Silver tells NBA team owners to take note of rest issue

MIAMI — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver sent a memo to the league’s board of governors Monday, describing the way teams are choosing to rest starters in some games as “an extremely significant issue for our league” and pressing owners to be more involved in the decision-making process. Silver also told the owners that the matter will be discussed at league meetings next month after nationally televised games on back-to-back Saturday nights were diluted by decisions to rest star players. “Decisions of this kind ... can affect fans and business partners, impact our reputation and damage the perception of our game,” Silver wrote in the memo, which was obtained by The Associated Press. “With so much at stake, it is simply not acceptable for governors to be uninvolved or to defer decision-making authority on these matters to others in their organizations.” ESPN.com first reported the contents of the memo. The rest issue has been an even hotter-than-usual talking point in the NBA of late with teams like Golden State and Cleveland — the last two NBA champions — electing to rest superstars in recent nationally televised games. Fans have complained on some occasions that they have paid a premium price to see stars play, then arrived at arenas only to find that those players are getting the game off. It also can’t sit well with the networks that paid $24 billion to the NBA in the latest television contract negotiations. “Please also be reminded that under current league rules teams are required to provide notice to the league office, their opponent and the media immediately upon a determination that a player will not participate in a game due to rest,” Silver wrote. “Failure to abide by these rules will result in significant penalties.” The Warriors chose to rest Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala for a nationally televised game against San Antonio on March 11. Coach Steve Kerr said he did it in response to a grueling stretch of the schedule that included eight games in eight different cities in 13 days. “It’s my call, and it’s the right thing to do in terms of the way the season is playing out and the way the minutes have gone and (Kevin Durant’s) injury,” Kerr said when he announced the decision after a game against Minnesota the previous night. “It’s the right thing to do, so we’re doing it.” LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love rested for Cleveland against the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night, though Irving and Love were both dealing with recent injuries. It is not a new issue, though Silver noted that its frequency has escalated this season. ‘If you can play, play’: Chris Bosh speaks out Chris Bosh never wanted to take games off as a player and would give anything to be playing right now. So he has a very simple perspective on the NBA’s rest-or-play debate . “If you can play,” Bosh said, “go out there and play.” Having the game taken away from him for what will amount to the last season-and-a-half — and counting, maybe for good — because of issues related to blood clots is still not an easy pill for Bosh to swallow. Now working as an analyst for Turner Sports, he’s seeing the game in a different way than he was just a year or so ago. He gets the players’ side. He understands the fans’ frustration. He’s acutely aware of the demands that come with playing 82 games in 170 days, and how it’s been an even hotter-than-usual talking point in the NBA of late. “I can see it in some instances,” Bosh said in an interview with The Associated Press. “But then at the same time, if you can play, play. When there’s so much work to do, it’s kind of hard to see why guys would take time off. With that said, from a player’s side, the schedule is intense. But I guess that’s part of being in the NBA. And I think what happened was when young guys start saying ‘Oh, rest,’ that kind of brought it to a tipping point a little bit.” These days, Bosh isn’t playing, nor is he resting. He’s spent about a month working with Turner on its “Players Only” Monday night broadcasts, something that gets him back around some NBA peers and into a setting where a locker-room type camaraderie reigns. The last of those five broadcasts is next week, and Bosh hasn’t ruled out more television work in the future.