Daryl Morey, general manager of the Houston Rockets and one of the brightest NBA managers, woke up Sunday morning in Tokyo and published two tweets. One, a picture of the sunrise in the Japanese capital. The other, an image with the slogan 'Fight for freedom, supports Hong Kong'. Thus began a diplomatic crisis with China that can cost the NBA hundreds of millions of dollars.

China has been the great expansion horizon of the NBA for two decades. As in other parts of the world, the Jordan Bulls were a big boost, but the takeoff came with Yao Ming , chosen precisely by the Rockets with the number one of the 2002 draft: about 200 million people saw their first duel with Shaquille O 'Neal . On the shoulders of the great sports idol of the country, the NBA wove a vast network of businesses that today Forbes values ​​in more than 4,000 million dollars.

The first reaction of the NBA was bad. The league issued a statement in English in which he regretted that Morey's tweet had offended fans. But in the Chinese statement, she said she was "extremely disappointed" with that "inappropriate comment." A two-way game that the top leader of the NBA, Adam Silver , tried to follow in his first appearance before the press, speaking of the authoritarian tics of the Chinese Government as "cultural differences."

Not even those words as 'measures' prevented severe consequences for the NBA. Tencent , who signed a 1.5 billion contract for five seasons this summer to broadcast the NBA in China, said he will not broadcast Rockets games again. The cities have removed all the advertising posters of the pre-season friendlies, starting with the one played on Thursday by the Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets in Shanghai, and the Chinese sponsors have suspended their relationship with the league.

China censures the NBA

The crisis is above the NBA and is already another chapter of the trade war between China and the United States. Just these days, the CNN said that Donald Trump had promised China a few months ago that he would not touch the Hong Kong issue as the negotiations progressed. But this is another weapon. Senators and presidential candidates Democrats (Elizabeth Warren, Beto O'Rourke) and Republicans (Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio) criticized the NBA giving such a lukewarm response.

Only then did Adam Silver assume a tougher position and framed this diplomatic crisis in a matter of freedom of expression. "If it is the price for defending our values, we are willing to pay it." Because if there was any doubt, China itself has already made it clear: it has allowed the Lakers-Nets to be played in Shanghai, but the government has banned Silver and the players (including LeBron James) from talking to the press.

It is also not likely that the players were going to speak. On the one hand, because the NBA has closed ranks and has advised all its members not to comment on the instability of the matter. On the other, to avoid worse consequences.

The two fronts of Adam Silver

Since Silver took over the NBA in 2014, he has had two fronts: opening his hand on social issues (he expelled the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers for a racist, he took an All-Star from Charlotte for a law that discriminated against the LGTBI collective , has participated in the parade of gay pride, has allowed protests against police violence ...) and increase revenue. A new television contract, advertising on t-shirts, a percentage of bets ... In 2014 the NBA generated 4.5 billion dollars worldwide. Last season touched 8,000.

An important part of that cake is business in China, which is now in danger and will affect everyone. The NBA calculates your salary limit based on the income you expect to generate during the season. By agreement, half goes to the owners of the teams and the other half to the players. According to specialists, the reaction of televisions and sponsors has made franchises start working with decreases of up to 10% or 15% of the salary limit .

Although he will not be able to speak with the press, Adam Silver will take advantage of his visit to China to speak with the authorities and try to save a billion-dollar business for the NBA.

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