Just be honest, that’s all Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy is asking.
We all know why the NBA is playing this season: Money. Everyone was on the same page — owners, players, coaches, referees, league staff, even media members — the NBA is a business and the league had to adapt to keep the cash flow going. Just like nearly every other business in America in the past year. Van Gundy just wants the league to own that, he said on The Intersection podcast with Jason Page.
“The one thing I will criticize the league office and other people who say… ‘Safety is our No. 1 concern.” No, no. It’s your number two concern,” Stan Van Gundy said. “Your number one concern is making money, and your number two concern is while we’re making the money let’s keep everyone as safe as we can. Let’s just be honest about that.”
Van Gundy’s honesty extends to whether the All-Star Game should have been played last weekend.
“The easy answer is it would have been a lot safer not to play, but here’s the thing: It probably would have been a lot safer not to play this season. Right?” Van Gundy said. “The bottom line is we’re playing this, all of us… for the same reason: money. And the All-Star Game is just an extension of that. It’s more money in everybody’s pockets.
“So I think it’s disingenuous to say that we’re all so concerned about safety that the game shouldn’t be played, we’re not that concerned about safety or we wouldn’t be doing what we’re doing now.”
Van Gundy never holds back and talks about social media, politics, and of course, some hoops with Page on the podcast. It’s worth checking out.