SALT LAKE CITY — The NBA continues to be one of the most entertaining leagues in the entire world and is one of the rare sports in the news cycle for all 12 months a year. Kevin Durant has been a major contributor to that, but Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has no issue with it.
Unlike some of the other major sports, the National Basketball Association trends even in the months where no games are played mostly due to the fact that players are traded often and drama always seems to surround the league. Kevin Durant sparked the latest spike in NBA interest when he was traded out of nowhere from the Brooklyn Nets to the Phoenix Suns ahead of the NBA's trade deadline.
Over the last few days, multiple voices around the league have come out with their thoughts on player empowerment and the amount of trade requests that are happening in the league. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver took to Salt Lake City for the All-Star festivities and spoke about the Kevin Durant trade request.
“I think for fans, you don't want your team to be locked into mediocrity,” Silver said. “You want teams to be in a position with smart management where they can rebuild or make smart moves or, frankly, with both teams and players, work themselves out of bad relationships.
“That's very different than a so-called demand for a trade. I think that, in fact, the Players Association has agreed with us in our current collective bargaining agreement there are rules against making public trade demands.
“I've said that many times before. I think that's a bad thing. I think it's corrosive to the system. Certainly fans don't like it. Even lots of players don't like it as well because, ultimately, they may be going to a particular team under a belief that that player is still going to be there.”
In an exclusive interview with ClutchPoints during an NBRPA event at 2023 All-Star Weekend, Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul Jabbar, who was a 19-time NBA All-Star in his 20 seasons with the Bucks and Lakers, says he's all in favor of player empowerment.
“I'm glad the really able players get paid,” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said. “That's good to see. Everything else, it's up and down, but the players can get paid if they have anything to offer, they get paid. I'm happy for him for that reason.
“You know I just remembered, and he just died, Paul Silas and Oscar [Robertson] and those guys, you know, they didn't have like the whole summer off. They were working with the lawyers, you know, fighting for free agency. So, I don't think we showed them enough appreciation.”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar watched as Oscar Robertson and Paul Silas fought for freedom in the form of NBA free agency, which would allow the league's players to sign anywhere they saw fit.
In an interview with members of the media at All-Star Weekend, Kevin Durant echoed a different take on the league's handling of trade requests and the amount of players on the move.
“I don’t think it’s bad for the league,” Kevin Durant told reporters. “It’s bringing more eyes to the league. More people are more excited. The tweets that I got and the news hits that we got from me being traded and Kyrie being traded, just brings more attention to the league.
“And that’s really what makes you money, is when you get more attention. So I think it’s great for the league, to be honest. Teams have been trading players and making acquisitions for a long time. Now when a player can kind of dictate where he wants to go and leave in free agency or demand a trade, it’s just part of the game now. So I don’t think it’s a bad thing. It’s bringing more and more excitement to the game.”
If there's any message Kareem Abdul-Jabbar does have for today's NBA, who is now the second-leading scorer in NBA history behind LeBron James, it's to keep the league going on the right path.
“I don't think they have a whole lot of challenges, just to keep it clean,” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar explained to ClutchPoints. “The league has sold the game and the players have really impressed athletes around the world. I think that's an awesome achievement. Commissioner Silver and the guys who preceded them have done a great job of selling the game around the world now.
“Like keeping it authentic. Keeping it authentic and not letting a bad element become the face of the league. I think the league's face is a good element, there's not a lot of bad things happening.”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played his first six seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks before 14 straight to close out his career with the Los Angeles Lakers after his own trade request. Along the way, Abdul-Jabbar earned All-NBA selections 15 times, All-Defensive selections 11 times, six MVPs, six NBA championships, and two NBA Finals MVPs.
Watch the full interview with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: