Incoming commissioner Adam Silver said the NBA is “looking at everything” when it comes to making changes for the future. The first thing he needs to look at is changing the league’s playoff format. When spring arrives and there are eight first-round series, we can guarantee that four are going to be lousy unless they go seven games; and four are going to be so compelling that we’ll all feel cheated if they don’t go seven games. Of course, we are talking
As it was in the beginning, so it will be in the end, an NBA without David Stern, amen. It’s true. There is going to be an NBA without its commissioner of the last 30 years, who’s handing over his axe, er, stepping down in favor of Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver on Feb. 1. It just won’t seem like the NBA, though. Not that the league won’t continue on its merry way. The stars will still be stars. The league will continue to
These fans are sitting in what used to be press row at Madison Square Garden David Stern never really cared about the people who did more to publicize his product than any other group: the NBA beat writers for the daily newspapers, and later, for the major Web sites. Stern pretended to evince a modicum of interest in his meetings with us, which came a couple times during the year. He’d listen, then basically ignore everything he heard.
Adam Silver is a nice guy, or so I’ve come to believe. There are those who will tell you the exact is opposite, but they say so in a whisper. They are not what is known in NBA headquarters as an FOA (Friend of Adam), and thus they fear and loathe him the same way so many basketball fans fear, loathe … and hate, yes hate, outgoing commissioner David Stern. Fairly or unfairly, Stern has become a lightning rod for every grievance
As we approach February and the 2014 All Star Weekend, the league will approach a milestone that for the vast majority of NBA players, fans, and executives will represent uncharted waters .. . the great unknown. David Stern will not be the commissioner. As Stern retires after serving a 30-year term as commissioner, the game as we know it today is largely a product of his influence. Stern took over as commissioner when Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuon entered the league and Bird/Magic
Big game tonight for the Memphis Grizzlies, who you may recall went to the Western Conference finals last season despite hiring John Hollinger. 🙂 With a win, they crawl back within one game of .500 despite being without Marc Gasol for the past several weeks. With a loss, their uphill climb back to respectability gets a little tougher. It now appears the West is going to be an 11-team race for three spots, with the Pelicans falling out of the picture
The National Basketball Association is entertaining new ideas for the draft to combat the problem of teams tanking (purposefully failing to compete for wins) to gain a greater chance at a high lottery pick. If you haven’t heard this already, you may be late to the party… However, considering that nothing will likely happen with this information, tardiness is a relative concept. The idea being entertained, as was first reported by Zach Lowe of Grantland and summarized here by our own Brett
STORY OF THE DAY: It was reported last week that the divorce between Jason Kidd and Lawrence Frank was brewing since the beginning of the season. Mike Mazzeo of ESPN came up with a few more details on what exactly went down: Brooklyn Nets coach Jason Kidd allegedly used “a 13-letter word” against assistant Lawrence Frank during a blow-up at some point following the team’s loss in Orlando on Nov. 3. In an expletive-laced rant, Kidd told Frank to sit down and be quiet. “I’m