Repairing the NBA

I love basketball. I like the pace of the game, I like the team oriented aspect, the athleticism, the strategies used. However, the business aspect of the professional sport has changed basketball.  Expansion has diluted talent. The talent is spread out over 30 teams with plenty of subpar players gaining contracts to fill out rosters. How does Brian Scalabrine still have a contract? Free Agency has made it nearly impossible to keep a team together long enough to gel, putting money over team loyalty, and competition.

If you look back at the 1980s, largely called the best decade for the NBA, there were only 23 teams until 1988 when Miami, Orlando, Charlotte, and Minnesota entered the league. Only one of those expansion teams has won a title, basically being useless franchises that drained talent away from the others. The only reason to have franchises in these cities would be to make money in these markets. Wouldn't it be easier to promote an already existing franchise close to these cities, rather than cannibalize the nearest existing market, dilute the talent pool, and then piss off all your new fans in the new market when this new team is perpetually terrible? Instead of having an awful Charlotte team in Charlotte, why not market the already existing Wizards and Hawks who are close by, and already have a history and identity?

Any way, this post is much like this post I already wrote. And also I read Bill Simmons, who has been saying stuff about how the NBA could help itself for quite some time, most obviously in his The Book of Basketball. Steve Kerr recently wrote an article too about changing the draft age requirement, and how much this ought to solve several issues with younger players. I also have a few ideas, some stolen from Simmons.

1.  Collapse bad franchises.

The NBA will never do this. They are so concerned with keeping markets in every viable city possible that they would rather leave poorly managed franchises where they are and open brand new ones in new cities. Sometimes teams move cities. Like when Seattle lost their franchise and Oklahoma City received the Zombie Sonics in the shadiest business deal in sports since the Celtics stole Larry Bird. The reason the '80s were so successful, with Magic and Bird and young Jordan, and Isiah Thomas was due to fewer teams with a higher concentration of talent, and superstars being happy where they were.

Why would well paid athletes want to leave the cities where they made names for themselves and have a huge fanbase during their prime? This is a huge trend recently with Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and soon Dwight Howard leaving teams in their prime to go to another city to play with other superstars. The stars of the '80s would never do that. However, there are now 7 more teams in the league to compete for star players, so instead of having two or three star players on a team, some franchises are lucky to have one.

Some fans can't understand why the Celtics of the '50s and 60's can be considered special, since they competed against other teams with 6 hall of famers. Doesn't seem fair, until you consider that the NBA in the 50's and 60's fluctuated between 14 and 8 teams for that 20 year span. Every team had multiple star players. and the Celtics hardly had a monopoly on the best talent in the league. Imagine what current rosters would look like with only roster spots for 100 players instead of 450. Lebron would have never left Cleveland, the odds of him already playing with three or four other stars would have been very high.

This could be the Lakers vs the Bulls

I thought about what sorts of moves the league could make in order to collapse things for the good of competition. I decided that if a team has ever won a championship, the franchise deserves to be allowed to stick around, no matter how long it's been. The team at one point earned a spot in League history by winning a title. Therefore, the Celtics, Lakers, Pistons, Hawks (in St Louis), 76ers, Knicks, Kings (as Royals in Rochester), Warriors, Bucks, Wizards (as Bullets), Trailblazers, Thunder (as Sonics in Seatle), Bulls, Rockets, Spurs, Heat, and Mavericks are all protected. In addition, the other 3 ABA teams ought to be protected also, if for any other reason than they represent the merger, and were already saved once from being folded (unlike the unlucky Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St Louis). That brings the league to 20 teams. A good league size would be an even 24, 12 teams per conference. So, the league would have to look to close 6 teams.

With this said, Charlotte should be folded. They already had a chance with the Hornets franchise, and now the Bobcats are looking to be the worst team in league history. They have no significant history for fans to be proud of and loyal to. The last expansion team ought to be the first to close.

Minnesota should be folded, along with the Toronto Raptors. Both these teams can't entice good players to come play there, and quickly lose the good players they get in drafts to free agency. They are small markets with cold weather and no history of winning. Boston has trouble selling itself to free agents and it's the most winningest franchise ever. Fold both these teams and market the regions to closer franchises, like Milwaukee and Detroit.

The Utah Jazz had the best chance to win titles in the '90s and could not get past Jordan and the Bulls, understandably. But before and since the Malone/Stockton era, the Jazz have been non contenders. When the Utah franchise folds, the Jazz name needs to go back to New Orleans where it belongs.

Florida is a pretty big place with many lucrative sports markets including Miami, Tampa, Tampa Bay, Orlando, etc. However, I've noticed the fan bases for sports not named Football are not very reliable. Heat fans, for instance, arrive late to games and leave early; and that team is successful. The Orlando Magic ought to be folded. They went to the finals twice since their inception, and both times failed to win a title. They possessed two of the biggest (literally) stars in the game since Wilt Chamberlain and were unable to keep them from leaving for other teams (Shaq went to the Lakers, and although he hasn't left yet, I'm predicting Dwight Howard is on another team next season). Florida seems to be barely capable of handling one franchise in each sport (aside from football), and the Heat market should be extended to all of Florida. Plus, Atlanta is pretty close by.

The Clippers need to be closed, sacrificed for the betterment of the league. I know they have significant history in the league, but aside from longevity, this franchise has done nothing but move three times (Buffalo, San Diego, Los Angeles) and the franchise mismanagement is legendary.  


2.  Do something to make pre-season more interesting.

Pre seasons are super fun, if you're the sports equivalent of a nerd. For everyone else, it's boring. Especially in basketball, where the fanbase is pretty sure who the starting lineup will be during the real season, and although it is like a mini tryout for fringe players to try and get a roster spot, most of the spots are already guaranteed. The competition is light, most of the stars don't play more than half their normal minutes, and wins and losses are meaningless. The only good use of the pre season is giving rookies and young talent time to play and develop, and letting fantasy nerds get a look at things.

That all being said, I have a few ideas to make things more interesting, develop young talent, and bring in more revenue (which is really what the NBA is excited about).

A: play pre-season games in other places.

there are plenty of local schools with gyms

When the NBA collapses those franchises, they're going to need to start promoting another team from another city in its place in order to keep the market. The NBA already knows how good exhibition games are at selling the game. There is a reason there are so many Celtics fans in Eastern Europe. Cultivating larger fanbases is easy when you showcase your games in other neighborhoods.

Some teams already do this. The Celtics, for example, play games in Hartford, CT, and Manchester, NH. I propose doing this more and in other cities. Expand the NBA market to other places, play for the small town fans who can't travel to the big cities or afford regular season tickets along with travel expenses, etc. The NBA talks often of giving back to the communities. This is a very public way to show that commitment.


B: Tournament.

I borrowed this idea from Bill Simmons. The teams can play their pre-season games in those neighboring cities, showcasing their stars, and developing new talent and building team chemistry. However, pre-season is still pretty boring. So...  at the end, one city will host a pre-season NCAA style tournament. Host cities should be cities without an NBA franchise (like St Lious, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Kansas City, etc) in order to showcase the NBA in those markets.

Single elimination means one win moves a team on, and the losing team is done. This will go by pretty quickly. The NCAA tournament lasts a few weeks and includes 64 teams. The NBA only will have 24 teams, so it could last a few days. 24 teams is a weird number for a single elimination tournament, but I'm sure NBA people could figure out how to make it work, maybe give byes to last season's Finals contenders or something. This is a good way to end a pre-season and gear up for opening day. Stars don't have to play, and the young players get exposed to a play-off style atmosphere.

The problem with this is how to get teams interested and eager to play well enough to make the tournament not a joke. The All-Star Game has the same problem. My solution: the winner will actually win something.

The team that wins the tournament would secure the All-Star Game for their city and will host the weekend in the upcoming February. Right now, cities have to lobby to get the All-Star Game, which brings business and tourism to the host city. That's a pretty good incentive without making the tournament super competitive. And since cities like Las Vegas, without a franchise, will be allowed to host the pre-season tournament, they won't be attempting to take the All-Star hosting duties away from an NBA franchise.

3.  Expand the NBDL

Right now, there are two other professional leagues that use extensive, successful farm system minor leagues and one other professional sport that uses the NCAA as their farm system. The NBA has been having issues with young players not living up to potential and ending their careers prematurely, having not developed in ways the league had hoped. A lot of this has to do with poor development early on. There isn't much incentive to stay in college when there can be so much money to be made as a pro.

The NBDL was a step in the right direction, but cannot seem to be profitable or create quality fanbases with strong, sound label recognition. There are some players recently who have come out of the NBDL, developed enough to be quality players in the NBA, but not enough.

More money needs to be funneled into the NBDL in order to advertise, expand, and attract television deals. The NBDL should expand while the NBA itself collapses, in order to give each franchise its own minor league system. Currently, the Lakers are the only NBA franchise that owns its own NBDL franchise, more teams need to invest to give the minor league permanency. Not only is a minor league franchise a good way to develop new talent, like baseball, it also gives a place to rehab injuries, and it puts the NBA in smaller markets. Those 6 cities that lost their franchises several paragraphs ago would all be good places for NBDL franchises. Once again, expanding the NBA market without diluting the NBA talent.

Im as Cool as a Cucumber in a Bowl of Hot Sauce

Just like any white kid from the suburbs in the '90s, I became a fan of the Beastie Boys.  Three white Jewish kids from Brooklyn, and their Filipino DJ made hip hop acceptable and available to the mainstream.  Not only did the group prove that white kids can do hip hop too, but also showed how to successfully blend rock and rap without being overtly angry like Rage Against the Machine, or a colossal joke like Limp Biskit.  The greater music industry has seemed to forget about the Beastie Boys when discussing white people in hip hop, or the potential for musicianship in rap music.

Beastie Boys

Licensed to Ill.

1986, Def Jam

producer: Rick Rubin

AdRock
Mike D
MCA
Rick Rubin

singles-

• Hold it, Now Hit It
• Its the New Style/ Paul Revere
• Paul Revere
• Brass Monkey
• Fight for your Right
• No Sleep til Brooklyn/ Posse in Effect
• Girls/ She's Crafty

I remember the video for (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party), which played on MTV when I was in elementary school.  I didn't actually hear this album in its entirety until high school, and didn't truly appreciate it until much later.  It seemed to me, especially after hearing later albums like Ill Communication, and Check Your Head first, that this album was pretty much a gimmick and mostly an unlistenable relic from the mid '80s.  Kind of like DIY punk albums.  If I could, I'd go back in time and slap 15 year old me.  This album is a great example of rock/rap hybrid.  Fight for your Right, No Sleep til Brooklyn, and Girls sponsoring guitar solos and singing.  Other tracks like Paul Revere, Rhymin and Stealin, and Brass Monkey prove that overproduced and over sampled tracks are unnecessary when you have a drum machine.  The Beastie Boys would continue to defy contemporary views of what hip hop was and what it could be, and it all started here.

Beastie Boys

Ill Communication

1994, Grand Royal

producer: Mario C

MikeD
AdRock
MCA
Eric Bobo

singles-

• Sabotage
• Get it Together/ Sabotage/ Dope Little Song
• Get it Together/ Sabotage/ Resolution Time
• Sure Shot
• Root Down/ Ricky's Theme

So, like Fight for Your Right, Sabotage was a huge music video that I distinctly remember watching in middle school.  This whole album is fantastic, and although many fans point to Paul's Boutique as being the group's finest album, I'd argue that Ill Communication is just as good, if not better.  Not only did the album feature Q-tip from A Tribe Called Quest, and Biz Markie, but also showcased some instrumental jazz tracks.  The group ditched their drum machine for live drummer Eric Bobo.  Also featured is the short punk rock track Tough Guy, which reminded everyone of their early '80s roots.  Not only did the first single, Sabotage, bring commercial success and radio play, but the video also was nominated in 5 categories at the 1994 MTV Music Awards and lost them all, which prompted MCA to interrupt Michael Stipe's acceptance speech in protest, dressed as Nathaniel Hornblower.

Beastie Boys

Hello Nasty

1998, Capitol

producer: Mario C

MCA
Mike D
AdRock
Mix Master Mike
Eric Bobo

singles-

• Intergalactic/ Hail Sagan
• Intergalactic
• Body Movin/ Peanut Butter and Jelly
• Body Movin/ Dr Lee PhD
• The Negotiation Limerick File/ 3 MCs, 1 DJ/ Puttin Shame in Your Game
• Remote Control/ 3 MCs, 1 DJ

Enter Mix Master Mike.  I was in South Dakota when this came out during the summer of 1998.  I know this, because a friend of mine anticipated the release, and had her mom mail it to us. Clearly this couldn't wait until we got back.  This album encompassed everything the Beastie Boys had worked toward since the '80s, and coalesced into a masterpiece.  Eric Bobo's last album with the group is also Mix Master Mike's debut.  Biz Markie makes another appearance also.  This album won Grammys.  The over all feel of the album, marked by the tracks Intergalactic and Super Disco Breakin, is very science fiction.  The group is finally able to successfully blend their rock and hip hop together without sounding clunky, and without having distinct rock tracks and hip hop tracks breaking the flow of the album.  Mix Master Mike throws in some Latin influenced samples and what you get is gold.

"Pay attention, my intention is to bust a move"

Tragically, a third (or fourth I guess, if you count Mix Master Mike) of the Beastie Boys, Adam Yauch (MCA) died the other day of cancer.  So, of course, I had to write this up, as the Beastie Boys are on my mind recently.  MCA was my favorite part of the group.  His more distinct gravelly voice played off of Mike D and AdRock's more high pitched, sometimes indistinguishable sounds.  He will be missed by many.  

Rolling Stone Disappoints. A Repost

I haven't actually bought a copy of Rolling Stone magazine for quite sometime.  In fact I can't remember the last time.  I still have the Jerry Garcia special issue from 1995...  because, you know, I'm a huge Grateful Dead nerd.

My buddy has a tumblr account and sometimes posts interesting things.  He posted an open letter of sorts recently regarding Rolling Stone's "25 Best Things in Rock Right Now", and highlights the magazine's out of touch ineptitude.

The link is below.  Enjoy.

http://swampthang.tumblr.com/post/20998168357/rollingstone-25-best-things-in-rock-right-now

Phoney Baloney

There are plenty of fictional bands, or rock stars that don't actually exist out there.  There are bands that were created for cartoons, like The Archies, Josie and the Pussycats, Jem and the Holograms, bands created for comics like Billy and the Boingers, Sex bob-omb, and Dazzler, and bands created for sitcoms and movies like Marie deSalle, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch.  

Actual musicians also like to make up fictional bands, some to sing about, and some to use as an alias, or a character to play.  Bennie and the Jets and Uncle John's Band are good examples.  There are also a few used for entire albums.  Probably the most famous example is Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, but Ziggy Stardust ought to be mentioned too, and Garth Brooks' alter ego Chris Gaines.  Here are two more.

Fictional band: Eddie and the Cruisers.

Real band: John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band

Eddie and the Cruisers soundtrack

1983. Scottie Brothers. 

produced by Kenny Vance

-singles

• On the Dark Side
• Tender Years

The Beaver Brown Band lent its sound to the already existing fictional band created by PF Kluge in the novel of the same name.  I found two versions of this album, the one I have has a few tracks not included on the rerelease in 1984.  The idea was to have the band sound like Bruce Springsteen meets the Doors and Dion and the Belmonts.  John Cafferty nails it.  The film is still played sometimes on movie channels, and the single On the Dark Side is still sometimes played on classic rock stations.  Not bad for a band that never existed.  I loved this movie as a kid, and it's based on a book, which I haven't been able to find, although I hear it's nothing like the movie.

Blues Brothers.  

Briefcase Full of Blues

1978.  Atlantic.  

produced by Bob Tischler

singles-

• Rubber Biscuit
• Soul Man

Unlike Eddie and the Cruisers, who never did anything under that name studio or live after that one soundtrack release, The Blues Brothers toured as a real band, in character, and released a few albums.  According to Aykroyd, John Belushi really wanted this project to work and used it as creative outlet outside of acting.  So, to be fair, this isn't really a fake band.  They perform all covers, digging deep into the blues catalog.  When I was little, after seeing the movie, I thought all blues was like the big band sound of the Blues Brothers and Cab Calloway.  It took me a little while to realize that the blues can be very different.

They Call Me Mr. Tibbs!

I watched ESPN Sportscenter this morning, basically for highlights from the Celtics/Heat game from last night.  I saw the game, but sometimes I like to watch reactions to good games from commentators, and see which highlights they show.  Anyway, I realized, as I watched, that more often than not, superstars were referred to by shortened versions of their names or initials, instead of their last names (normal) or clever nicknames (cool).  This made me wonder what happened to modern sports writing.  Can no one coin a good nickname anymore?

KD goes around CP3...  sounds lame

What happened to clever nicknames for sports icons?  This isn't just basketball stars being shortchanged cool monikers.  Robert Griffin III, the newest Heisman winner, is referred to as RG3.  No one could come up with something clever for the Baylor athlete famous for the socks he wears?  RG3 is uninspired.

The NBA is notorious lately for branding their superstars by their initials and shortened versions of their actual name.  KG, KD, DWade, JKidd, CP3, AI, TMac, VC are all good examples.  The only player that has been nicknamed with his initials that is in anyway clever is Andre Kirilenko.  He is Russian an wears number 47.  So calling him AK47 is awesome.  Other than that...  come up with something better.  Even Jordan, one of the top 3 best players in the game's history, is often referred to as MJ, even when Air Jordan and His Airness have been used before.  

One may argue that Jeremy Lin started some clever branding.  But Linsanity sounds an awful lot like Vinsanity...  Vince Carter was a sensation in the '90s.  Once again, modern broadcasting can't be original.

Chocolate Thunder and Dr J Have a Word...  now THATS a caption!

What happened to the days of broadcasting nicknames like Chocolate Thunder, the Hick from French Lick, The Houdini of the Hardwood, Black Magic?  I like that Walt Frazier's nickname was Clyde.  I like that Wilt Chamberlain was called the Big Dipper, because he had to duck to get through doors.  I like that Magic Johnson is still referred to as Magic Johnson, long after he has retired and become an analyst.  No one calls him Ervin.  No one talks about Julius Erving either, but everyone knows Dr. J.

Currently there are a few NBA stars that have clever, well coined nicknames.  Like Kobe Bryant is the Black Mamba, and Paul Pierce is the Truth.  I think a first step would be for players to embrace the clever nicknames.  Maybe not as enthusiastically as the Shaqtus/Big Aristotle/Big Diesel/Superman/Big Shamrock, who gave himself most of those nicknames.

There is a similar post and project here on Both Teams Played Hard.  It has a list of current and former nicknames for players, all better than the cheap initials used primarily for players that have slightly less well known tags.

Pierce wears his nickname with pride