With commissioner Adam Silver recently revealing how China demanded for the termination of Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey following the latter's controversial tweet, the NBA has taken the offensive on this gripping issue.

For their part, the Chinese vehemently denied any request made to remove Morey from his post, and naturally, has taken offense with Silver's recent statement. As a matter of fact, according to Catherine Wong of the South China Morning Post, the Chinese state media are reportedly incensed with Silver, and have warned him to expect some form of retribution.

“Silver has spared no effort to portray himself as a fighter for free speech and used freedom of speech as an excuse to cover for Morey, who voiced his support for the violent actors in Hong Kong,” it said. “This has crossed the bottom line of the Chinese people.”

Silver’s handling of the controversy had proved his “double standards”, the broadcaster said, adding that he had “defamed” China on the international stage.

“To please some American politicians, Silver has fabricated lies out of nothing and has sought to paint China as unforgiving,” it said.

The way in which the NBA boss had defended Morey showed he had “problems in his character”, the report said, adding that he “will receive retribution sooner or later”.

This issue just gets bigger and bigger by the day, and at this point, it's honestly hard to imagine how this will unfold moving forward. What we are sure of right now is that the relationship between the NBA and China has been completely botched, and that it does seem that it is now beyond repair.