Eleven takeaways from 11 days at Las Vegas Summer League
Silver quipped Monday that he felt like the “belle of the ball” at a recent news conference given the widespread interest in the NBA’s live programming. During his Board of Governors address the next day, the commissioner sounded keenly focused on optimizing the league’s television product when he repeatedly stressed the importance of player availability. After permanently adding the play-in tournament to its postseason format, the NBA also remains interested in the idea of a midseason tournament.
Before the league conceives a new event that could overhaul its regular season schedule, it should consider further elevating the Summer League. Over the past decade, the event has expanded to 30 teams, added a tournament format and garnered more national television coverage. A-list stars such as LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Ja Morant are courtside fixtures. Unfortunately, most teams tend to shut down their top players early, turning the second half of the event into a bit of a drag.
The rise of independent events such as the Drew League, Big3 and The Basketball Tournament has proved there is real demand for summer hoops. Silver mentioned the possibility of adding incentives to player contracts in the next collective bargaining agreement to discourage load management, and he should consider a similar approach in Las Vegas.
An improved Summer League would include a significant monetary prize to convince teams to play their lottery picks and a move from UNLV to an NBA-caliber arena for the most important games to set a grander tone and accommodate larger crowds. What better way to further the NBA’s goals of being a 12-month sport than hosting an under-23 tournament with lottery picks going head-to-head with millions of dollars at stake?
