SAN FRANCISCO — Adam Silver tried to quell any conspiracy theories about the stunning trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers, saying Saturday that he had no prior knowledge of the deal while declaring the Mavericks had “no ulterior motives” to unload their franchise player.
“I am sympathetic to the Mavericks organization,” Silver said in his annual All-Star weekend news conference. “I can say one thing for sure — whether or not history will judge this as a smart trade, they did what they thought was in the best interest of the organization. I absolutely have no belief or knowledge there were ulterior motives.
“There’s no doubt in my mind the [Mavericks owners] bought that team to keep it in Dallas. I have no doubt whatsoever they’re committed to the long-term success of that franchise. And in terms of the Dallas fans, all I can tell them is time will tell whether it’s a smart trade. But I think they should believe in their organization.”
The decision to send Doncic, one of the five best players in basketball, to the NBA’s marquee franchise was met with swift and loud backlash from the Mavericks fan base, which targeted general manager Nico Harrison in protests outside the arena.
It led to accusations that the new owners, the Dumont-Adelson families, were plotting a relocation to Las Vegas since they own casinos.
Anthony Davis, who the Mavericks acquired for Doncic, is already injured with a recovery timeline of at least weeks.
“I’m not in a position to second-guess [the trade],” Silver said.
Despite previously acknowledging the glut of 3-point shooting potentially impacting the aesthetics and entertainment of the game, Silver indicated he won’t make changes to curb what he had called “cookie cutter” offenses.
“We’re paying a lot of attention to it,” Silver said. “I’m never going to say there’s never room for improvement. We’ll continue to look at it and study it, but I am happy with the state of the game right now.”
Jalen Brunson reluctantly picked a schedule alteration when asked what he’d suggest to make the NBA better.
“I would say, honestly, lessen the back-to-backs, for sure,” Brunson said. “My only answer.”
The Knicks have 15 sets of back-to-back games this season, with most in the second half of the season.
Silver has already reduced back-to-backs after the league average was 19.3 in 2014-15.
Brunson, who was eliminated after the first round in the NBA’s 3-point contest, added that he wouldn’t change any rule to help keep scores down. He said it’s on the defenders to adjust.
“Game to game, the physicality can change. You have to adjust to how it’s being called,” Brunson said. “Sometimes it’s more physical, sometimes it’s not. I think it’s just adjusting, knowing when you can be physical, when you cannot, and being smart about it.
“The game is evolving. Everyone is getting better. Everyone is finding out how to attack the best defenders. It just makes it 10 times more difficult. But you honestly just have to adjust to the physicality.”
Nikola Jokic singled out Karl-Anthony Towns as the player he’s befriended at his All-Star weekends.
“It’s not something that we are close-close. We are not going to go to each other’s house. But we are doing the same job, we’re eating the same bread, so why not be a little bit communicative?” Jokic said.
