After the Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers at last week's NBA trade deadline, there was an overwhelming thought from fans that commissioner Adam Silver should have stepped in and vetoed the deal.
Dallas received Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a 2029 first-round pick in the move—while giving up Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris—and the consensus was that if they truly put Doncic on the trade block, they would have received more in return.
In an interview with Barstool Sports' Pardon My Take podcast this week, Silver clarified that the commissioner actually does not have the power to veto a trade:
"No, believe it or not," he responded when asked if he has that power. "And there's some confusion. People have yelled out to me for some reason in the last week or so when I've been at games that I should be vetoing that trade the way David Stern vetoed a trade back in the old days. There's always some confusion there. David never vetoed a trade. When he was the acting owner of the New Orleans [Hornets] and the commissioner at the time, he turned down a trade that was proposed to him by the general manager of the team."
Said trade Silver is referencing is a 2011 agreement that would have sent guard Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets to the Los Angeles Lakers and paired him with Kobe Bryant. The NBA owned the Hornets at the time and Stern—who was acting as their president of basketball operations—shut it down.
"We don't put a thumb on the scale, so to speak," Silver continued. "When a trade comes into the league office, what our basketball and legal folks do is they make sure that that trade works under the confines of the collective bargaining agreement, whatever rules are in place. And then it's up or down—it gets approved or not based on those rules. We don't get to weigh on what we think the merits of the trade are or should be."
Some much-needed clarity for the league's loyal fanatics.
Doncic finished his Lakers debut on Monday night with 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting, helping them to a 132–113 victory over the Utah Jazz. Davis, meanwhile, tallied 26 points and 16 rebounds in his Dallas debut—but also suffered a left adductor strain. He's expected to be out multiple weeks, although Dallas is reportedly "optimistic" that he can avoid surgery.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Adam Silver Clarifies NBA Commissioner Can’t Veto Trades Following Luka Doncic Deal.
