Basketball Is Beside the Point During N.B.A. All-Star Weekend


In the corner, a disc jockey who appeared to be in his 60s spun tunes in a Hawaiian shirt and red-tinted glasses, while women wearing bright red dresses passed out hors d’oeuvres. Agents, clients and marketing honchos milled about the room.

But none of this is meant to suggest that deals do not get done.

On Thursday night, at a downtown hotel bar where patrons sipped $25 cocktails, a crowd of very tall men gathered as a private event wound down at a nearby steakhouse. Among the luminaries who emerged from the event: Adam Silver, the N.B.A. commissioner; Kroenke, who also owns the Los Angeles Rams; Brian Rolapp, the N.F.L.’s chief media and business officer; Bill Simmons, the founder of The Ringer; Connor Schell, ESPN’s executive vice president for content; and Bob Myers, the general manager of the Golden State Warriors.

“There are definitely conversations happening,” Morey said. “And there’s serendipity involved. You’re always bumping into people.”

Morey was finishing lunch at an upscale restaurant. Warren LeGarie, a longtime agent to many coaches and executives, and Kiki Vandeweghe, the league’s executive vice president for basketball operations, were dining at nearby tables. Morey was about to head into a meeting with Vandeweghe and Monty McCutchen, who supervises the league’s referees.

“Obviously, we care deeply about where the league is going,” Morey said, “so talking to Adam Silver about strategy or Monty McCutchen about changing how they might call certain things — all that kind of stuff could impact our franchise moving forward, so I try to be involved.”

The atmosphere may seem more relaxed than it was two years ago, when most team executives and agents were focused on the trade deadline, but the shift in the schedule has not pushed aside the league’s most pressing issues.

In Charlotte, a cloud loomed over the festivities, and it came in the shape of a unibrow.

Perhaps you have heard? Anthony Davis, the star center for the Pelicans, requested a trade 10 days before the deadline.



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