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http://www.parade.com/news/2010/06/06-6-ways-to-fix-the-nba.html
(They still don't get it...but some of the posters responding to it do)
<div id="exclusiveText">Pro basketball is in need of a game change</div>
<h1>6 Ways to Fix the NBA</h1>
<div id="kicker">
by Stephen Fried
</div>
<div id="publicationDate">Published: 06/06/2010</div><div ="main">
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</div></div></div></div>Pro baseball might be America's pastime and pro
football our most popular and profitable
game, but professional basketball, our other major homegrown sport, has
the most recognizable and
exciting American athletes in the world. Yet at the same time, the
National Basketball Association
(NBA) is facing one of its most challenging moments ever.
The league is finishing what commissioner David Stern concedes to
PARADE is its most
economically disastrous season ever -- $400 million in the red, nearly
twice what it has lost in
tough years before. Fewer fans are going to games, the result of a bad
economy but also of what a
veteran NBA observer calls "too many meaningless games, too many
watered-down rosters." The
competitive balance of the league could be further upset on July 1, when
LeBron James and the most
gifted group of hoops free agents ever will be able to switch teams. And
next year's expiration of
the collective bargaining agreement raises the possibility of a new
relationship among the NBA, its
players, and its fans, along with the threat of a strike or lockout. As a
season-ticket holder for
the Philadelphia 76ers and a die-hard fan, I'm concerned about what the
future holds for the
league, but I'm also intrigued by the prospects for change.
NBA attendance was soft again this year -- 18 of 30 teams saw a drop
-- and the only reason
the numbers weren't worse was the desperate ploys some teams used to
fill seats. At 76ers games,
traditional halftime entertainment has been almost entirely replaced by
local school dance troupes,
whose members and families are charged admission and urged to sell
tickets themselves.
When I ask about the empty seats, commissioner Stern answers: "What
the attendance shows is
that markets are very different. Some are more sensitive to the quality
of the product on the
floor," seemingly acknowledging that some fans are staying home because
of weak games. However, he
points to tweaks the NBA made this year that created faster and
higher-scoring games. Stern is also
encouraged by the league's explosive growth both online and abroad and
promises, "Over the next
several years, you'll see an NBA with divisions in Europe." He places
much of the blame for the
league's problems on contractual issues, including guaranteed salaries
that have locked teams into
paying players exorbitant sums of money. The NBA's economic structure
"does not work," he says,
"and we need a sustainable business model."
The balance of power within the NBA has been skewed for a while. In
the past few years,
perhaps only five teams have seriously contended for championships, and
in the past 26 years, only
seven cities have enjoyed victory parades. Compare that to the NFL,
where nine different teams have
won Super Bowls in a dozen years. And the amazing free-agent class up
for grabs next month -- which
also includes Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Dirk Nowitzki -- could lead
to a greater disparity in
talent, since the same handful of teams are likely to stockpile the
All-Stars.
Even more important to the NBA's future is the 2011 expiration of
the collective bargaining
agreement, which establishes the rules for the division of revenues,
player contracts, trades, and
the salary cap. While stalled talks could lead to a strike or lockout --
the last one wrecked the
1998-99 season with the cancellation of 30-plus games -- few believe
that will happen. But as
negotiations heat up, the NBA is heading into a fascinating period when
there are more
chances to change, improve, or mess up the game than ever before. "We
need to grow this game," says
superagent David Falk, who represented Michael Jordan and reps other top
players today. The changes
are "going to be very, very extreme, because I think the times are
extreme."
Stern says changes are up to the league's rules committee but admits
to one "quirk as a fan."
He thinks the offensive interference rules should be abolished, letting
"anyone do anything with
the ball above the rim." Here, according to a few NBA watchers, are six
more ways to revive the
sport we love -- some practical, some improbable, all worth considering.
SIX SAVES
1. CHANGE THE FOUL-OUT RULES.
"Instead of ejecting a player after six foul," says agent Steve
Mountain, who represents
Orlando's Jameer Nelson, "assess a technical for fouls six and seven,
and eject after eight. This
would keep the best players in the game longer."
2. INCREASE SCORING.
"Shorten the 24-second shot clock to 20 seconds to make for more
possessions," Falk says. "Or
create a four-point play. People thought the three-point shot would
destroy the game, but it added
to it instead."
3. RAISE THE AGE LIMIT.
"You should have to be out of high school for three years to play in
the NBA," Falk says.
Playing college hoops would allow athletes to develop a fan base that
they could carry with them
into the pros.
4. ENCOURAGE QUIRK.
"There's a reason why Charles Barkley, who is retired, is still
getting endorsements," says
Sports Illustrated writer Jon Wertheim, who has covered the NBA
for 13 years, "and, say,
Tim Duncan and Carmelo Anthony aren't. Today, the players with
personality often have the color
bleached out of them." Blogger Bethlehem Shoals of FanHouse.com advises,
"They should Twitter all
the time. It could be a lifeline to these guys' personalities."
5. CHANGE THE TRADE RULES.
"Eliminate or significantly reduce rules that require salaries of
traded players to match
up," Mountain says.
6. SHORTEN THE SEASON.
The NBA's season comprises 82 games. Reducing the number of contests
could make each one
matter much more to players and fans alike. As Falk explains, "In pro
football, there are only 16
games, so every game is critical."
(They still don't get it...but some of the posters responding to it do)
<div id="exclusiveText">Pro basketball is in need of a game change</div>
<h1>6 Ways to Fix the NBA</h1>
<div id="kicker">
by Stephen Fried
</div>
<div id="publicationDate">Published: 06/06/2010</div><div ="main">
<div id="auto-related--container">
<div id="cen">
<div id="HP--center">
<div ="main-col-left">
<div ="inner-col-left">
<div id="slideshowContainer">
<div ="photoContainer">
<div ="related-line">
</div>
<div ="inner-col-right">
</div>
</div>
<div ="main-col-right">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div></div></div></div>Pro baseball might be America's pastime and pro
football our most popular and profitable
game, but professional basketball, our other major homegrown sport, has
the most recognizable and
exciting American athletes in the world. Yet at the same time, the
National Basketball Association
(NBA) is facing one of its most challenging moments ever.
The league is finishing what commissioner David Stern concedes to
PARADE is its most
economically disastrous season ever -- $400 million in the red, nearly
twice what it has lost in
tough years before. Fewer fans are going to games, the result of a bad
economy but also of what a
veteran NBA observer calls "too many meaningless games, too many
watered-down rosters." The
competitive balance of the league could be further upset on July 1, when
LeBron James and the most
gifted group of hoops free agents ever will be able to switch teams. And
next year's expiration of
the collective bargaining agreement raises the possibility of a new
relationship among the NBA, its
players, and its fans, along with the threat of a strike or lockout. As a
season-ticket holder for
the Philadelphia 76ers and a die-hard fan, I'm concerned about what the
future holds for the
league, but I'm also intrigued by the prospects for change.
NBA attendance was soft again this year -- 18 of 30 teams saw a drop
-- and the only reason
the numbers weren't worse was the desperate ploys some teams used to
fill seats. At 76ers games,
traditional halftime entertainment has been almost entirely replaced by
local school dance troupes,
whose members and families are charged admission and urged to sell
tickets themselves.
When I ask about the empty seats, commissioner Stern answers: "What
the attendance shows is
that markets are very different. Some are more sensitive to the quality
of the product on the
floor," seemingly acknowledging that some fans are staying home because
of weak games. However, he
points to tweaks the NBA made this year that created faster and
higher-scoring games. Stern is also
encouraged by the league's explosive growth both online and abroad and
promises, "Over the next
several years, you'll see an NBA with divisions in Europe." He places
much of the blame for the
league's problems on contractual issues, including guaranteed salaries
that have locked teams into
paying players exorbitant sums of money. The NBA's economic structure
"does not work," he says,
"and we need a sustainable business model."
The balance of power within the NBA has been skewed for a while. In
the past few years,
perhaps only five teams have seriously contended for championships, and
in the past 26 years, only
seven cities have enjoyed victory parades. Compare that to the NFL,
where nine different teams have
won Super Bowls in a dozen years. And the amazing free-agent class up
for grabs next month -- which
also includes Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Dirk Nowitzki -- could lead
to a greater disparity in
talent, since the same handful of teams are likely to stockpile the
All-Stars.
Even more important to the NBA's future is the 2011 expiration of
the collective bargaining
agreement, which establishes the rules for the division of revenues,
player contracts, trades, and
the salary cap. While stalled talks could lead to a strike or lockout --
the last one wrecked the
1998-99 season with the cancellation of 30-plus games -- few believe
that will happen. But as
negotiations heat up, the NBA is heading into a fascinating period when
there are more
chances to change, improve, or mess up the game than ever before. "We
need to grow this game," says
superagent David Falk, who represented Michael Jordan and reps other top
players today. The changes
are "going to be very, very extreme, because I think the times are
extreme."
Stern says changes are up to the league's rules committee but admits
to one "quirk as a fan."
He thinks the offensive interference rules should be abolished, letting
"anyone do anything with
the ball above the rim." Here, according to a few NBA watchers, are six
more ways to revive the
sport we love -- some practical, some improbable, all worth considering.
SIX SAVES
1. CHANGE THE FOUL-OUT RULES.
"Instead of ejecting a player after six foul," says agent Steve
Mountain, who represents
Orlando's Jameer Nelson, "assess a technical for fouls six and seven,
and eject after eight. This
would keep the best players in the game longer."
2. INCREASE SCORING.
"Shorten the 24-second shot clock to 20 seconds to make for more
possessions," Falk says. "Or
create a four-point play. People thought the three-point shot would
destroy the game, but it added
to it instead."
3. RAISE THE AGE LIMIT.
"You should have to be out of high school for three years to play in
the NBA," Falk says.
Playing college hoops would allow athletes to develop a fan base that
they could carry with them
into the pros.
4. ENCOURAGE QUIRK.
"There's a reason why Charles Barkley, who is retired, is still
getting endorsements," says
Sports Illustrated writer Jon Wertheim, who has covered the NBA
for 13 years, "and, say,
Tim Duncan and Carmelo Anthony aren't. Today, the players with
personality often have the color
bleached out of them." Blogger Bethlehem Shoals of FanHouse.com advises,
"They should Twitter all
the time. It could be a lifeline to these guys' personalities."
5. CHANGE THE TRADE RULES.
"Eliminate or significantly reduce rules that require salaries of
traded players to match
up," Mountain says.
6. SHORTEN THE SEASON.
The NBA's season comprises 82 games. Reducing the number of contests
could make each one
matter much more to players and fans alike. As Falk explains, "In pro
football, there are only 16
games, so every game is critical."
