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Adam Silver: Changes to NBA playoff seeding likely starting next season

LAS VEGAS – Other than the pride of putting up a banner in the rafters, there won’t be a major benefit for NBA division winners anymore.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said changes are coming to playoff seeding. (Leila Navidi/Star Tribune via AP)
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said changes are coming to playoff seeding. (Leila Navidi/Star Tribune via AP)

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said at the Board of Governors meeting that playoff seeding will be based solely on the records of the top eight teams in the Western and Eastern Conference starting as early as next season.

“The recommendation from the Competition Committee is that we should seed one through eight based on conference standings for the playoffs,” Silver said.

Division winners have previously garnered a top-four seeding, including last season when the Portland Trail Blazers earned the fourth seed in the Western Conference despite having a lesser record than the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs. There was no vote Tuesday but Silver expects the seeding change to be voted in prior to next season.

"It wasn't voted on yet because we wanted all the owners to have an opportunity to go back and discuss that recommendation with their general managers and their coaches, and we'll vote on it before the beginning of the season," Silver said. “It's my expectation that the change will be adopted before the beginning of this coming season."

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Silver said there was no grand idea made for a change in the NBA’s free agency moratorium. The NBA’s current collective bargaining agreement calls for a moratorium in which teams can negotiate contracts starting July 1 but cannot sign deals until July 9. The NBA players union does have an opt-out of the CBA following the 2016-17 season.

Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

“I think there was some discussion on whether the moratorium should be a bit shorter,” Silver said. “It’s an imperfect system and we think we are finding the right balance between teams having the opportunity to talk to players when they become free agents and creating certainty at some point when contracts are entered into.”

The moratorium conversation was sparked in response of free-agent DeAndre Jordan reneging on a commitment he made to sign with the Dallas Mavericks. He instead returned to the Los Angeles Clippers.

“From a personal standpoint, it’s not a great look,” Silver said. “It’s not what we want to see happen in the moratorium period. It wasn’t created so players could enter into in essence oral agreements only to have those agreements superseded by binding agreements. Of course, under our Collective Bargaining Agreement there is no disputing that only a signed agreement is a binding one when the moratorium starts. I don’t think anybody is questioning that. But there was a breakdown in the system.”

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Silver expects the Wisconsin State Senate to vote in favor of funding a new NBA arena to house the Milwaukee Bucks. Silver said he does not expect the Bucks to move to Las Vegas and there are no current discussions about expansion.

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Without giving an exact number, Silver said a lot of NBA teams are losing money.

“I don’t know the precise number and don’t want to get into it, but a significant number of teams are continuing to lose money and they continue to lose money because their expenses exceed their revenue,” Silver said.

Those words came after several NBA players landed mammoth contracts in free agency.

“Some of the contracts we talked about,” Silver said. “They still have enormous expenses in terms of arena costs. Teams are building new practice facilities. The cost of their infrastructure in terms of their salespeople, marketing people, the infrastructure of the teams have gone up, and in some cases their local television is much smaller than in other markets.”

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Jordan and Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard were victims of the “Hack-A” tactic during regular-season and postseason games because of their poor free-throw shooting. Silver said neither the Board of Governors nor the competition committee expressed interest in stopping the strategy.

Dwight Howard might want to practice his free throws. (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
Dwight Howard might want to practice his free throws. (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)

“We recognize we are an entertainment product and we're competing for eyeballs, No. 1,” Silver said. “It's almost counter intuitive, but the ratings don't show people are tuning it off. Maybe if it became even more prevalent fans truly would flip the channel. But at least so far that hasn't been the case.

"No. 2, there is a sense, especially from the basketball people, that it would be sending the wrong message to the larger basketball community, particularly youth basketball to de‑emphasize the need for guys to hit free throws.”

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The NBA baseline is expected to be widened a foot to help prevent injuries. Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James bumped into a cameraman on the baseline during the NBA Finals. More notably, Indiana Pacers swingman Paul George broke his leg nearly a year ago after running into a stanchion while playing for USA Basketball in an exhibition game.

“We had a few high profile incidents with players crashing into still photographers and cameramen,” Silver said.

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The NBA received no update on the Warriors' plan to build an arena in San Francisco that will be ready for the 2018-19 season. The Warriors recently stated that they expect the arena to open as planned.