first-round matchup between the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs. That not only removed the Spurs from the field but left the Clippers exhausted and susceptible to a come-from-behind upset courtesy of the Houston Rockets.
To hear Silver tell it, such a scenario may not be possible in the near future.
Asked Thursday whether the league would change the playoff seeding format, Silver said the league "may change that fairly quickly," referring to dropping a guaranteed top-four seed for division winners in their conference. That would mean the Portland Trail Blazers would not have nabbed the fourth seed simply by way of winning their division, despite a record inferior to some lower-seeded teams.
That would mean conferences are seeded 1-to-8 based on record, without consideration for winning a division.
Silver had admitted in February that the format may need tweaking, and with Gregg Popovich and Doc Rivers, among others, speaking out against it, the idea appears to be gaining momentum.
The league will not, however, be changing the playoff format to one in which the top-16 teams make the playoffs regardless of conference. The travel logistics and increased wear-and-tear on players make it unfeasible in the current environment.
No lottery change imminent
The NBA also won't be changing the draft lottery format anytime soon.
Several tweaks to the current system - which awards weighted odds at the No. 1 pick based on the reverse final standings - have been proposed as a means of fighting perceived tanking, whereby teams intentionally lose to improve their draft outlook.
With the salary cap landscape changing and the previous reform failing to pass, Silver wants to delay those discussions for "at least another year."
Early CBA negotiations
Continuing with the theme of potential changes to the league, Silver said he's spoken with new NBPA executive director Michele Roberts about beginning to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement, perhaps as early as this summer.
That would give the league and union a two-year head start, hopefully avoiding a work stoppage in 2017, when either side can opt out of the current CBA. The player's union is expected to do just that, with several notable issues standing as ones that could make negotiations contentious.
The earlier the sides can find common ground and move on from the battle for public opinion, the better.
Salary cap estimates
The union had previously rejected a proposal to smooth the impending salary cap increases associated with the league's new television deal, and the figures related to that decision became more clear Thursday.
The salary cap is set at $63.2 million for the 2014-15 season, with the 2015-16 amount expected to come in around $67 million. The 2016-17 salary cap would then jump to an estimated $90 million, more or less in line with existing estimates.