NBA boss unhappy with Simmons-Harden trade

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has expressed his unhappiness with the Ben Simmons-James Harden trade deal, saying he regretted being powerless to do anything about it.

Silver said players being unhappy with their teams and asking for trades was nothing new, but said on Saturday a player taking the stance Simmons did with the Philadelphia 76ers - refusing to play knowing he would be fined - was more complicated.

"I don't have something specific in mind that can prevent a situation like this," Silver said. "But I think we and the players have a collective common interest in ensuring that contracts are honoured."

He said he didn't like the circumstances that led to the blockbuster trade which saw Simmons move from Philadelphia to Brooklyn just 13 months after the Nets had acquired Harden from Houston, and couldn't hide his disappointment.

"Again, it's no secret that I've expressed my unhappiness with public trade demands," Silver said.

"In the case of Ben Simmons, I don't think - I can't think of a change to the system that to the extent you have a player that is willing to sit out and not be paid, which is the scenario we have right now," Silver said.

"I don't want to speak for Ben, but that was the posture we saw in that case of a player saying that, 'I'm unhappy in the city, and I'm not going to play.'

"And you had a team saying, 'We're not going to pay you, and there's going to be discipline.' There's a stalemate."

Silver said he was sympathetic to the players' wants, noting the additional stress caused by the pandemic, but he is also concerned for the teams and players who are affected when trade rumours leak.

"Of course, as the commissioner of this league, we want our players to be happy," he said. "We want them to find