Adam Silver was asked by Economic Club President David Rubenstein whether he is okay with teams having three superstars and if that's good for the NBA.

Silver gave an answer that suggested he is more comfortable with the Oklahoma City Thunder model of drafting Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden than he is the model of the Golden State Warriors in which they drafted Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green before signing Durant with cap space.

"You know, it's an interesting question," said Silver. "To me, it depends how that team is developed. I think that most people would agree if you draft those players and you develop them into superstars, that's a good thing. I think that in a situation where a superstar is joining a team that is already a so-called loaded team and a great team, that I think, people in terms of wanting parity in the league, that's not ideal.

"I don't want to take anything away from the Golden State Warriors because that's the team, of course, I'm talking about. But I think that's where the collective bargaining agreement comes in because the collective bargaining agreement isn't just designed to determine how much players make but to create competition throughout the league. Because think about if you're a player being drafted into the NBA, you don't want to be drafted by a team that has no chance of winning either."

The Thunder traded away Harden in 2012 in part due to luxury tax concerns when he was up for a rookie scale contract extension following the extensions signed by Durant and Westbrook.

Both the Warriors and Thunder have exorbitant luxury tax bills this season.