Despite the controversy surrounding the NBA's play-in tournament format, it looks like this rather contentious system is here to stay. League commissioner Adam Silver has recently confirmed that he will do everything in his power to ensure that the play-in tournament becomes a permanent fixture in the NBA season.

In a recent guesting on ESPN Radio's Keyshawn, J-Will and Zubin program, Silver explained in detail why he believes that the play-in tournament is a good thing for the NBA, as well as how he intends to campaign for the same:

“I haven't made any secret that I want it to be [around long term],” Silver said. “I have two constituencies I need to convince of that. One is the 30 teams, and I think for the most part they've supported it. Again, I understand the sentiment if I were a team — a 7-seed in particular — the notion [that] after a long season, you could potentially play out of the playoffs. I understand those feelings. I think at the same time, the teams recognize the amount of additional interest we've created over the last month of the season plus those play-in games make it worth it.”

The commissioner does a good job of recognizing one of the most glaring faults of the play-in tournament. However, he was also quick to provide a key counterargument with regards to how the mini-tournament is beneficial for all parties involved.

Silver then went on to discuss the potential pain points of the play-in tournament and how he will also need to get the approval of the players:

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“Of course, the other constituency is the players. For example, one player, who is on the executive committee of the union, said to me yesterday that he really likes the play-in tournament but he felt it could potentially be a bit unfair. For example, if you were the seventh seed and you were a significant number of games ahead of the 8-seed, the notion that you could somehow lose two games and be out of the playoffs seems unfair.”

This is a truly polarizing issue that has produced a myriad of valid arguments from both ends of the spectrum. However, from purely an entertainment standpoint, one cannot deny that it also delivers a ton of added value in terms of a significant increase in interest from the audience.