Jeff Zillgitt | USA TODAY

USA TODAY

Angered by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s pro-Hong Kong tweet, the Chinese government and partners asked the NBA to fire Morey, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told them that would not happen, Silver said on Thursday.

"We made clear that we were being asked to fire him, by the Chinese government, by the parties we dealt with, government and business," Silver said at the Time 100 Health Summit. "We said there's no chance that's happening. There's no chance we'll even discipline him."

Silver's comments underscore the tense situation for the league while it was in China last week for preseason games between the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets.

Morey’s tweet set off a geopolitical firestorm that resulted in China not showing the two Nets-Lakers games on TV or the Internet, the loss of sponsorship money and a raft of criticism for the NBA and Lakers superstar LeBron James, who criticized Morey.

The NBA is still dealing with the fallout, which will have an economic impact on the league’s bottom line. Silver indicated the losses are in the millions.

FOLLOW THE MONEY: How much is at stake for the NBA in China?

"The losses have already been substantial," he said. "Our games are not back on the air in China as we speak, and we’ll see what happens next.

"I don't know where we go from here. The financial consequences have been and may continue to be fairly dramatic."

USA TODAY

The league was concerned China might cancel the preseason games, and several events around the game, including a Special Olympics event and press conferences with Silver and players, were canceled. It was happening by the minute as China’s fury grew.

The NBA managed to subdue China’s anger, at least enough to play the games, albeit with sponsorship decals removed from the court.

Silver conceded the NBA’s initial response to the situation in China may have been too diplomatic, but ultimately, Silver stood firm in the face of pressure from China.

"These American values — we are an American business — travel with us wherever we go," Silver said. "And one of those values is free expression. We wanted to make sure that everyone understood we were supporting free expression."

Follow Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt.

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