“Houston Rockets pampered Harden…and he got fat” Colin Cowherd blames Adam Silver for giving utter leverage to players
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NBA Commissioner Adam Silver
NBA popularity is reaching new highs every season as it is gaining humongous fan-base globally. Massive TV rights and commercial profits are flooding in, and the league is getting profitable every coming season. But since Adam Silver took over as the NBA’s commissioner in 2014, the league has been in what is being labeled the “player empowerment era.” In recent years, some players have taken extreme measures to get themselves into different situations and what suits them most. Over the past couple of seasons there have been many examples of players having full control in regards to their wants – whether it’s the option to play or the option to get a max contract.
Since the pandemic period, fans get to see a huge change in the attitude of players, especially star players of the franchise. Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving took the liberty to stay away from the game and even got paid for the same. Houston Rockets Marquee player, James Harden wiggled out of the franchise in January 2021. Now, Kevin Durant has requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets in the first year of his four-year max contract extension. This could be “unfair” for the franchise and many called for Silver to look into the subject seriously.
Colin Cowherd sees weak operational control from Adam Silver and the league authorities
In a recent episode of “The Herd,” Colin Cowherd dove into the current landscape of the NBA regarding player empowerment. Fox Sports analyst feels things have gone too far, and NBA commissioner Silver is too soft to make the changes that are needed to restore order and strict regulations within the league.
Giving an example of former MVP James Harden, Colin Cowherd said, “Remember what Houston did to James Harden? They pampered him. … And in response, James Harden got fat and quit on the team. … As much as I like Adam Silver, he is too soft. He is too pro-player.”
Well, Adam Silver did his best to run the league during the pandemic period and even after that in controlling the COVID-19 spread within the league. But he was too player-oriented and allowed some of the star players to take control over their franchises, as Cowherd gave an example of James Harden.
Very few people might not agree with everything Cowherd said, but there is one thing that’s abundantly clear. Silver put all his faith in the players, and it backfired on him in a bad way. He was even called into action during Ben Simmon’s situation, but the 60-year-old executive refused to interfere, causing Philly to take some actions from their end only.
It is assumed that Silver’s soft corner for the mega stars has let slide up to this point, and the league finds itself in a tough spot regarding its star players. Silver should have stepped in long ago, and set up some rules regarding “professionalism” in the league players. There might be huge chances of players refusing to play, and finally fans also refusing to support the league.
But Silver might have a chance to rectify things if he admits there’s a problem. At some point, he has to give the players pushback on how they are treating their organizations.
If players like 2016 Champion Kyrie and Simmons continue to get away like this, then the next generation will think it is normal to do the same. Silver must make some sort of change before that becomes reality. Player empowerment is a good thing, but now the extreme effects of it are being seen. And right now, NFL is against gaining some lost ground over the NBA fan base.
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Kunal Chawda
(600 Articles Published)