NBA Reform Ideas Thread, 2019

[threrf23]

Reformulate the supermax. Better yet scrap the super max, and replace it with super bird rights. The contract of any player signed with super bird rights does not count, or maybe half counts, towards the cap. This way, retaining players long term does not prevent a team from signing free agents.

That would make things worse wouldn't it? Imagine how good the Warriors could be if Steph Curry's contract didn't count against the cap.

But Steph's contract would have counted against the cap until he gained super bird rights (maybe 8 years with the same team?). And, for example, KD might have stuck around in OKC in this hypothetical scenario, as it would have been easier for OKC to build around him and Russ.

[CeltsfanSinceBirth]

Reformulate the supermax. Better yet scrap the super max, and replace it with super bird rights. The contract of any player signed with super bird rights does not count, or maybe half counts, towards the cap. This way, retaining players long term does not prevent a team from signing free agents.

That would make things worse wouldn't it? Imagine how good the Warriors could be if Steph Curry's contract didn't count against the cap.

But Steph's contract would have counted against the cap until he gained super bird rights (maybe 8 years with the same team?). And, for example, KD might have stuck around in OKC in this hypothetical scenario, as it would have been easier for OKC to build around him and Russ.

So then maybe OKC has the superteam then? Because if KD's contract doesnt count against the books, then they get to keep Harden.

[Taget]

Probably an unpopular opinion but.. eliminate the three point line. Can't stand players all wanting to stand by the line and afraid to go to the basket. Getting rid of it will encourage players to move around, increase the value of a post game as well as mid-range shots. The 3 point shot is an idea whose time has come and now left.

[soxfan2003]

Eliminate fully guaranteed contacts that go beyond 2 years once players are not on rookie contracts but at same time eliminate max contracts. In order to incentivize players to go along with this bump up their percentage of salary cap. More money to players overall but less money to players who are not living up to their contracts.

I would lower the amount of regular season games by around 10, add a first round bye for two top teams in each conference to reward doing well in regular season and only have 6 teams in playoffs from each conference. This would increase value of watching regular season basketball for all teams in playoffs and have teams fighting for seeds.

Have first round series only be best of 5 since you don't want the two top seeds waiting too long for a chance to play.

I would also allow teams with the highest seed in the playoffs to choose their preferred opponent in the next round among all of the teams that advance. Another advantage of trying for every regular season win.

Something needs to be done about the 3 pointer before it gets even more out of control. Part of the reason why Michael Jordan was so fun to watch early in his career is he had to try to dunk/drive in a somewhat congested paint and maneuver among trees. This game with close to zero inside play among bigs can get boring. So, I would implement a proposal to devalue 3 point shooting. May start off and say 3 point shots hit in the first 46 minutes of the game if the shooter is fouled can only lead to 2 free throws. But more aggressive steps need to be taken whether just counting them for 2.5 points or artificially limiting how many 3 pointers a team can take with the shot still counting as 3 points. I don't know the best answer but the trend of just heaving up 3 balls is not good for long run of the sport. Maybe change the rules making it easier for players to defend the 3 ball by not calling incidental contact where the defensive player really did give offensive player room to land...or just give 1 free throw instead of 3 on those minor fouls.

Basketball is more interesting if more star player make some iconic interesting moves that are not 3's or drives to the rim. 90's basketball for various reasons (expansion and players getting away with too much physicality) was often brutal too watch but now the NBA is making errors in a different direction.

I would go back to the 1960's rules when it came to traveling. I am assuming it wasn't as bad then.

I would also have pushing off on the perimeter an automatic offensive foul with referees being fired if they do not routinely call it.
I would allow replay for that and for flopping. A player flops, technical free throw for the other team. If a team loses a challenge for flopping, they lose a timeout.

[LuckyLeprechaun]

* Flex scheduling for national games starting in January of the season (the way the NFL does with Sunday night football). This will allow the NBA to not have to broadcast teams that are no longer interesting do to trades or injuries that have occurred and will also allow the NBA to:

* Remove the fines for resting healthy players. Teams like NO are well within their rights to rest guys like AD in the situation they are in. Forcing them to play him is good for no one. AD gives no effort so the fans don't get to enjoy what the see and NO is merely taking on risk.

* Get rid of the draft altogether and change the eligibility age back to 18. In place of the draft, teams can now sign rookies with cap space. If a team wants to rebuild but can't attract stars, they will be first in line to chase the "next big thing" who normally would have been a top draft pick. Meanwhile, the contending teams who are generally over the cap, will only be able to sign rookies with exceptions. This is far better than that stupid pinwheel idea that can give a team like Golden State the top pick in a draft with the next LBJ and some horrible team the top pick in a draft with the next Bargnani. It will also completely eliminate any incentive to tank.

* Increase the value of max contracts to 50% of the cap or more. This will again shift the league away from super teams and towards parity.

* Allow max contracts to scale upward with the salary cap, so a max contract that is signed for 50% of the cap will still be worth 50% of the cap if the cap increases. This will encourage players to sign long term extensions instead of saying "wait until July 1st" ala Kyrie and will completely eliminate the financial incentive to sign 1 year max salary contracts.

* Any time a team has a back to back, their opponent must also have a back to back and both teams must be traveling during this exchange. This will eliminate "schedule losses" without having to completely eliminate back to backs outright.

* Dial back the league rules about what players are and aren't allowed to say. These bad leaks and unsubstantiated rumors are direct result of players getting fined for speaking their minds. There can still be some rules, but players saying there are certain teams they would like to play for does not warrant a fine IMO.

* Allow the public to see a record of the league office's after-the-fact reviews of all referee calls made so that fans and the media can see clearly what the league thinks is and isn't a call. Pretending like referees are not human and don't make mistakes is a worse look than simply admitting that they are IMO. Telling fans "the refs messed this one up but we can't go back and change the result of the game after it's over" is far better than letting fans think the league is out to get their team.

*Offensive players initiating contact by jumping into a defensive player in the air is no longer and defensive foul, but in fact an offensive one.

[FutureIsGreen]

Would also love to see a tax break for players who resign with their drafted team. If you gave a 25% Cap relief to the team on homegrown players and penalized UFAs plus 25, it would put development and retention as an area of focus instead of just going all in on freeing up cap space for ufas.

[VeryMuchWoke]

Replace refs with artificial intelligence algorithms and sensors.

Get rid of max contracts.

Institute a hard cap.

Make players RFAs through year 10.

[FutureIsGreen]

3 on 3 Overtime! Cause why not!

Dunks are 3 pts, 3s are 2s.

[FutureIsGreen]

Actually, 3 on 3 ot. Alley Oops are 3. 3s are 2pt. 2 point shots score 1.

[Zaschrona]

Expand by 2 teams, have 4 conferences of 8 teams + 8 divisions of 4 teams. Play all teams in your division six times, teams in your conference four times and all other teams two times for total of 82 games. Create a schedule where all teams play their 14 back-to-backs vs their conference opponents in MLB-like series with two games in two days at the same venue.

Division winners + next best team get a bye into the Division Round, while total of 20 teams get in.

Round 1: Wild Card Round, best of 3 for teams seeded 4-5 in their conference.
Round 2: Division Round, best of 5.
Round 3: Conference Round, best of 7.
Round 4: Challenge Round, best of 7, the best remaining team challenges one of three other remaining teams for a series.
Round 5: Super Finals, best of 7,

If we would add Seattle and Kansas City, conferences and divisions could look like this:
East (Boston, New York, Brooklyn, Philadelphia + Miami, Orlando, Atlanta, Charlotte)
North (Minnesota, Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit + Toronto, Indiana, Cleveland, Washington)
South (Denver, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Memphis + Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, New Orleans)
West (Seattle, Portland, Sacramento, Golden State + Clippers, Lakers, Phoenix, Utah)

Using this system, playoffs seedings could look like this in this season:
1. Boston, 2. Charlotte, 3. Philadelphia | 4. Brooklyn, 5. Miami
1. Milwaukee, 2. Toronto, 3. Indiana | 4. Minnesota, 5. Detroit
1. Denver, 2. Houston, 3. OKC | 4. San Antonio, 5. Dallas
1. Golden State, 2. Utah, 3. Portland | 4. Clippers, 5. Sacramento

[yazfan]

For me the league is too soft, changes I would like.

1. Stop rewarding guards for driving to the hoop and jumping into bigs and gettin the foul
2. jumping in on 3pt shots. Call them offensive technicals or offensive fouls,
3. move 3pt line 2ft back and remove the corner 3
4. Overall call the game more physical...like 80's playoff games