Adam Silver's 40-Minute NBA Plan Sparks Massive Fan Outrage

"Inexcusable and semi-reprehensible."

That is how Bill Simmons, founder of The Ringer, described NBA Commissioner Adam Silver's refusal to shorten the league's regular season.

Simmons made his case on Tuesday's episode of "The Bill Simmons Podcast."

His argument centered on the league's 82-game schedule, which has been in place since the 1967-68 season.

The only exceptions have been seasons shortened by labor disputes or other disruptions.

Simmons did not hold back.

"Listen, I don't know how many times I've talked about this on the pod about the schedule and about how this, to me, is just inexcusable and semi-reprehensible that whoever is in charge of the league, which I think is Adam Silver these days, that he doesn't care," Simmons said.

He continued: "You're ruining your players … and you're hurting careers, and you're shortening careers."

Simmons proposed a specific solution.

"This should be a 70-game season," he said.

He claimed that everyone who plays basketball agrees.

"And if you talk to literally everybody who plays basketball, all of them would say the season needs to be shorter," Simmons said.

He then leveled a serious accusation at Silver and the league's owners.

"And if you don't do it at this point, I just think it's negligent," Simmons said.

"I really do. I think it's actual negligence and greed."

The timing of Simmons' criticism is tied to a major financial development for the NBA.

The league has 30 franchises and is exploring expansion into Las Vegas and Seattle.

In March, the NBA's Board of Governors voted unanimously to explore expansion in both cities.

The league also retained an investment bank to evaluate the markets, arenas, potential ownership groups and other economic factors.

Any expansion would require approval from the league's current owners.

Silver has said the league hopes to resolve the expansion discussion by the end of the year.

In March, Silver said there is "absolutely a chance" that expansion does not occur, or could only occur in one city.

If both cities join, the NBA would expand from 30 to 32 teams.

Simmons focused on the money those expansion fees would bring.

"The question for me is, you're gonna make all this money … that's gonna be $9.5 billion for the [Las Vegas] expansion team," Simmons said.

"They're gonna get a second thing from Seattle, which is gonna be $7.5 (billion), something like that," he added.

"So all these owners are getting, I don't know, $16 billion in expansion fees," Simmons said.

Those figures are his estimates.

In March, the New York Post reported that expansion fees could range from $7 billion to $10 billion per team.

The money would go to the NBA's current owners rather than being shared with players.

Simmons questioned why the league would refuse to use that windfall to reduce the schedule.

Cutting 12 games from each team's schedule would also mean fewer home dates.

That would mean fewer opportunities to sell tickets and concessions.

Owners would have to accept lower revenue from those games.

Simmons argued the expansion fees more than compensate for that loss.

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson is also pushing for Seattle's return.

Ferguson is set to meet virtually with Silver on Thursday, according to reports.

This would be at least their third meeting this year.

Ferguson first met with Silver on Feb. 5 in a virtual introduction he had requested.

They met again in March as the league moved closer to formally exploring expansion.

The first meeting came a month after Ferguson used his State of the State address to call for the SuperSonics' return.

Seattle has been without an NBA franchise since the SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008.

The SuperSonics won the NBA championship in 1979.

"I still remain optimistic," Ferguson said during a news conference at the state Capitol.

"I follow the same news that you do, you know, about what's going on with Las Vegas and Seattle," Ferguson said.

Ferguson said an offer put forward by Seattle investors is "strong."

He said the city checks "each and every box that the NBA could possibly hope for."

"My role in this is to maintain communication with the commissioner," Ferguson said.

"My suspicion is, we reached out to make sure that I'm doing what I can to be helpful in that process, to bring a team back to Seattle," he added.

Fans responding to news of the latest meeting were less optimistic.

"Well that seals it… Sonics ain't comin' back," one fan wrote.

Another fan added: "It's over."

"Oh, we're doomed," a third fan commented.

One observer was particularly critical of Washington state.

"We all know there is zero chance of the Sonics coming back to this mess of a state," that person wrote.