00:00Hey Phoenix Suns fans, welcome back. I want to talk about something that happened this weekend
00:06over at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. During the All-Star break, NBA Commissioner Adam
00:11Silver held his annual press conference, and he got very real about the state of the league.
00:16Silver addressed the elephant in the room, tanking. He flat out said that in his view,
00:20teams are intentionally losing games more aggressively this season than we have seen
00:24in recent memory. He believes these actions compromise the league's competitive integrity,
00:30and he's not just talking about it, he's acting on it. Just last Thursday, the league issued a $500,000
00:38fine to the Utah Jazz and a $100,000 penalty to the Indiana Pacers for sitting healthy players,
00:45actions that were seen as deliberate attempts to lose, but Silver knows that fines alone might not
00:50be enough, especially with a highly anticipated draft class on the horizon. So, he's looking at
00:56stronger solutions, from taking away draft picks to making wholesale changes to the draft lottery
01:02system itself. He admitted the current system feels antiquated, stating, the league is 80 years old,
01:08it's time to take a fresh look at this. He acknowledged that the incentives are misaligned,
01:13creating a system where, as he put it, the worst place to be is a middle-of-the-road team,
01:18either be great or be bad. He did touch on a few other major topics. On expansion, Silver confirmed
01:26that Seattle and Las Vegas are the two obvious candidates, and the league expects to make a
01:31decision on expansion this year. Regarding the Los Angeles Clippers, he stated they have been
01:36cooperative with an external investigation into a past endorsement deal for Kawhi Leonard,
01:41which is being looked at for possible salary cap circumvention. Silver also addressed the rise of
01:47prediction markets and gambling, admitting it's a concern, and that the league needs a better handle
01:52on all the betting activity. And finally, he reiterated the NBA's strong desire to launch a
01:58European league in partnership with FIBA, with a target start date of October 2027, though many
02:04hurdles remain. So, here is my question for you. Suns Nation, in a league where Silver says it's better to
02:10be great or be bad. Where does that leave a team like ours, constantly fighting to be contenders?
02:16Do you think the NBA's current system punishes teams for trying to stay competitive, or is this
02:20just the reality of building a championship roster?
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