Getty Commissioner Adam Silver speaks during a press conference prior to the preseason game between Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors.
News of the NBA investigating the Philadelphia 76ers over possible tampering isn’t sitting well with fans. They took to Twitter en masse to voice their displeasure. Their top target? Commissioner Adam Silver.
From a practical standpoint, it makes sense to blame Silver since he is the one overseeing the investigation. There’s more to it, of course. Silver and Sixers fans have history. The Philly faithful still haven’t forgiven the commish for his alleged role in “killing Sam Hinkie.”
Adam Silver is gonna get tried for war crimes the next time he sets foot in Philadelphia
Remember, the league didn’t appreciate Hinkie’s tanking strategy, and some believe Silver forced the former Sixers general manager to resign in 2016. He was replaced by Bryan Colangelo who plunged the franchise into controversy after his BurnerGate scandal. It’s been extremely hard to forgive and forget that mess. Especially when it appeared as if Hinkie’s plan was just starting to work. The jury is still out on that, and the door forever closed.
All-Star center Joel Embiid has defended Hinkie in interviews and, unpromoted, referenced BurnerGate this season right after the trade deadline.
“I’ve been through a lot. Whether you talk about freaking GMs using burner accounts, talking trash on their players,” Embiid told reporters on March 2. “I’ve always thought that I’d always have one coach for the rest of my career in Coach [Brett] Brown, and obviously you change, and I’ve seen so many players.
“I remember my first two or three years, we had probably over 80 players in one year — just guys coming in, guys getting cut. It’s hard. It’s hard to keep that culture. So, I wouldn’t say it’s all about me. Obviously, I’ve been here the longest and I’ve been lucky enough to keep going through trade deadlines and not getting traded and all that stuff.”
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Sixers Fans Let the Commish Have It
It was getting pretty ugly on Twitter on Friday night, following reports of a league investigation into the Sixers. Fans accused the commish of “hating Philly” and being mad over not getting invited to Michael Rubin’s 4th of July party.
Silver loves “screwing” the Sixers. And he should be tried for “war crimes.”
@wojespn Bring it Adam Silver
Speaking Out Against Players Forcing Trades
Silver has long been for “player empowerment” and a strong proponent of free agency, but there are limits. He is drawing a line in the sand when it comes to a sudden rash of players requesting to be traded while still under contract. For example, Kevin Durant.
Silver explained it this way during a press conference at the Las Vegas Summer League on July 13:
“Look, this needs to be a two-way street,” the commissioner said, signaling as in the past that he expects the issue to come up in talks for the next collective bargaining agreement. “Teams provide enormous security and guarantees to players and the expectation is, in return, they will meet their end of the bargain.
“I’m realistic that there’s always conversations that are going to go on behind closed doors. … But we don’t like to see players requesting trades, and we don’t like to see it playing out the way it is.”
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Sixers Twitter Goes Nuclear on NBA Commish Adam Silver