In the time between when inflammatory audio recordings of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s conversation with his girlfriend V. Stiviano first surfaced late Friday evening and when NBA Commissioner Adam Silver strode to the podium and levied his verdict against Sterling on Tuesday afternoon, you heard one unifying opinion on the matter:
Adam Silver would “do the right thing.”
Owners, executives, coaches and players all expressed complete confidence in Silver, and said they felt he would act properly and decisively in his investigation into Sterling’s alleged conversation. It was an interesting dynamic given the often contentious relationship between Silver’s predecessor, David Stern, and players and owners alike during his 30-year tenure.
But it also speaks to the way Silver has comported himself over the past few years as he prepared to be elevated into the top job and the way he’s handled things since taking over.
Silver earned a great deal of respect among the owners for the way he handled the lockout negotiations back in 2011, when he was the point man for the owners’ side during the discussions that ultimately favored the league.
After that, Silver went to great lengths to bring the players into the decision-making process over the past year or so, as the countdown to him officially taking over began once Stern’s Feb. 1 retirement date was set. He welcomed the opportunity to sit down with LeBron James, and has said the league will open a dialogue with the players over their concerns about the sleeved jerseys that have become more and more prevalent in the past couple of seasons.
More than anything, he’s tried to give the players an opportunity to be heard — something they clearly didn’t think they had sufficiently during Stern’s long and successful tenure. Stern’s greatest strength and weakness were one and the same: his stubborn belief that he always possessed the best answers for the league he was shepherding along.
Silver has a decidedly different management style, one built on procedure and consensus. He’s talked about including both the players and the NCAA in his discussions of a potential age-limit increase, which he has campaigned for since taking over for Stern in February. He was in constant communication with Kevin Johnson — who is representing the NBA’s Players Association as the league sorts out this Sterling mess — over the weekend, making sure the players were kept abreast of developments.
There inevitably will be issues between Silver and the players, either during the next round of collective bargaining or at some later point. But if Silver sticks to the same strategy of trying to build consensus, perhaps the two sides can begin to replicate the kind of relationship Major League Baseball has developed with its players union across the past 20 years, when the sport has seen labor peace and both sides have worked together to grow the game.
Thunder can roll … Pacers, not so much
The Pacers and Thunder moved closer to escaping potentially franchise-changing first-round exits with road wins Thursday night. But they have a lot more work to do to close things out on their home floors.
Indiana is in more danger of losing despite playing the inferior opponent in the Hawks, given how poorly they have played over the last two months. Though the Pacers survived Game 6 in Atlanta, Roy Hibbert continues to confuse everyone with his stunning decline, and the Hawks should have plenty of confidence in their ability to win in Indianapolis after doing so twice.
The Thunder head home brimming with confidence after dispatching the Grizzlies in Memphis Thursday. After struggling through most of the series, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook broke out at just the right time in Game 6, and Scott Brooks made a nice adjustment sliding Caron Butler into the starting lineup.
Memphis won’t be fazed by a wild atmosphere in Oklahoma City for Game 7, but the bigger issue will be Mike Conley’s health. Memphis’ floor general went down with a hamstring issue in the second half of the Game 6 loss, though he said there was no way he would miss Game 7. For Memphis to have a chance, the Grizzlies need Conley at or close to 100 percent, plus defensive ace Tony Allen must find a way to limit Durant one more time.
Doesn’t get better than Clippers-Warriors Game 7
Another Game 7 was set Thursday when the Warriors beat the Clippers, properly capping a series that has had absolutely everything you could ask for — as well as plenty you would never wish on anyone.
The biggest question to come out of Game 6 is the health status of Chris Paul. Between thumb and hamstring issues, Paul appears as if he’ll be partially compromised in Game 7. The same goes for Warriors center Jermaine O’Neal, who could join first-stringer Andrew Bogut on the sidelines after injuring his knee and being forced to leave Game 6.
Without both Bogut and O’Neal, the Warriors would be at a severe disadvantage in the paint. Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan have dominated there for most of the series, and almost certainly will be the focus of the Clippers’ game plan with Paul banged up.
Throw in everything that has happened with the Clippers over the past week because of Sterling and the turmoil surrounding the Warriors — Mark Jackson’s job is in jeopardy — and Game 7 on Saturday night has to be appointment viewing for any NBA fan.