It turns out the team did the right thing before the commissioner could, or would. The Nets finally read the room, finally stood up to a recalcitrant employee named Kyrie Irving, however reluctantly, and sent him away to serve a suspension of at least five games. 

“We are of the view,” the team said in a statement, “that he is currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets.” 

Perhaps that was the push that finally pushed Irving to see the light, or to at least say the right thing, in an Instagram post late Thursday night that read in part: “To all Jewish families and communities that are hurt and affected from my post … I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize.” 

It only took the Nets a week to properly react to Irving’s social media post linking to a virulently anti-Semitic movie, and his subsequent refusals to apologize. That was a grossly glacial pace. 

It was warp speed compared to the public inaction from Adam Silver’s office. The NBA commissioner apparently decided to be Nero for Halloween, bedecked in his finest Roman gowns, blissfully fiddling while Brooklyn burned. Silver finally cleared his throat Thursday morning, finally used Kyrie Irving’s name in assessing Irving’s self-immolation. 

If you are scoring at home, that’s seven days since Irving first posted the link for his 21-plus million social media followers; five days since he doubled-down on his decision to do that; four days since Irving deleted the tweet; and one day after Irving and the Nets tried to buy their way into the Anti-Defamation League’s good graces by pledging a $1 million bribe — um, donation — paired with a non-apology statement from Irving. 

On Thursday morning, Irving once again held court and once again refused to apologize for the tweet. That performance is what finally mortified the Nets into doing the right thing; a few hours later, Irving issued his apology. Only he knows if this reflects a change of heart or an acceptance of consequence. 

If the Nets were pushed at all by Silver, the commissioner did a wonderful job camouflaging that. He called Irving’s original post “reckless” and said he was “disappointed that he has not offered an unqualified apology and more specifically denounced the vile and harmful content contained in the film he chose to publicize.” 

But he also said this: “I will be meeting with Kyrie in person in the next week to discuss the situation.” 

Beautiful. So Silver was still wearing those robes, still fiddling madly, still allowing the dumpster fire in downtown Brooklyn to rage as a yawning leadership chasm begged for his public involvement. 

Of course, it’s not clear what Silver is expecting to hear when Irving finally walks into the principal’s office, assuming the commissioner’s secretary can squeeze him into his busy schedule between lunch and calls to China. Does he want to know if Irving is truly repentant? And at this point, after waiting so long, does it even matter? 

So far, what we can draw are two inarguable conclusions: 

1. All of Irving’s nonsense in talking around the matter (“I didn’t mean to cause any harm,” was Thursday’s highlight, “I’m not the one that made the documentary.”) reflected just how difficult it was for him to actually apologize. That reluctance was so obvious even the Nets had to finally admit as much. 

2. The NBA, on Silver’s watch, was terrified of what Irving might say — or do — next. And the league tried everything to make the matter vanish with an apology. We’ll see if that happens. 

In reality, Silver already forfeited his moral authority in this matter long before the Nets reluctantly seized it. It’s one thing for the Nets, and their blinded-by-ambition caretakers Joe Tsai and Sean Marks, to enable Irving. They still hold delusions of a parade this June. 

But Silver? 

He should have done something earlier. He should have said something, anything. But not now. Not anymore. Late Thursday, before Irving’s apology, the ADL announced it was refusing to accept the Nets’ naked attempt to buy its amnesia, CEO Jonathan Greenblatt saying: “After watching the debacle of a press conference, it’s clear that Kyrie feels no accountability for his actions. ADL cannot in good conscience accept his donation.” 

That’s shouting from the ethical high ground. Silver could have held that, but it would’ve meant getting out ahead of this, would’ve meant a statement other than the spineless one the league first issued Sunday, which didn’t even mention Irving by name. It’s clear Tsai and Marks don’t have the audacity to force consequences upon their point guard unless dragged through the public square of shame. 

Silver should have. He knows better. He blew it. 

He continued to fiddle, continued to watch Brooklyn’s metaphorical blaze, and has to know it’s the Nets who are suffering for this, an exodus of disgusted fans who all know a bag job when they see it. He could’ve acted like there was some urgency to this issue, rather than spending the last week like the lead character in “Weekend at Bernie’s.” He didn’t. 

He needed to be better here. He wasn’t. His league suffers for that.