Jeff Balke for League Commissioner

The league was near bankruptcy when he took over and now it's relevant on a global scale and brings in billions per year. That's reason enough.

 

Don't let facts get in the way of a good 8-point rant.

Adam Silver is going to take over soon and things arent' going to change much, FWIW.

 

this. he globalized the brand rather than making it more popular only in the states. nfl kicking his ass? in the states. how about in all of europe and asia?

the nba also has one of the best public images right now. players are hardly ever in trouble with drugs or violence which is prevalent in the nfl and baseball. they also have the best community outreach programs of any pro league in the states.

all of that is due to stern running a tight ship. dress code, drug tests, community service, and fines of disorderly conduct are all methods to create a clean image which helps sell a global brand.

yes league pass needs to be available in HD, but you have to understand that the broadcast is via a local feed. if the local station airing the game isn't in HD, then how can league pass be in HD? the nba might think about helping those channels broadcast is HD, but in the end its not really up to the NBA. the main issues are the officiating and the ability of superstars to leave their teams for bigger markets.

 

Do you think Silver would rule with the same iron hand as Stern? He doesn't come across as having the same kind of personality.

 

I really appreciate the confidence, but I have no desire to manage this league. But, I'll pretend.

Officiating in all the leagues has issues. In baseball, there is no clear cut strike zone. Whatever the guy behind the plate thinks is the strike zone is what it is for that game. In football, holding could be called on every play, but it isn't.

There is no doubt superstars get calls, but frankly, that is part of what has allowed the league to flourish. The NBA, more than any other professional sports league, is driven by its stars for better or worse.

It's also the most difficult to officiate. The game moves exceedingly fast, the guys are enormous and there are only three officials, who can't see every angle. It also doesn't help that guys foul, travel, carry the ball and are guilty of 3 seconds on literally every possession. Unless people want this to be a game of free throws, certain things we have to live with.

My biggest concern is how quickly the Tim Donaghy scandal was swept under the rug. No way he was the only official on the take. That worries me far more than the bad calls or lack of them.

[quote[3) Half the NBA game coverage is non-HD. I pay for the League Pass and I'm stuck in the 80's.[/quote]

To me, this is a non-issue. The reason that happens is because not every team or venue is equipped with HD gear. Some of the venues don't have the capability for it and some teams don't want to pay for it. I'm pretty sure we can all live with non-HD broadcasts on occasion.

From what I understand, this is to protect teams who want to monetize their games. It is stupid for sure, but only impacts a handful of situations.

You don't see MLB shuttering the Pittsburgh Pirates or the Kansas City Royals. The only reason they moved the Expos is because they were losing money. The Clippers make money despite being horrible.

There is definitely some of this at work and it can be frustrating. Stern won the right to make a lot of decisions because he really did take a league that was on the verge of falling apart and bring it together, but he definitely takes it too far sometimes.

Not moderate success, unREAL success. Nothing will eclipse pro football in America because it is the most widely appreciated sport. Part of that is marketing, but part of it is inherent in the game and in the ritual of Sunday afternoons. The fact that every game is magnified and virtually all or on Sunday gives them a HUGE advantage, but that doesn't mean the NBA's accomplishments are substantial.

Stern was smart enough to realize that the success of the league was predicated on marquee superstars. Without them, the average fan loses interest quickly. Star power can make or break a team. MJ, as annoying as it was for fans outside Chicago to watch him be given god status, was no different from Magic, Bird, Kareem, Kobe, LaBron, etc. It's a means for driving sales to fans who don't really care about basketball as a whole.

Well, technically, that wasn't on him. The quandary of keeping teams versus public financing is complicated. I'm glad the Rockets are still in Houston, but the Toyota Center, Minute Maid and Reliant Stadium have created serious budgetary issues thanks to the recession. In cities like Sacramento, where the city itself is facing extreme financial problems, it's hard not to understand their lack of willingness to finance a new facility for the Kings.

In Seattle, the problem was compounded by the fact that they had just done renovations to their old arena and were still paying that off. We're still paying off renovations to the Astrodome Bud Adams demanded when the Oilers were here.

For Houston, I still believe the investment was worth it. There is no doubt the building of Minute Maid, the George R. Brown and Toyota Center have revitalized that end of downtown and have contributed to the renaissance the entire downtown area has experienced. Discovery Green, the Houston Pavilions (including House of Blues), the re-vamped Market Square, slant parking (a major convenience), light rail and numerous other improvements to the downtown area are owed, at least in part, to those facilities.

But, that doesn't mean it works for every city and Stern's job is to get the best opportunity for his teams. Look, the Hornets were bleeding money like a hemophiliac after moving to NOLA, but the league propped them up after Hurricane Katrina, not wanting to do any further damage to the spirit of that city. Now, the league owns the team after the owners bailed out and they still can't find an ownership group. That's bad for everybody.

I'm not a huge Stern fan, but not everything here is his fault. He could do a better job dealing with officiating and he does often act like a petty tyrant, but it could be worse. It could be Bud Selig.

 

If Jeff Balke becomes Commissioner of the NBA, does it mean David Stern becomes a Clutchfans moderator? If so, I'm all for it. I want to see David Stern laying the smack down on people here.

 

Great post overall, but I take issue with your thoughts on officiating.

1. Is it the most difficult to officiate? Probably.... but then, as you note, there are plenty of officiating difficulties in the other sports, as well. Regardless, it's really just an excuse. If the NBA has become such a HUGE, UNREAL business success, then how about Stern shell out and put another official out there? Wouldn't that help? How about coaches challenges?

2. The abuse of the rules. The reason guys travel, carry the ball, 3 seconds, etc. on every play is because they can. Start making those calls, and they'll stop. When the NBA changed the hand-check rules for guards in the 90's we didn't see any major issues with guards starting to foul out, or excessive FT's, etc. Rather, perimeter players learned to play defensively differently / without fouling. I don't think it'd be a FT fest if officials actually called the fouls by the book. The game would certainly be different, though. Point being, change the actual rules or make calls according to the rules. The situation we have is calls are made randomly, which means officials for whatever reasons (randomness, betting, favoritism, being pushed by the league office, etc.) are impacted the game outside the rule book. In that way, a Sacramento Kings fan can literally and probably honestly say they were cheated out of a trip to the NBA Finals earlier this decade, probably to keep the Laker/Shaq/Kobe machine (star league, right?!!) rolling.

3. Stars league. Yes, it is a stars league. And yes, perhaps that is what makes the league a success, financially. But at some point you have to look past the economics. I want to watch fair competition, and see who the stars are out of that. My guess is it'd still be the same players, because they are legitimately the better players, but that doesn't diminish the fact that giving those players star calls absolutely does impact games, and W-L records, and results. Again, it's about sports on a fundamental level, to me. Whether it's a pre-schooler or professional, I think the whole concept is about a fair competition between foes to see who is better. We don't have this. Instead, we have the league changing rules to accomodate certain star payers favorite moves - see Lebron's crab dribble. So in the past rule changes are made to keep players like Wilt from completely dominating, and today we have the league cow-towing to the stars. I don't care for either, but still an interesting difference...

I think there's too much emphasis on the huge financial success the league has become under Stern's rule. So? What do I care as a fan? I guess I benefit somewhat with nicer arenas, better access to more games, and a more international flair, which has improved talent level to some degree. But I don't care about owners and players making ridiculous money. And of course, I am gouged by the ticket prices, merchandise costs, etc. I do really really like basketball. So, yes, I need a legitimate professional league

 

selig, bettman, tagliabue, garber, stern, silver, balke...

one of these does not fit the sequence

 

I've read that a 4th official was, at one point, considered. I'd think, at the very least, a replay or booth official would make a lot of sense, but it's tough because there are SO many calls made during a game, having to constantly challenge them could present issues in terms of slowing the game down. But, I'd totally be for some additional officiating.

[qutote]2. The abuse of the rules. The reason guys travel, carry the ball, 3 seconds, etc. on every play is because they can. Start making those calls, and they'll stop. When the NBA changed the hand-check rules for guards in the 90's we didn't see any major issues with guards starting to foul out, or excessive FT's, etc. Rather, perimeter players learned to play defensively differently / without fouling. I don't think it'd be a FT fest if officials actually called the fouls by the book. The game would certainly be different, though. Point being, change the actual rules or make calls according to the rules. The situation we have is calls are made randomly, which means officials for whatever reasons (randomness, betting, favoritism, being pushed by the league office, etc.) are impacted the game outside the rule book. In that way, a Sacramento Kings fan can literally and probably honestly say they were cheated out of a trip to the NBA Finals earlier this decade, probably to keep the Laker/Shaq/Kobe machine (star league, right?!!) rolling.[/quote]

Virtually every Dream Shake was a travel. Should they have called all of those? Shaq using his bulk to secure position in almost always an offensive foul, but is it his fault guys are smaller than him and can't hold their position - which is the only reason it would get called in the first place?

I'm not saying the rules shouldn't be enforced, but part of what made the game so much fun to watch over the years is the grace and fluidity of these players that often circumvented the letter of the law. Sometimes, they superseded them. I certainly think calls could be tightened up - flopping, frankly, would be first on my list - but there is an element of the game that comes from the way games are called.

As fans, we all do, but we are in the minority. Take something you like, but aren't a big fan of. For me, it's movies. I like them, but I'm not a film buff or someone who cares that much about the Academy Awards or whatever. I don't really care if the integrity of film is hurt by me liking a crappy action movie. I like it. End of story. But, I'm sure there are critics and hardcore fans who think I am part of the reason the film industry sucks so badly.

When Yao joined the Rockets, millions of people became fans of basketball. Sure, it was annoying that many of them didn't care if the team won so long as Yao did well, but that is the way it works. Without that star power, the league doesn't exist.

When Wilt was in the league, the ONLY significant rule change they made was goal tending and much of that was because of his size and athleticism. But, there were those that claimed the reason it was done was to prop up the Celtics dynasty, which brought the league a lot of success.

In the late 70's, the NBA and ABA nearly destroyed one another. It took not only their merger, but the willingness of the NBA to accept that dunk competitions and a slightly greater focus on style was important to the casual fan. Is it silly? Of course. But, it is what grew the league from something that was less popular than golf and tennis to arguably the 2nd most popular sport in America.

Look, I'm not saying you throw out the rule book when Chris Paul steps on the court, but I also wouldn't want to force every player to fit in, skillset be damned.

You may not like them making a lot of money, but why don't you just watch the D-League or Arena Football or college basketball/football or minor league baseball? Why do you watch pro sports? Because you want to see the best players in the world. Even you aren't immune to that.

 

Since we're on this topic, and someone wants me to be commish, here are some things I WOULD change.

1. I'd look into widening the court. Players are substantially bigger today than they were when the game was invented. Making the court wider and even longer, by even 1-2 feet, could open up new lanes and make more room to get up and down the floor.

2. I'd look into widening the key for many of the same reasons.

3. I'd establish a much more stringent review of officials and make that data public. It would eliminate much of the criticism of them and help fans better understand how they are evaluated.

4. I'd seriously tighten salary cap rules and punish teams much more severely for both going over and for cost cutting measures. Teams should be required to have both maximum and minimum salary requirements and they should be sanctioned heavily for violating those rules.

5. Teams would be required to acknowledge their cities in team apparel. Nothing pissed me off more than when the Rockets said they would not put Houston even on their away jerseys after they got new uni's and despite the fact that taxpayers bought them a new building.

Those are off the top of my head. I'm sure I'd think of more.

 

It's worth getting you on the job just for these two changes.

Jeff for Commish!!

 

The commissioner does not work for the "fans" or the "players".

He is responsible to the 30 owners, and he has full support from them, if he ever lost support from even a handful of owners, he would be out the door.

All these issues only matter to fans and players, what matters to owners is the capital value of their teams, as long as that is going up, everything else is just petty details.

 

The NFL has a much better attitude about officiating. They have a rep that comes on tv and explains controversial calls and the rationale behind them. Contrast that with Stern, who's more "you don't like the call, too bad. And you owe me 25K, by the way".

The NBA is hard to officiate. No argument there. But doesn't college play the same game? Why is the officiating so different in college? Can you say that for the NFL and college football? Maybe you can, I can't say that I've paid enough attention.

One of the huge problems I have w/the NBA is the schedule. Out of the 3 major sports, the NBA is the one where W/L is affected the most by scheduling. I saw the other day where the Rockets had the most sets of back-to-backs in the league. Why isn't it equal? I guess it could even out by the end of the year. But when two teams are playing and one is on its 4th game in 5 nights and the other is at home and rested, the outcome is almost always predetermined. That should have been fixed a long time ago. Fans are getting short-changed in that situation.

Stern's recent comments re: SVG on Mike & Mike were ridiculous and one of the big issues I have with him. Such an a-hole.

 

The NBA is MUCH harder to officiate than college. I watched some of the conference tournament games while having LPBB on at the same time and the speed and flow are at another level in the NBA. The college game is in slow motion.

If you wanna see truly bad officiating, watch FIBA.