The powerful commissioner stepped to a lectern. Chatter died down, and cameras zeroed in. Unrelenting controversy had followed him here to Atlanta. It peppered him throughout a tense news conference until, several questions in, softballs granted reprieves.
“Where does China rank when it comes to international expansion?” a reporter asked.
“China,” the commissioner said, “is a priority market.”
He went on to rave about “double-digit growth” and “potential.” He teased “some very exciting ideas, not just around a regular-season game [in China], but using media and using partnerships” to promote his sport. He described, essentially, the type of commercial strategy that would soon draw scrutiny, as the backdrop to a showdown between the NBA and an authoritarian government, a spat that altered the relationship between U.