Adam Silver on All-Star Game: 'Sounds Like We're Going to Have a Televised Draft Next Year'
NBA commissioner Adam Silver told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne that it seems like the league will televise the All-Star draft for 2019.
The league switched the format of the game this year and had captains pick teams instead of dividing the 24 players by conference. LeBron James was given the top pick as the top overall vote-getter and Steph Curry chose next as the top vote-getter from the Western Conference. James and Curry picked from the pool of starters, which were voted in based on a combination of fan, media and player votes, and then Curry was given the first pick among the reserves, who were decided on by the coaches.
When the league initially announced plans to hold a draft, many expected that it would be televised, like the NHL and NFL did when they attempted this format, but the league reportedly held off on doing that because the players and the NBPA were not in full agreement.
"When we sat with the union and we came up with this format, we all agreed, let's not turn something that's 100 percent positive into a potential negative to any player" Silver told Shelburne. "But then ... maybe we're overly conservative, because then we came out of there, and the players were, 'We can take it. We're All-Stars. Let's have a draft.' So it sounds like we're going to have a televised draft next year."
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In the lead-up to the draft and the announcement of the teams, multiple players said they would be in favor of a televised draft, including James and Curry.
Some information about the picks was eventually released or reported. James revealed the order he chose his starters after his team picked up a 148-145 win, ESPN's Chris Haynes reported who the last two picks of the draft were and ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported that Klay Thompson was the first reserve picked.
Next year however, it seems likely that we will get to see the selections happen right in front of our eyes.
