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COLUMN: Dissecting Adam Silver’s WNBA comments

By Alex Simon

WASHINGTON - JULY 14: (L-R) NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver talks with Alana Beard #20 of the Washington Mystics during the WNBA Nike Court Refurbishment press conference on July 14, 2007 at the Boys and Girls Club Clubhouse 14 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2007 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON - JULY 14: (L-R) NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver talks with Alana Beard #20 of the Washington Mystics during the WNBA Nike Court Refurbishment press conference on July 14, 2007 at the Boys and Girls Club Clubhouse 14 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2007 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON – JULY 14: (L-R) NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver talks with Alana Beard #20 of the Washington Mystics during the WNBA Nike Court Refurbishment press conference on July 14, 2007 at the Boys and Girls Club Clubhouse 14 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2007 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – JULY 14: (L-R) NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver talks with Alana Beard #20 of the Washington Mystics during the WNBA Nike Court Refurbishment press conference on July 14, 2007 at the Boys and Girls Club Clubhouse 14 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2007 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Looking into the macro trends and takeaways from Adam Silver’s comments on the WNBA.

It’s crazy to think about how rapidly the news cycle swallows storylines up and spits them out for something else. At times, it’s hard to even get a chance to formulate a well-thought-out stance on some things before they’ve become irrelevant in the national dialogue.

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In fact, it’s now been three weeks since NBA Commissioner Adam Silver went on ESPN’s “Get Up!” morning television show and was asked by host Michelle Beadle about making the WNBA more profitable, or as Beadle put it, “growing the pie and getting them paid.”

Silver’s response was essentially a 100-second thought dump, spilling out a wide variety of ideas, tangents and tidbits dripping with intrigue and leaving many eyebrows raised. But perhaps nothing he said is more interesting than this:

“We have a lot of empty seats in our buildings. The ratings have been decent on ESPN, but it’s been harder to come to the games, maybe because the games are in the summer. One of the things we’re talking about is, ‘Do we need to shift to the so-called more natural basketball season of the fall and winter?’ That may be part of the issue.”

The WNBA’s schedule can be split off into three parts: the Draft and preseason in April and early-May, the 34-game regular season from mid-May to early-September, and the four-round postseason from around the second week of September to early October.

The beauty in the schedule, for women’s basketball fans, is in the fact that it runs counter to the rest of the global women’s basketball schedule, which for some in Asia and Europe ended as recently as a few weeks ago.

Furthermore, as ESPNW’s Katie Barnes pointed out in response to Silver’s comments, those leagues end up paying significantly more for the top talent, most notably when Diana Taurasi sat out in 2015 at the request of her Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg.

Yes, Silver is correct in pointing out that the women are paid more than G-League players, but the maximum amount a player can make in the WNBA is almost laughably low compared to what they could make around the world. Before even getting into other logistical issues with moving the schedule, it’s immensely clear to note that, without major changes to the pay scale, the WNBA would have a significantly diminished talent pool if they switched to the “natural basketball season.”

But there are many logistical issues involved with switching the schedule, even if there’s possible benefits. And, by looking at the other coast-to-coast women’s professional league, we can see some things the WNBA must like, but more that could be potential issues.

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