Lakers-Nets game goes on as NBA-China situation continues to bubble

Travis Durkee

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Lakers-Nets game goes on as NBA-China situation continues to bubble image

LeBron James and Anthony Davis combined for 36 points. Kyrie Irving took another blow to his already fractured face. Those stories hardly mattered Thursday in Shanghai.

The developing controversy between the NBA and China didn’t prohibit the Lakers and Nets from playing Thursday's preseason game at Shanghai's Mercedes-Benz Arena (which the Nets won, 114-11, for what it's worth), but by no means is the league's sticky situation dying down.

Rockets GM Daryl Morey's since-deleted tweet supporting anti-government protesters in Hong Kong from last Friday raised the ire of China, and the fallout has been nonstop since. 

Here’s a rundown of the latest updates:

Government won’t allow media availability at game, report says

Hours before tipoff, media members were notified by a league spokesperson that  NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s pregame press conference was canceled and that there would be no media availability with the teams following Thursday’s game.

The spokesperson didn’t elaborate on the decision, but unidentified sources told ESPN that the call was made “at the behest of the Chinese government.”

The league stance seemed to spread to Japan as a journalist was shut down after asking Rockets stars James Harden and Russell Westbrook if the situation will make them feel differently about speaking out on political and societal issues.

Teams plan for salary cap drop because of China situation, report says

The impact of the ongoing issues between the NBA and China will likely spread well beyond this season, and owners are preparing for a potential loss in revenue.

According to Yahoo, at least five team owners are building contingency plans that account for a 10-15% drop (between $11.6 million and $17.4 million)  in the salary cap next season.

That is a serious deviation from cap projections provided by the league just last month, which predicted a $7 million bump in the cap for 2020-21.

“I have to wonder if the league would be pressed to consider some measures to not drop the cap down so far from where we are today at $109 [million],” a team cap expert told Yahoo. “Otherwise, a bunch of us are over the tax. It’d be nice to know now, because that changes how we approach trades and everything else throughout the season.”

Lawmakers urge NBA to suspend business in China

If China wants to hurt business for the NBA, the U.S. Congress wants the NBA to hurt business for China.

Eight members of Congress signed a letter addressed to Silver expressing “deep concern” over the league’s apologies to China that “sold out” Morey after his pro-Hong Kong tweet.

The letter urges the league to not be intimidated by China and to suspend all business activities in the country, re-evaluate its training camp in Xinjiang and clarify to its employees that “public commentary on international human rights expression” is acceptable behavior and expression.

"NBA players have a rich history of speaking out on sensitive topics of social justice and human rights inside the United States, and the NBA takes pride in defending their right to do so," the letter reads. "Yet while it is easy to defend freedom of speech when it costs you nothing, equivocating when profits are at stake is a betrayal of fundamental American values."

President Trump slams Steve Kerr, Gregg Popovich for ‘pandering to China’

Speaking of political involvement in the issue, President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich pandered to China in their recent comments about the ongoing controversy.

“They talked badly about the United States. But when they talk about China, they don’t want to say anything bad,” Trump said. “I thought it was pretty sad, actually, to see them pandering to China. It will be very interesting.”

Popovich praised Silver for defending Morey’s freedom of expression in a recent statement, but Kerr said earlier this week that he wanted to learn more about the strained relationship between China and Hong Kong before commenting.

“I watched this guy Steve Kerr. He was like a little boy who was so scared to be answering the question,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. "I watched Popovich do sort of the same thing. But he didn’t look quite as scared, actually.”

Dennis Rodman offers diplomatic expertise to NBA

If Silver, Kerr, Popovich or even President Trump can’t right the ship, former NBA All-Star Dennis Rodman has volunteered his services to the cause.

Rodman posted a video to Twitter on Wednesday asking Silver to “book me a ticket to Shanghai with you.”

“Commissioner Adam Silver, I know a thing about diplomacy,” Rodman said while holding pictures of himself with President Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un.

No disrespect to Rodman, but this seems like it would be a last resort for Silver and the NBA.

Travis Durkee