NBA Notes: Adam Silver, contract trends, Amazon Prime

Commissioner Adam Silver made his usual preseason media rounds this week, and timing is everything.

Hours before the league’s gambling scandal dominated headlines, Silver told Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix that the NBA has been in ongoing talks with betting companies about tightening prop-bet options.

“It’s something we’re continuing to look at,” Silver said, according to The Athletic’s Devon Henderson and Mike Vorkunov.

The goal is to limit the range of player-specific wagers — the very type at the center of the current federal indictments.

The Players Association also weighed in following the arrests of Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups, and Damon Jones.

“The integrity of the game is paramount to NBA players,” the NBPA said in a statement. “But so is the presumption of innocence, and both are hindered when player popularity is misused to gain attention. We will ensure our members are protected and afforded due process.”

Contract Talk

The days of creative contract incentives may be over. The Athletic’s John Hollinger reports that under the new collective bargaining agreement, even “unlikely” bonuses now count toward the salary cap apron, discouraging teams from including them altogether.

Not one veteran deal signed this summer featured performance incentives, according to Hollinger.

That shift has also slowed some rookie-scale extensions, with players like Tari Eason, Bennedict Mathurin, and Mark Williams likely to have reached agreements under the old rules.

Amazon Prime

Hall of Fame reporter Marc Stein is heading to Amazon, but not in front of the camera.

Front Office Sports reporter Ryan Glasspiegel says the veteran insider will join Amazon Prime Video’s NBA coverage behind the scenes, helping ensure stats and storylines stay accurate before they hit the air.

Stein joins Chris Haynes and The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson as part of Amazon’s growing NBA team for its debut season covering the league.