Pat McAfee is running away with the title if there’s a podcast league out there. First, it was LeBron James pulling up to the studio. That clip? Forever engraved in our heads. Then came another power move. This time, it was Adam Silver on the screen. Not in person, but close enough. The NBA Commissioner dropped by via video call—and yes, he talked.
Now, were they top-secret files? Not really. But throw in a few hot takes and boom—instant conspiracy fuel. Naturally, the moment called for one thing—a deep dive into the chaos that is the Luka Doncic trade.
Adam Silver removes the curtain from all the rumors around Luka Doncic’s Lakers trade
Pat McAfee wanted to know what the Commissioner thought when he realized that two of the biggest stars, Luka Doncic and LeBron James, would be on the same team. Besides, the Lakers were moving Anthony Davis to Dallas! What on earth was going on February 1? But before diving in, Adam Silver clarified the truth of the matter at hand.
“So first, just to clarify, the Commissioner doesn’t have the right to block a trade other than a trade not conforming to our rules,” the boss confirmed. “And you alluded to David Stern once blocked a trade, but it was — I get how confusing it was to fans — but he was both the Commissioner and the acting owner of the New Orleans franchise at the time. A trade was recommended to him by the general manager, and he turned down that trade based on what he thought was in the best interest of that franchise.”
Back in 2010, the NBA bought the Hornets for $300 million, making David Stern the boss of that franchise. So, when the Chris Paul trade came up, he had the power—and used it—to shut it down. Ironically, he approved a CP3 move to the Clippers just months later. Fans hoped Adam Silver could pull the same strings with Luka, but this time, the league had no such control.
“The commissioner doesn’t have the right to block a trade unless it doesn’t conform to our rules..
David Stern blocked that trade but he was both the commissioner & the acting owner of the New Orleans franchise at that time..
He turned down that trade based on what he felt was… pic.twitter.com/WuPaT85DvP
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 17, 2025
“But in this situation with Luka, the league office learns a little bit ahead of the public because, to the point of leagues approving trades, it’s kind of like a closing at a house,” Adam Silver said. “Both teams have to be on the phone. The lawyers and the basketball folks at the league office have to make sure that the contracts match, that the team indeed does have the cap room to make the trade, and that it complies with our rules.”
When Luka was on the move, many fans implored Adam Silver to step in and veto the trade. It’s not like something of this sort hasn’t happened in the past, right? However, Silver admitted he had no authority to interfere, unlike David Stern, who famously blocked the Chris Paul trade to the Lakers. Both blockbuster trades had the Lakers in the spotlight, but that’s where the similarities end. Unlike the chaos of past deals, the Lakers-Mavericks exchange checked every box in the league’s playbook. Clean. Legal. No smoke, no mirrors.
“So I learned when they called the trade into the league office. Again, I don’t really have a role in that process other than if there’s somehow a dispute as to the mechanism of the trade,” the NBA Commissioner concluded. Hopefully, Adam Silver’s confession will now put an end to the ongoing rumors and interesting conspiracy theories that are creeping into the basketball world, slowly but with full force.
This is a developing story…
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