I have been an NBA fan throughout the nearly 20 (technically 19 and a half) years I have been on this Earth, and while I still love watching the NBA, there have been some issues recently that have crossed my mind as a fan. Now, as we enter the offseason, I would like to address some of them.
1. Flopping
Flopping has always been a part of the NBA since Day 1. That's just fact. Teams have had specialists that take charges, or flop, depending on who you ask. Players like Derek Fisher (much as I still love him), Manu Ginobili, Vlade Divac, and Reggie Evans have all made careers out of flopping. To me, flopping has only gotten worse, and this year, it has gotten especially out of hand, with teams like the Clippers and Heat attempting to draw charges by flopping on most defensive plays. This is getting more and more blatant, and the NBA must put an end to it.
My take: Penalize flopping by allowing the offensive team to inbound and restart possession from the time of the flop just like any normal foul, add flops in players' personal foul totals, and train officials to differentiate between an actual offensive foul and a flop.
2. Officiating
Of all the issues I will list here, this is by far the most complicated. While we all seem to think the officials are blind, and that the officials suck and should be replaced, they are human too. With that said, the officiating in the NBA, which has long been thought of as some of the worst in sports, did not get any better this year. A number of games, especially in the playoffs, were marred by bad officiating, especially down the stretch late in games. There is no easy fix, unless you want to fire all NBA officials and replace them with new ones. This one, we will never find a way to solve.
My take: While I say there is no easy fix, there are a few ways officiating could be better. Officials should go easy on the technical fouls and not be so fucking sensitive, officials should not call reach-ins on simple man-to-man defensive plays, and officials should not do make-up calls after what people think are bad calls.
3. One-and-Done
This is a basketball issue that I feel we have to revisit. The "one and done," as you know, was instituted starting with the 2006 Draft, that any player who wanted to play in the NBA had to go to college for at least one year. While it has steered many players toward college, it has also had the effect of creating "one and dones," or players who left school after just one year. This is a problem because college basketball is diluted as a product, and a number of players who were one and dones enter the NBA raw and not fully developed. This one can be solved pretty easily, with a little thought.
My take: Bring back the old system of allowing players to jump to the NBA straight out of high school, with one new rule: Any player that goes to college must go for 3 years. This is actually the system that baseball uses, and I think it's a practical way to fix the issue. Basically if a player has Kobe, LeBron, KG-level talent, he can come straight out of high school. If he needs more work, get him to college.
4. Superteams
This has become a big thing in recent years, as teams have decided to scrap the traditional model of building through drafting and trades, instead going all in on two or three superstars with max contracts. Examples of the superteam concept include my Lakers in the 2003-04 season (Kobe, Shaq, Payton, Malone), then again with the Celtics in 2008 (KG, Pierce, Allen, with Rondo added). The most glaring example to most fans is the Miami Heat, formed when Chris Bosh, and later LeBron James, through his "Decision" special on ESPN, joined Dwyane Wade in Miami. As I stated earlier, the Heat's Finals win last week may justify the superteam concept, and make it the standard around the league.
My take: Superteams can be fun to watch. They're like fantasy teams come to life, with two, three, even four of our favorite players on the same starting lineup. However, they cheapen the league as a whole, because if this trend continues, there will be only three, four, or five teams that are contenders, with the rest out of the discussion. Actually, we're already at that stage. What can we do? Well, not much. We don't negotiate or sign contracts, but I hate the idea of players deciding to try to join together for a title instead of trying to beat each other, which is a dying mentality, remaining in only a few players.
5. David Stern
Quite simply, the motherfucker's gotta go. Yes, he helped expand the league, brought in all kinds of TV money, and helped bring the NBA to international popularity, but the game has passed him by. Perfect example: December 8, 2011. The Lakers had seemingly sealed a three-team deal sending Chris Paul to the Lakers, Pau Gasol to the Rockets, and Lamar Odom to the Hornets. Instead David Stern, pressured by some owners *cough* Cuban *cough*, for lack of a better word, cockblocked it. Plus, I still hold a grudge against him for the dress code, which was responsible for this:
My take: I don't need to say anything else.
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