Adam Silver dismisses conspiracy talk surrounding Luka Doncic trade

SAN FRANCISCO — Adam Silver tried to quell any conspiracy theories about the stunning trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers, saying Saturday that he had no prior knowledge of the deal while declaring the Mavericks had “no ulterior motives” to unload their franchise player.“I am sympathetic to the Mavericks organization,” Silver said in his annual All-Star weekend news conference.“I can say one thing for sure — whether or not history will judge this as a smart trade, they did what they thought was in the best interest of the organization.

I absolutely have no belief or knowledge there were ulterior motives.“There’s no doubt in my mind the [Mavericks owners] bought that team to keep it in Dallas.

I have no doubt whatsoever they’re committed to the long-term success of that franchise.And in terms of the Dallas fans, all I can tell them is time will tell whether it’s a smart trade.

But I think they should believe in their organization.”The decision to send Doncic, one of the five best players in basketball, to the NBA’s marquee franchise was met with swift and loud backlash from the Mavericks fan base, which targeted general manager Nico Harrison in protests outside the arena.It led to accusations that the new owners, the Dumont-Adelson families, were plotting a relocation to Las Vegas since they own casinos.Anthony Davis, who the Mavericks acquired for Doncic, is already injured with a recovery timeline of at least weeks.“I’m not in a position to second-guess [the trade],” Silver said.Despite previously acknowledging the glut of 3-point shooting potentially impacting the aesthetics and entertainment of the game, Silver indicated he won’t make changes to curb what he had called “cookie cutter” offenses.“We’re paying a lot of attention to it,” Silver said.

“I’m never going to say there’s never room for improvement.We’ll continue to look at it and study it, but I am happy with the state of the game right now.”...