The article is inaccurate. Grant Long is not a first year guy on tv. He has had
experience broadcasting for the Hawks. I remember hearing him talk a little about Stromile Swift during a few games as they were teammates in Vancouver.
Interesting thread though! I never liked Don Poier at all, and I had a lot more fun listening to Pete Pranica when I was following the Griz. I thought Pranica was non-judgemental about the Griz players, which I appreciated.
Some of my least favorite play by play guys are Mike Breen, Joel Myers, and most of all Bill Worrell of the Rockets. Hearing Worrell gush all over Juwan Howard was sickening.
Sean Tuohy might be my least favorite of all color commentators, but I also can't stand Matt Bullard of the Rockets. His comments to me show a real lack of deep thinking. He seems childish and I found it extremely irritating. Another one I really dislike is Michael Smith of the Clippers. He lets his feelings about players affect his commentary too much, which I think is unprofessional. He doesn't like Stromile Swift and he never misses a chance to take shots at him, and even his more positive comments on Swift have been slanted in a negative way.
Actually I can say that I dislike most of the color commentators in the NBA. There is a short list of those I can tolerate and even enjoy: Steve 'snapper' Jones, Phil Chanier (wizards), and Stu Lantz of the Lakers who more than just about any other commentator is respectful towards Swift even
when Swift is on the losing end of a big play. Keeping an environment of mutual respect, love for the game, and fun, without being condescending, overly judgemental, and insulting is what I look for in announcers and most of them don't do a good job.
I really really enjoyed Hersey Hawkins as color commentator for the Griz. He was fair with the players, gave some insights, but had a very loosey-goosey style that kept things light hearted and fun.