NBA commissioner Adam Silver holds state of the league news conference

NBA commissioner Adam Silver held his annual state-of-the-league news conference on Saturday ahead of Sunday's All-Star Game at the United Center in Chicago.

The NBA and USA Basketball are still considering playing in China later this year, though the complexities of both the political rift caused by a tweet last fall and the ongoing health concerns in the world's most populous country are making those plans seem decidedly uncertain.

Silver said the discussions in both cases _ pre-Olympic games for USA Basketball and the preseason games for the NBA _ are ongoing, and said the decisions are not necessarily linked. It's possible the U.S. may play there this summer and the NBA does not send teams this fall, Silver said.

Things are not back to normal for the league when it comes to relations with China. The strain started Oct. 4, when Houston general manager Daryl Morey tweeted an image that read "Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong,'' referencing several months of pro-democracy demonstrations in the semiautonomous Chinese territory.

Silver said it's possible the NBA could lose as much as $400 million in revenue this year because of hits to the China market.

The NBA is immediately renaming the All-Star MVP trophy in honor of Kobe Bryant, the 18-time All-Star who _ along with his daughter Gianna and seven others _ died in a helicopter crash in Southern California last month.

Silver also discussed the NBA's expectations for the Basketball Africa League.