Could you imagine the NBA making players apologize for posting Tweets criticizing Trump? Remember when LeBron and others wore "I Can't Breathe" t-shirts and Adam Silver supported them?
Teams & players should be taking a strong stand here to support one of their own, but this really shows that there is a $$$ value for everything, including freedom of speech and expression.
Economic threats from a foreign government should be treated the same as military ones. I'm sure Rockets games will be back on air in an instant if US sanctions expand to completely block NBA broadcasting in China, player visas and sports apparel manufacturing.