10 ways to improve the NBA

[dflaschberger]

I've posted some before, but never my full list. I am a long-time NBA fan, but things need to improve. Some of these are impossible to happen, but I believe all 10 would help the league.

Group #1 Financial
1. Lux Tax change-make it a tiered tax. The bottom 5 teams pay the same now. The next five pay at $1 or $1.5 higher; teams 11-15 another step up.
Why-Look at the Suns and the Spurs. KThomas and Scola could have helped them but they were afraid of the lux tax. They are successful, so reward it. Great teams need depth-and great teams make for a great season. This would not lead to an orgy of spending, but another $6 or $9 million for top teams would allow them one more solid veteran.
Finally, this would not cause too much overspending, b/c the extra freedom would change year by year.
Finally/finally, this might prove a nice incentive at the end of the year to avoid tanking. The GM could pressure a coach to play his best guys to jump up to the next level to avoid a tax hit.
RESULT-improved play all around

2. No more Base Year rule for trading contracts. Fans love trades, the media loves trades, players usually like a change (mainly unhappy or underused players are traded).
Instead of this rule about team moving a BY player only getting 1/2 value back the team that deals him would pay the player a 10% kicker.
I think GMs sometimes use the BY clause to avoid trades b/c their cowards.
RESULT-more trades/more interest/improved play

3. Every 5 year period a team can cut a player and his salary would come off the cap. This would allow for a little more movement. Players still get paid, and could sign elsewhere. Since it's only once every 5 years, it would not be abused, but a do-over could help many teams.
RESULT-improved play by cutting dead weight

GAME CHANGES
4. widen the court by 1 foot on each side. This one makes a lot of sense. SO MANY times players step out in that corner-at least once a game (slowing down the flow). Plus, one more foot (with the same 3 pt. distance) would spread the court and allow more lanes for drives. I believe each arena could stretch teh court a foot and not lose the $ seats.
RESULT-improved play

5. Allow a once-a-game 7th foul for ONE player per team. The team would give up a technical. I pay to see the stars, not some bench guy play b/c the star picked up a few cheapies. I hate when a good player gets two quick ones and sits for 10 minutes or more. SInce it is only once a game, it would not lead to an orgy (2nd time I used that word!) of hacking, but could make crunch time more fun.
RESULT-improved play

6. Crack down on travelling like they have on palming (which is working, I believe). Watch Redd or Rip come off a screen and take 5 steps. It's almost comical. I believe the casual fan likes college more mainly for the open disregard for the basic rules. Calling an NBA game is rough, I know-but refs intentionally ignore this basic rule. 2 steps-that's it. Players would adjust.
RESULT-purer play, bring back more casual fans

OTHER
7. This one is easy, an NBA Hall of Fame (tiered, like Simmons' idea for baseball would be best). The Basketball Hall of Fame is fine, but I don't care about a Russian coach from the 80's. Make 5 tiers (All time greats/legends/superstars/allstars/stars) and let the debate begin.
RESULT-more interest

8. Reseed the playoffs-division winners only get an automatic berth-not a top 4 one like now. I know Stern likes the idea of division winners, but no one else cares. I want the best teams playing in late May.
Result-better playoffs

9. Change the lottery system slightly. Instead of the top 3 picks, then the next 11 slotted, go to a lottery (same odds) for the top 5 picks. That way, tanking and getting the best record only assures a top 6 pick. Small change, but might help at the end of the year. Plus, teams at the back of the lottery have a better chance of getting lucky and moving up, making mediocre teams decent faster.
RESULT-improved play (or maybe the same tanking?)

10. Cut the schedule to 76 games (and pay accordingly). 4 games with each division foe (16 total), 3 with rest of conference (30 total) and 2 with other conference (30 total). That makes 76. 6 games might not seem like much, but that's 6 fewer back-to-backs, resulting in more rest, harder play and fewer injuries.
RESULT-improved play

A BONUS-contract Memphis and Atlanta, buy out their owners and spread their talent around. RESULT-HUGE increase in quality of play. Never happen, but a dream

[Cevap]

there is no NBA hall of fame


please don't listen to anymore simmons ideas

[theGreatRC]

Just let the game become more physical, refs are so whistle happy. I want to see bruises and blood.

[Gibbs]

I'd personally like to see more intense interdivsional rivalries. Hockey plays each team in their division 8 times! I'd like to see something like that. I'd also like to see 32 teams ratehr than the 30. I know the talent has been watered down enough, but with the game becoming more international this isn't as big as a deal. 32 teams IMO is the perfect number for teams and the league should not be expanded for 25-40 years afterwards.

I don't like the 7th foul rule but the rest could be very good ideas.

[whoknows]

Coaches should not be allowed to complain to the referee. Even the player complains should be limited.
Serious issues should be discussed between the team captain (selected as the team well spoken & cool headed guy) and the referee not the coach/players.

Reason they complain so much is to put pressure on referees and create biased calls next time.

This immature complaining rarely solves or changes the initial decision. It looks unprofessional and adds too much stress to the already challenged referees.

[CITYOFANGELSX3]

I dont even need 10 ways, it starts and begins with the officiating. You know its wrong when there's a foul being called every other play. Unless its blatent stop calling ticky tack fouls. It slows down the game, ruins the tempo and just sucks the fun straight from it.

Remember the late 80s? Hell early 90s, the officiating no way played there way into games like they do today. A single official can be the difference in 1 game. I blame stern, and there's definitley more officials out there cheating!

[loserX]

2. No more Base Year rule for trading contracts. Fans love trades, the media loves trades, players usually like a change (mainly unhappy or underused players are traded).
Instead of this rule about team moving a BY player only getting 1/2 value back the team that deals him would pay the player a 10% kicker.
I think GMs sometimes use the BY clause to avoid trades b/c their cowards.

BYC only applies to the first year of a big extension. If the player has signed an extension with a team, I'd say he deserves at least limited protection for a year. It prevents a team from screwing a player out of free agency, then trading him. No reason to eliminate this provision.

I'd kind of like to see, in the last minute of the game, each team gets ONE timeout. That's it. If you've saved up yours, too bad. Few things annoy me more than having the final minute of a game take 8 minutes because there are time-outs after every single possession, make or miss.

[FANOFNBA]

only 1 way to improve the league ( not 10)

#1 handcheck rule (and bring back the NO LAY-UP RULE)

thats all thats wrong with the nba, but I would love see superstar calls banished from the nba. and a little bit replay (kinda like the nfl, charging a time out) wouldnt bother me..

[MicrOLak3R]

Also no need to stop play for a shot clock violation when the other team already has possesion of the ball. Stop making the game go slower!!!

[tsherkin]

This was actually a pretty interesting read. Nice post, dflaschberger.

[Sub-Zero]

I say get rid o Stern, he's the biggest problem. All he cares about is the owners and how to make money for them. He doesnt care about the players or us fans who ironically pay all the money.

He twists and tweeks the game so much each year to the point where the NBA has become an up and down run and gun sh*t and no defense is allowed it seems, plus referees are like dictators. I cant wait the day Charles Oakley becomes commissioner or Bill Walton.......LOL !!!

[Alyosha12]

Make the season 52games long and the game 40mins, that way you would get more quality basketball because players would be rested for every game and would give it their all, every game would count more, as tgere would be less place for screw ups ageinst lesser teams as every game would count more.
If every game would count more, and if players would give it their all every game and would be in physical condition to give it their 100% then the inteisty of the game would go up imensly and we as fans would feel it, as would the casual fans and it would attract more people.

What good is it to have the best players in the world in one league if these players play 60 games at 50% because they can't give it their all because of fatigue or because they are saving their energy for the PO? It doesn't do anyone any good, and even a casual fan can see the lack of effort in some games, so that has to change IMO.

Just look at the NFL its so intense and not just because its such a physical sport but also because every game counts, and the players the fans and the refs know it.

In the NBA every 8th game counts and that just sucks.

[dflaschberger]

lots of thoughts on more physical-I disagree-it's about right.
As for the BYC, i see the point, but it does hold up deals.

I think the refs could call the travelling and palming, but the rest is called ok

[CrookedJ]

Make the season 52games long and the game 40mins, that way you would get more quality basketball because players would be rested for every game and would give it their all, every game would count more, as tgere would be less place for screw ups ageinst lesser teams as every game would count more.

Yeah the schedule is brutal. The Raptors commentators were discussing the 76er's brutal schedule during the game last night. 7 game western trip. Then one game back in Philly, but then in Toronto the next day. Then one day off and back to back in San Antonio / Houston.

That of course happens to all teams throughout the season, but I thought that was an especially poignant example.

How are the players supposed to be at their top level when they arrive somewhere in the middle of the night and have to play a game and then fly out straight after?

I mean, I'm a not pro athlete but it takes me a full day to recover from my weekly game, and thats without jet lag.

I also agree with MicrOLak3R about the 24 second whistle. If the other team already has the ball why are you blowing the whistle! I can see if there is a fight for a rebound off an airball and the buzzer goes, but not when they are already trying to run a break.


And generally speaking the ticky tack foul calls are brutal to watch. Guy's getting three point plays when the "foul" was barely a touch and in no way affected the shot, hand check fouls etc.

The bad calls, the complaining, the make up calls. It blows.

[RTM]

Good luck getting owners to agree to shorten the season. That's lots of lost profit for them.

But those are some decent thoughts, some may improve things.

[Deus]

I agree with shortening the season to 50 games. I've alway thought that 72 is too long.

Stopping expansion would be nice. I'm sick of the parity in the NBA with teams only having 1 star and 1 or 2 good players and the rest scrubs.

I think the game was way to physical in the 90's and actually like that the refs are calling more fouls. I know it angers a lot of fans but I was sick and tired of watching games that ended 77-76.

I also like that the NBA did away with the illegal zone b.s. and now allow any type of zone. The 3 second in the lane rule is better.

[doctaJ_92]

The #1 way to improve the quality of play in the NBA is getting rid of 3-5 franchises that arent really being supported and then those players from those teams being spread out around the league so the talent pool improves bigtime. Then we wont have guys like Ryan Bowen, Joey Graham, Eddie Gill etc. still in the league. Every teams bench will have at least 3 quality guys who can start as well in a situation.

[rpa]

I disagree (especially) with changes #3, #5, & #10.

For #3 I disagree because it gives larger market teams a HUGE advantage over small market teams. Since the players would still need to be paid how hard would it be for a small market team to cut a player making $15-20mil a year and then use that money to pickup a free agent? Now how hard would it be for a team like the Knicks to do that? It basically makes the league closer to being Major League Baseball (which is an enormous joke with their salary structure). The NBA is setup in a way that small market teams can compete on the same level as big market teams and this rule would tilt that fairness to the big market teams.

For #5 I disagree because there are so many "superstar" calls and non-calls as it is that if a superstar gets 6 fouls (I mention stars/superstars because your reasoning was "I pay to see the stars play") that means a REGULAR player in his position probably would have had 12 fouls (yeah yeah, that's impossible but you get the point). More fouls just gives more credence to the unfair officiating.

For #10: 82 games is fine. If anything they should start the season a bit earlier & shorten the rest between the early rounds of the playoffs.


Rule changes (additions to those already mentioned) that I want to see:

1) Completely open up the trading rules. No more "match salaries within 125% + $100k". If Team A wants to trade a 1st round pick for a guy making $20mil a year then let them. You could argue this gives an advantage to large market teams but I disagree. Teams are still going to spend up to and over the salary cap thus they aren't going to be incredibly fiscally conservative. The only players that would realistically be available would be ones that aren't worth their salaries.

2) Punish flopping. Flops are obviously subjective as a whole but there are still many that are blatant. For the ones that are blatant punish offenders with fines and suspensions. Flopping ruins the game, plain and simple.

3) Let the refs open the floodgates with technical fouls for constant whiners. You get a foul you get a foul. I have no issue with trying to show the ref what happened but the constant "I've never committed a foul in my life" faces/reactions just don't belong in the league.

4) A small redo of what you said about the lottery: no more tiered odds to get the picks. Any team that misses the playoffs is fundamentally flawed and should have the same odds to get the 1st pick as any other team. Say you have 2 equally talented teams that would normally fight for the playoffs in a given year (say they'd both win roughly 40 games). Team A plays normally and wins 40 games but misses the playoffs. Team B has a mass of injury problems the entire year and finishes with 22 wins and the worst record in the league. Why should team B have better odds to get the 1st pick (and a probable franchise player for the next decade) when they only had 1 bad year? And why should team A be penalized for not having any injuries? Further, eliminating the tiered odds would help to eliminate the "no man's land" (not good enough to make the playoffs, not bad enough to get a high lottery pick) since better teams would get higher picks more often than they do now.

[greenbeans]

good read, some good points and some "interesting" points.

what the NBA should do in my mind is contract slightly and ramp-up the minors. sort of a modified European soccer league.
bring the new number of teams to 24. and replace the old teams with a new D-League team.
make a legit, MLB-styled minor league system where each team has one affiliate they are solely responsible for.
each team will obviously need to expand their scouting and payroll quite largely off the bat, but after the initial step backward the potential revenue that could be gained would make it just a minor step back. the league would be able to reach out to almost ALL of the country with a team(most likely D-League) within a state or two of all the population.

if the league would follow some semblance of this major reallignment then i think the NBA would be almost on par, probably a slight notch below(STILL) the NFL and on the same level as MLB.

[loserX]

2) Punish flopping. Flops are obviously subjective as a whole but there are still many that are blatant. For the ones that are blatant punish offenders with fines and suspensions. Flopping ruins the game, plain and simple.

Good one. The NHL has implemented a similar policy for "diving", with some success.