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Help Save The NBA
Posted by: deb on June 20th, 2010
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.
I guess the NBA is losing money, however with upper-bowl seats at the Lakers-Boston game going for nearly $1,000 a piece I am not sure how. These stats came from a recent article in Parade Magazine.
I know Parade is no one’s sports bible but with a circulation of 32 million as opposed to the 3 million for Sports Illustrated or 800,000 for The Sporting News, I imagine many more of the average NBA basketball fans read this article than you would imagine.
They also had 6 suggestions on how to make professional basketball better. Love to hear how you feel about what they said. The “Six Saves” are listed below along with some of my thoughts in italics.
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.” I am not a fan of this idea at all, the last thing I want to watch is more foul shots being taken and letting the referees decide even more of the outcome of a game than they do now. But it would allow the players to perfect their free-throw defense.
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.” I do not like this idea either, it makes more complicated offensive plays like the Jazz run disappear a little more. However this would be great for slower big guys who would not even have to run down the court before the long shot from midcourt is taken (did anyone say Shaq)
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. This would be OK with me, just the difference between CJ’s rookie season and Wes Matthew’s rookie season is a good example of how this would help.
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.” I do not know about this idea, I do love Charles Barkley, but I would much rather see Tim Duncan play, even in Charles’ best playing days. I don’t know about Twitter either, I cannot understand 3/4 of what CJ writes, anybody have a CJ Twitter/English dictionary?
5. CHANGE THE TRADE RULES.
“Eliminate or significantly reduce rules that require salaries of traded players to match up,” Mountain says. I must rely on you readers with more knowledge in this area to know if this would be a good idea or not.
6. SHORTEN THE SEASON.
The NBA’s season comprises 82 games. Reducing the number of contests could make each one matter.
Ideas anyone?
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I like 82 games. Since the Jazz haven’t gone deep in the playoffs the last few years ( besides the conference finals a few years ago) at least I get to watch them for 82 AT LEAST. any less would just make my winters so much more boring than they already are…..
I LOVE the idea of raising the age limit. Allowing players to mature as players and more importantly individuals is a vital part to the game. So many times have we seen young hot names come out after a year in college or straight from highschool and bust in the NBA and spend the rest of their career bouncing around from team to team,playing 2nd/3rd string and used as currency in trades for better players. I think Wes took us by storm and he put it best when he used the phrase “Battle tested”. He spent 4 years in college and took in as much XP as he could. He is a great player and a great person because of it.
LeBrons don’t graduate from highschool every year.
I think the fifth one would allow teams with a lot of money to add expensive players without giving up salary. For example, the lakers could work a sign and trade with the raptors for chris bosh without giving up bynum or odom, if i’m not mistaken.
If it’s that way, then it’s a HORRIBLE idea. The lakers have been waay too lucky, they can’t have more rules that help them.
5. CHANGE THE TRADE RULES.
I like this idea except don’t significantly change the rules because if the basically eliminate the rules then any team willing to spend the money will have an allstar team. Thats like saying a team is 120 Million dollars over the cap space and have traded all of their players to get an allstar lineup in dwill, kb24, lbj, jsmoove, and dwight.
This is why sports magazines write about sports topics. Whoever wrote this article in Parade doesn’t know what they are talking about. Of the 6 suggestions, only one is even a good idea. The other five are just preposterous.
I would also suggest maybe to have some sort of a replay or a challenge rule. I might add that a hard cap would help the league quite a bit as well.
Unfortunately I sent this to be printed before I added a few details that should help to make the blog make more sense. The stats contained in the article included the fact that the NBA lost 400 million dollars last year, 18 out of 30 teams saw a drop in attendance and a surprising fact to me , only seven teams have won the NBA Championship in the last 26 years, can you name them? Whereas 9 different teams have won the Super Bowl in the last 12 years. You can read the whole article and the very interesting comments at http://www.parade.com , It was printed 6/6/10.
how about pay them for what they do. say dwill has an amazing game. then he gets payed. but then he has an awful game. then he either doesn’t get payed or gets payed less. it always drives me nuts when players work for a big contract and then just don’t even show up. i think it would raise the intensity of each game and players would try a lot harder to win and do well. not that saying this about deron he is awesome . but some other players are questionable.
They need to adjust something s that small market teams with less money can have an equal shot at getting players as big market teams. It’s not fair that teams like the Lakers are just able to Buy their team while(most) small market teams don’t have a chance. Something needs to be fixed so that it balances out and gives all the teams a fair shot at all the players. Refined salary rules or something. it’s not fair or fun when only the richest teams have the advantage.
LESS GAMES! the intensity of the early season is garbage, perhaps an elongated once a week preseason schedule until December would change this.
The only one that seems good to me is the age rule. I think something needs to be done with the trade rule and caps and all that but I don’t understand it enough to say what would be good and not good. The others seem all wrong.
these ideas are painful to read… awful.
1. Very bad idea.
2. Another bad idea. Would increase turnover rate for all teams.
3. I am a fan of raising it to 2 years, but not 3. Still, they have the right idea.
4. Depends on which player…
5. This would benefit small market teams like the Jazz, and the large markets wouldn’t care.
6. Great idea. 82 games is a lot on the body and the mind. It might also encourage playoff teams to stop taking the last 10 games off. Perhaps 60-70 games.
if they are charging outrageous prices for seats, wouldn’t that mean that demand is up and the NBA is doing well?
age rule raise two years
anti superstar calls
instant replays on questionable calls
I like 82 games any less would mean a longer off season. The wait is unbearable.
cheaper concession
more promotions targeting kids under 15 to build a future fan base.
wider broadcast of NBA games through non cable channels to a border range of countries
Equal coverage to all teams not just focusing on the big market teams.
All star voting based on talent rather than popularity
FOR KICKS N GIGGLES: WHO WANTS TO BE AN NBA STAR
Showcase American Idol format as anyone who thinks they got the skills can enter. Let the best players move on. Have a panel of former NBA greats judge talent and skills. Invite former players and hall of fame stars to help coach. Winner will be offer a guaranty one year contract a randomly selected team at the end of the season.
1. Stupid, in international basket you’re out at 5 foul
2. Stupid again, it will kill passing game and coaching
3. the good one, at 19 the great majority of them don’t have the keys to understand what is a pro career and business rules
4. personnality or stupidity, that is the question….. for me twitt all the time is the best way to the second one….
5. if you put money in your trading system, you will arrive in the european football system, and i can assure you that it is not a good one….. big team big money big players, nothing for the rest….
6. i have no opinion on this one…. not in my culture
my response, a hard cap at 60 or 70, the best chance to reequilibrate the entire league, there is no suspense in the nba, at the beginning of the season you know that 82 games later, lakers will be first of the western and you can’t do anithing against that…… for this reason NFL is more interesting than NBA, coz every year, 20 team can win the superbowl
I don’t like those ideas. If they want some help how about some of the following.
Have a minimum salaray ( im sure its more than any of us would make). You get paid that salary. If you play in that nights game you get the full money, if your hurt than you get the minimum so we don’t have bums with insignificant injuries riding the pine making millions. If your hurt your hurt, your still making millions so your bills should be paid. Hedo going to the club to see friends with the flu, anyone?!?!
Maybe an NFL like replay rule, if you challange a particular play you can have it overturned. Too many times I’ve seen a foul that never occurred ala wallace foul on gasol, because gasol had the chair pulled out from under him and fell on his own like a clown.
Personally I think they need a fresh batch of Refs. These guys that have been in the league for 50 years, I don’t trust. The more people I talk to, the more people I find think the NBA is rigged or too friendly to certain teams and or individuals. Then make a severe and real punishment if any refs are suspected of that behavior to discourage it.
As far as the age rule, just make it 20 years of age or 19 if your birthday is near the beginning of that season. I don’t have a particular stance on this, Its a free country and if you want to try out for the NBA at 18 and you are accepted, then by all means play ball. If you fail, you hurt yourself outta millions of dollars and your future.
soccer is the sport that needs rule changes. that sport is unbearable. if a 2-0 deficit is too much to overcome than something is wrong with your sport. its 90 minutes of long haired dudes kicking a ball around and on occasional goal if you are lucky. no thanks soccer.