The NBA’s New Money Problem

The NBA’s Billionaire Problem Isn’t Steve Ballmer

A whole lot happened on Monday in the spiritual NBA capital of Los Angeles. The Lakers’ own Queen Cersei is attempting to burn her house to the ground in honor of her family, in opposition to her family. The NBA cleared Clippers owner Steve Ballmer of wrongdoing in the Kawhi Leonard matter, and then attacked ESPN’s reporting on their decision.

There’s a lot of chaos in basketball right now and it’s driven mostly by greed. That’s more descriptive observation than morally-infused critique. Adam Silver sees his job as maximizing the value of NBA franchises. He’s objectively succeeded to such a degree that it’s embarrassed NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. I could criticize Mr. Silver’s NBA stewardship but he’d just point to the scoreboard. I might suggest that the NBA’s flood of money is washing away load-bearing structures within the sport’s culture, but that’s also a way of saying that Adam is a rainmaker. The rain came in full, and the ensuing deluge has made the whole league slippery. Here are some initial thoughts on an NBA New World Order in constant motion.