In the continuing fallout of the controversy between the NBA and China that stemmed from a tweet from Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey showing support for Hong Kong, commissioner Adam Silver addressed the issue for the first time since returning from Asia at a Time Magazine event on Thursday.

Fielding questions from Robin Roberts, Silver revealed that he was asked by the Chinese government to fire Morey and that there’s “no chance that’s happening.”

“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. “We said there’s no chance that’s happening. There’s no chance we’ll even discipline him.”

You can watch Silver’s interview in the video below (the comments about Morey begin around the 1:30 mark).

Silver also addressed the financial ramifications of the conflict with China, saying the NBA has already suffered considerable losses and suggesting it may continue into the season.

“The losses have already been substantial,” Silver 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.”

Lost revenue from China could significantly impact the league moving forward, including potential hits to player earnings if the salary cap is affected. This will continue to be an important story to track with the NBA regular season set to begin on Tuesday.