I do not think it is a hot take to say Adam Silver is the current worst commissioner in sports.
As a fan, I have noticed a severe drop off in the NBA's product specifically over the last five years, and I think it would be best for the NBA if the owners were to pull the plug on Silver's leadership.
With that in mind, here are five moves I would make if I were in charge of the NBA. Of course, some of these takes may be considered more ridiculous than others, but as someone who has loved the NBA for years, I believe these would be best for us basketball fans who want to see the league thrive year after year.
Expand The League To Seattle & Las Vegas, Move The Grizzlies to The Eastern Conference
The skill level of the NBA is at an all-time high today. There are so many talented players who struggle to find minutes on good teams because of how deep the talent pool is now. Because of that, the NBA can afford to bring in two new franchises while retaining a high-level product across the association.
This is going to happen in due time, but I cannot wait for Seattle & Las Vegas to join the NBA or re-join, in Seattle's case.
With both of those teams headed to the Western Conference upon their arrival, the league will need to add a 16th team over to the East and in my opinion, the Grizzlies are the logical choice.
Scarp The In-Season Tournament
I cannot stress how much I hate the In-Season Tournament.
The In-Season tournament is a gimmick that was designed to make the regular season more meaningful but the problem was fans did not care and have been fun of on numerous occasions because of the stupid-looking courts, or point differential tie-breakers, to name a few elements of this publicity stunt.
This thing needs to go.
Play-In Tournament is not Automatic; Teams Must Be Within 4 Games To Trigger That Scenario
I understand that people love the play-in tournament. Technically, it has been a success as we have seen less tanking in the league since it became a thing in the 2021 season. However, my biggest issue with it is when you have teams that after an 82-game season are nowhere close to a playoff spot getting another opportunity to get in.
For example, the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat finished 47-35 & 46-36 which landed them in the 7-8 play-in game. Meanwhile, the Chicago Bulls & Atlanta Hawks also were in the East's play-in tournament despite that the Bulls finished 39-43, and the Hawks were 36-46.
Does that not seem ridiculous that the Bulls were 7 games behind the Heat after the regular season and Miami still had to fight their way into the post-season? Not to mention, because they played that extra game, their All-Star player Jimmy Butler suffered an injury against the Sixers that caused him to miss the post-season altogether.
I believe that if you have at least a five-game lead on a team, you should automatically get into the post-season. The only way a Play-In Game should be triggered is if there is a 4-game gap or less in the standings.
Make Trading Way Simpler
Another thing I cannot stand about the NBA is why trading has to be so complicated. Why do we have to follow all these rules about salaries matching, or not being able to trade first-round picks in consecutive years? I do not understand why teams cannot either, offer their best for a player they want, or on the opposite end, why are we not allowing teams willing to move off their top-tier talent to acquire their preferred assets or players in a deal?
Let's eliminate all the extra stuff and let teams offer or acquire whatever they want in a deal.
Make Coaches Wear Suits Again
This is such a little thing but it annoys me.
The NBA looked so much more serious when coaches were suited up on the sidelines. After all, this is their workspace, and they used to dress like it.
Nowadays, we have coaches looking like they just wrapped their workout or just got off the couch with their Nike Dri-Fit fleeces. Even though he's gone, do you know embarrising of a look it should be for the NBA when Darvin Ham is just sticking his hands in jean like pockets all night? Did he even want to be there?
If you want to be taken seriously as a league, let's get back to a more serious aesthetic.
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