irishock
01-28-2014, 01:52 PM
MIAMI -- LeBron James (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/1966/lebron-james) hopes to have a meeting with incoming NBA commissioner Adam Silver to discuss some issues he has with the league, the Heat (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/mia/miami-heat) star said after practice Tuesday.
James said he didn't want to make public the list of topics he wants to discuss, but the league's reigning MVP said he had been thinking about them for some time.
"Hopefully I can sit down with the commish and just throw out some ideas where I hope the league can be better," James said as the Heat prepared to face the Oklahoma City Thunder (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/okc/oklahoma-city-thunder) on Wednesday night (8 ET, ESPN). "Hopefully he has some ideas for me."
“http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/nba/players/full/1966.png&w=65&h=90&scale=crop&background=0xcccccc&transparent=falseIt's not a major change, but the game can always be bigger. There's a lot of people who love the game who can't watch the game, so hopefully we can (expand it).
”-- LeBron James, on Adam Silver taking over for David SternSilver will take over for David Stern on Saturday, the first time in 30 years the league has had a change in leadership. James slowly has been getting more personally involved in league business. He attended negotiating sessions during the 2011 lockout, and last year he considered running for president of the players' union before deciding against it.
"It's not a major change, but the game can always be bigger," James said. "There's a lot of people who love the game who can't watch the game, so hopefully we can [expand it]."
James said he's gotten to know Silver a little in recent years and has been impressed by him.
"The opportunities I've had to be around him as he's been the assistant commish, he's been easy to talk to," James said. "He understands the business and someone who understands what the game means to everyone -- the whole pie. Best of luck to him, hopefully he can get 30 years in, too."
Though Stern hasn't been hugely popular with the players as his tenure has seen two labor stoppages, James had nothing but positive things to say about the man who has handed him four MVP Awards and two NBA Finals MVPs in recent years.
"David has been great," James said. "Obviously we had a lockout, but at the end of the day the players want more and the owners want more and we all want more. You can't knock what David has done. He came in in the '80s and build the game into what it is today. Can you name a commissioner who is better than him and what he's done? I don't know think so."
Also on Tuesday, Heat guard Dwyane Wade (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/1987/dwyane-wade) had a successful practice and said he expects to play against the Thunder. After missing four games with knee pain, Wade came off the bench for the first time in six years in the Heat's victory against the San Antonio Spurs (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/sa/san-antonio-spurs) on Sunday. There has been some speculation that Wade would stay in the role as he continues to battle some inconsistency in his knees, but he seemed to slam that issue shut.
"I haven't come off the bench since the 2008 Olympics," Wade said. "Trying to get back in the groove, I didn't want to come out and mess anything up. So I asked coach [Erik Spoelstra] to [bring me off the bench], but I didn't ask him to do it for the whole year. We can quit that conversation right now. It was something I did for that game. I'll get back to my role [Wednesday]."
James said he didn't want to make public the list of topics he wants to discuss, but the league's reigning MVP said he had been thinking about them for some time.
"Hopefully I can sit down with the commish and just throw out some ideas where I hope the league can be better," James said as the Heat prepared to face the Oklahoma City Thunder (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/okc/oklahoma-city-thunder) on Wednesday night (8 ET, ESPN). "Hopefully he has some ideas for me."
“http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/nba/players/full/1966.png&w=65&h=90&scale=crop&background=0xcccccc&transparent=falseIt's not a major change, but the game can always be bigger. There's a lot of people who love the game who can't watch the game, so hopefully we can (expand it).
”-- LeBron James, on Adam Silver taking over for David SternSilver will take over for David Stern on Saturday, the first time in 30 years the league has had a change in leadership. James slowly has been getting more personally involved in league business. He attended negotiating sessions during the 2011 lockout, and last year he considered running for president of the players' union before deciding against it.
"It's not a major change, but the game can always be bigger," James said. "There's a lot of people who love the game who can't watch the game, so hopefully we can [expand it]."
James said he's gotten to know Silver a little in recent years and has been impressed by him.
"The opportunities I've had to be around him as he's been the assistant commish, he's been easy to talk to," James said. "He understands the business and someone who understands what the game means to everyone -- the whole pie. Best of luck to him, hopefully he can get 30 years in, too."
Though Stern hasn't been hugely popular with the players as his tenure has seen two labor stoppages, James had nothing but positive things to say about the man who has handed him four MVP Awards and two NBA Finals MVPs in recent years.
"David has been great," James said. "Obviously we had a lockout, but at the end of the day the players want more and the owners want more and we all want more. You can't knock what David has done. He came in in the '80s and build the game into what it is today. Can you name a commissioner who is better than him and what he's done? I don't know think so."
Also on Tuesday, Heat guard Dwyane Wade (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/1987/dwyane-wade) had a successful practice and said he expects to play against the Thunder. After missing four games with knee pain, Wade came off the bench for the first time in six years in the Heat's victory against the San Antonio Spurs (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/sa/san-antonio-spurs) on Sunday. There has been some speculation that Wade would stay in the role as he continues to battle some inconsistency in his knees, but he seemed to slam that issue shut.
"I haven't come off the bench since the 2008 Olympics," Wade said. "Trying to get back in the groove, I didn't want to come out and mess anything up. So I asked coach [Erik Spoelstra] to [bring me off the bench], but I didn't ask him to do it for the whole year. We can quit that conversation right now. It was something I did for that game. I'll get back to my role [Wednesday]."