NBA All-Star Weekend is one long, exhausting bonanza for the League, sponsors, media, and above all, the players. Chris Paul and other stars are pushing the NBA to give them a longer break after ASW, and new commissioner Adam Silver seems open to the idea. Per NBA.com:
Paul’s hectic Thursday schedule — arriving in the Big Easy at 5 a.m. after his Los Angeles Clippers’ game against Portland Wednesday night at Staples Center — was just a sample of what he faces over what essentially is a five-day commitment. Keep in mind, Paul also is the new president of the National Basketball Players Association, so he has a meeting to run Saturday afternoon squeezed in between all the basketball, commercial and charity events. Add travel time at both ends and it’s a grind.
“I definitely think it’s something that should happen,” Paul said while attending a pep rally and press conference at a New Orleans grade school, where he was inducted into the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation ambassador program.
“Obviously All-Star Weekend is all about the fans and showcasing our game to the entire world, but it would be nice to get a little break,” the Clippers guard said. “Not saying the all stars are unhappy or ungrateful for being all stars, but to enjoy your family for a couple days would be nice.”
Silver — also busy Thursday making the rounds in New Orleans, including opening the annual Jam Session at the city’s convention center — said he supports the idea. Silver also spoke about it in the offseason with other NBA players, including Miami’s LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
“I said, ‘We’d be happy to look into it,’ ” Silver said. “The notion is that, in addition to the All-Star Game and the events itself, there would be a break built into the schedule. Maybe we could resume play on Thursday night, later in the week, to insure that the All-Stars got time off as well.”
Matt Winick, the NBA’s senior vice president of scheduling and game operations, said Thursday that under the current agreement between the league and the players, the only provision is that teams that play on the Thursday before All-Star Weekend aren’t booked to play again until the following Wednesday. This year, that applies to Brooklyn, Chicago, Oklahoma City and the Los Angeles Lakers, who were active in TNT’s doubleheader.
