Biggest concerns for the NBA?

[MiamiSPX]

I think one solution would be to extend the corner 3 distance....make it a harder shot.

I also wonder if some of these are solved by fixing others.

ie: Let people defend again, reduce the need to double, maybe we're able to challenge 3 point shots at a higher rate.

clearly that's simplistic and reductionist but...that idea.

The over reliance on 3pt shooting is what is killing the league/game. As exciting as it was to see what Curry did in revolutionizing the game, it is also slowly killing it as teams lean more and more into 3pt shooting. Eventually the regular season and playoff games are just going to look like All-star games, with players heaving 3pt shots from everywhere.

I think the easiest way to solve this issue, rather than changing 3pt dimensions, is just to limit the number of 3's in the game. If it is capped at say 30 attempts per game, everything after the 30th attempt counts as a 2. It will force teams to selectively use it, and bring back the mid range game, and possibly more defense.

In the past, if a guy pulled up for a 3pt shot on a 3-on-1 fast break, he would be yanked, yelled at and likely wouldn't see the court again that game. Nowadays you have some coaches that will yell at the guy for NOT pulling up for a 3 in that situation.

[Dennis 37]

I would like to see greater player tenure within the same team. There’s something magical about stars with team legacies rather than team hopping.

There could be some bonuses or some incentives that reward players for staying with the same team without punishing the salary cap.

They already see this as a value and have some things like early extensions/higher resigning contracts. I wonder if it could be more explicit around a loyalty bonus that doesn’t impact the salary cap.

Teams should be able to designate one player as non-cap.

It would have to be a player acquired via draft or trade. Not sign&trade or free agent.

Teams without deep pockets too often have to see stars leave, or supporting players leave so they can afford the star player.

Boston has built their team the right way. They shouldn't have to dismantle it because it's time players get paid. They will soon.

[Dennis 37]

Hey let's add a play-in to make it so almost everyone makes it in. Oh, and let's have a tournament that kills the regular season.

This is fricken brilliant. Also, let's paint the floor all sorts of ugly to tell fans that the players are really trying.

[raptorforlife88]

Agree with a lot of these, but one aspect that I've seen kind of talked about but not directly mentioned is the continually increased prevalence of rings culture and as a result its impact on the meaning of the regular season.

If the only the thing that matters is rings, and it's also seeped into the players on top teams who won't go as hard till the playoffs then why should the fan watch the regular season at all? Bleeds into how people talk about players regular season accomplishments like they don't matter at all. Compare it to the NHL or MLB where there's a bit of of that if they didn't succeed in the playoffs or win a championship but no one doubts that x player is the best (for example Trout at his peak or McDavid right now).

They do need to reduce the number of regular season games. I think they need to find a way to make people care more about the regular season the way people do about the regular season for the premier league.

Eventually they need to be creative, even doing cross-atlantic involvement in tournaments. Why not let other leagues compete, there would be a level of pride that would exist during the early games to not lose to those teams, like in the league cup. Logistics are the toughest there, but I think it would be entertaining to try.

[rapterz_iz_best]

1. I think the easiest way to solve the 3 ball issue is to possibly reduce the diameter of the rim by 0.5-1". It would reduce percentages of shots further away, bringing more value back to the mid-range and paint. Would be interesting to see it experimented with.

Maybe the court size needs to be increased to accommodate the faster and bigger players. Adding a couple of feet of width so that the 3 pt line can remain an arc all the way around and still have space to shoot, plus a couple more feet of length. Obviously that's going to affect seating/tickets.

2. One thing I'd like to see is the end of games becoming faster. Way too often the last 2 min take 7-10 min to finish. I think the best/most entertaining solution is to reduce the shot clock from 24s to 14s on every possession with 2 min or less remaining in the game. If a possession starts with 2:05 left, and possession changes hands at 1:50 then that's when the rest of the game has a 14s shot clock.

Teams couldn't just pound the rock for half a minute like they do now; they'd have to get into their offence within 5 or 6s to get up a decent shot. Pace of the game would quicken, more mistakes, more baskets, less intentional fouling. Number of possessions in the last 2 min would go from around 5-7 possessions to at least 9.

3. A possible solution to players sitting out and not wanting to play 82 is to introduce aggregate scoring to the league. Your aggregate score against the same opponent carries through the season. So if you lose game 1 by 5 pts, you have to win by 6 pts in the next game to get the W otherwise it's a loss.

This would make teams think twice about resting players because you could end up losing multiple games by sitting out your star player for just one game. Teams would also be playing harder whether up or down 15 in a game because they know the next game is being affected. It would definitely bring a new dynamic and intensity to each game of the season.

This could also kill the "need" for an in-season tournament.

4. Play-in is useless now. Why would you reduce the importance of the 82 games? If there has to be a play-in then it should only be if you're within 2 games of the team ahead of you. 8th seed can't play 7th seed for 7th if they're 3 games behind. 10th can't get to 8th seed if they're more than 2 games back of 9th or if 9th is more than 2 games back of 8th. Ideally you just remove the play-in.

[JB7]

I also wonder if some of these are solved by fixing others.

ie: Let people defend again, reduce the need to double, maybe we're able to challenge 3 point shots at a higher rate.

clearly that's simplistic and reductionist but...that idea.

The over reliance on 3pt shooting is what is killing the league/game. As exciting as it was to see what Curry did in revolutionizing the game, it is also slowly killing it as teams lean more and more into 3pt shooting. Eventually the regular season and playoff games are just going to look like All-star games, with players heaving 3pt shots from everywhere.

I think the easiest way to solve this issue, rather than changing 3pt dimensions, is just to limit the number of 3's in the game. If it is capped at say 30 attempts per game, everything after the 30th attempt counts as a 2. It will force teams to selectively use it, and bring back the mid range game, and possibly more defense.

In the past, if a guy pulled up for a 3pt shot on a 3-on-1 fast break, he would be yanked, yelled at and likely wouldn't see the court again that game. Nowadays you have some coaches that will yell at the guy for NOT pulling up for a 3 in that situation.

The reason for that change is also about overall attempts. In the 3pt shooting era, it is not just about getting more 3pt shots up, but also squeezing more shots up in general.

I think if they cap the number of 3pt attempts, it could also incentivize teams to slow the pace, and get less shots up in general, so that they are not running out of those 3pt attempts at the end of the game.

[kalel123]

Agree with a lot of these, but one aspect that I've seen kind of talked about but not directly mentioned is the continually increased prevalence of rings culture and as a result its impact on the meaning of the regular season.

If the only the thing that matters is rings, and it's also seeped into the players on top teams who won't go as hard till the playoffs then why should the fan watch the regular season at all? Bleeds into how people talk about players regular season accomplishments like they don't matter at all. Compare it to the NHL or MLB where there's a bit of of that if they didn't succeed in the playoffs or win a championship but no one doubts that x player is the best (for example Trout at his peak or McDavid right now).

They do need to reduce the number of regular season games. I think they need to find a way to make people care more about the regular season the way people do about the regular season for the premier league.

Eventually they need to be creative, even doing cross-atlantic involvement in tournaments. Why not let other leagues compete, there would be a level of pride that would exist during the early games to not lose to those teams, like in the league cup. Logistics are the toughest there, but I think it would be entertaining to try.

They do need to do something to have people, including players, care more about regular season. But reducing # of games is probably a no-go because it directly impacts players' bottom line due to reduction in BRI. Also, I'm thinking it'll complicate things with the 11 year TV deal they just signed so there's going to have to be some long-term thinking but doubt that happens because all parties involved, including players, are greedy as **** and just want max money however they can get them. If they weren't, there would've been discussions to reduce # of games while still having salaries increasing year-by-year to a reasonable level already.

As having tournaments with other leagues, logistics aside, the biggest issue would be that the level of competition just isn't there IMO so won't be of much interest.

[KG1585]

I cannot see the NBA making any significant changes as long as the TV money keeps rolling in, but I think some extreme changes need to be made. As others mentioned that the regular season is long and meaningless for the most part.

Some of the extreme changes:

1. Regular season determines the NBA champion. 1 seed in the West and 1 seed in the East, play in one game at neutral site for the championship. Similar to footy overseas, winning or losing regular season game has huge impact.

2. Would have a cup competition running simultaneously. With groups similar to NBA cup and certain teams making the playoffs. Would have to reduce the number of regular season games.

3. The last thing would be to abolish the draft. Teams have academies where they can sign and develop young players.

This is the format for European footy for the most part. It's not everyone's cup of tea but each game is highly competitive and entertaining.

[Grew]

It's all centered around the reffing for me. Rigged games aside, the superstar calls, the ability to interpret the same call differently for different players or teams is the worst part of the game.

Makes the superstars they market more hated than loved, Luka/Tatum/Embiid, all petulant whiney brats coddled and pampered by NBA refs. That's just some of the worst of them.

The whistle in the NBA being softer than high school games is just ridiculous. No one wants to watch free throws all game. The three point shot is way more prevalent when it becomes much harder to keep ball handlers in front and the defense breaks down so easily.