USAToday- “We can play games in China and Europe, or occasional preseason games as a one-off, but under existing airline technology, the planes aren’t fast enough to at least play in the current frame work of our regular season,” Silver, who did not attend Thursday's game but plans on attending the Warriors-Wolves preseason game in Shanghai on Sunday, said by phone. “(But) it may be something we’ll be looking at over the coming years, is what a regular season schedule look like a decade from now.”
The premise, of course, is that an 82-game schedule would likely be too taxing if there was intercontinental travel added to the schedule. “There’s nothing magical about 82 games,” Silver continued. “It’s been in place for 50 years, but for the long-term planning of the league, as we learn more about the human body and the wear and tear of travel and the competitive landscape ... invariably we’ll look at the regular season. And in looking at the regular season, it may create more opportunities for international franchises.” ------- Wait, so what's the catch? I know Adam Silver is the rare breed of Commissioner in that he isn't an out-of-touch moron that never removes his eyes from the current bottomline, but there's just got to be a catch. Did he just imply there might be LESS games while addressing topics as taboo as the future and the overarching health of his employees? I mean, I suppose there would have to be if they truly wanted to infiltrate the Asian market via international relocation, but that seems way too player friendly of a concept for a Commissioner to be talking about publicly? Did Adam Silver get too big for britches and forget about the wealthy, predominantly white owners and their all-important revenue stream? Doesn't he know he's supposed to be resistant to any and all change unless said change is controversial, if not immediately frowned upon by all parties? If I have learned anything from the tenure of Roger Goodell, it's that the head of a professional sports league is supposed to prioritize being stubbornly unresponsive. If Gary Bettman's decade-long undefeated streak as the most hated man in every stadium he steps into is any indication then endearing yourself to your employees is a fatal proposition. Shortening the schedule of a regular season that always seem to drag in order to increase the worldwide exposure of the brand while preserving the lower body health of it's players? HA! I don't know what futuristic world Adam Silver is living in, but he better relax with this forward thinking bullshit before he gets stripped of his power out of fear that he might abuse it at the expense of that all-too-alluring concessionary income.
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