Nate Hanson

Yes I would.

The Lakers had a round of layoffs today affecting a number different departments as the team continued a reorganization after its sale a year ago. Was described to me as a “brutal” day inside the team offices

The Lakers had a round of layoffs today affecting a number different departments as the team continued a reorganization after its sale a year ago. Was described to me as a “brutal” day inside the team offices

My hypothesis: the only way the NBA reforms what has become a practically unwatchable game is by re-incorporating as many of the norms of pick-up basketball as they can. Anyone who has ever played at the park knows the honor-norms are carefully calibrated to harness competitive basketball without it leading to fights. Calling your own fouls often leads to a much higher bar for fouls ("no blood, no foul") because people mercilessly downrank guys who try to game the system. Even if they win, they get no respect--and respect is the engine that keeps everyone in line and makes games fun. The league has to change something to stop the blight of foul-baiting, and I don't think it's as calling the game differently: I think they need to switch the incentives-structure, to shift players' thinking away from baiting people to get to the foul line. Pump fakes should be for better shots, not to draw fouls. In short: bring back the honor code, complete with allowing maximal shaming and displays of superiority against players who violate it. My potential proposals (which I have spent five minutes thinking about) include: 1. Each team has two "flop challenges" per game. Anyone can use 'em at any time, and if they're successful the player who flops is kicked out. 2. Quit indulging "safteyism" with players. Yeah, there were some bad injuries with players landing on others' feet...but the perverse incentives of kicking have broken the "landing zone" idea entirely. (This is why you can't have nice things, NBA players.) If someone injures someone deliberately, see rule 3. 3. Install an NHL-style "penalty box" and give players a latitude for scuffling. Keep the rule about anyone coming off the bench getting kicked out, and permanently ban any NBA player who gets into it with a fan Sprewell-style. Otherwise? If there's a minor fight, give the players three minutes in the box while the teams go four-on-four, or four-on-five. (Three minutes, rather than two, allows for a few more possessions and a steeper penalty.) Let players self-enforce their own honor code. 4. "Take it out." Seriously, reduce the number of free-throws entirely by setting the 1 and 1 number at 10 and two shots at 15 or 20 fouls. Maybe expand it so that there are more free-throws in the final two minutes, but other than that? Make the double-bonus practically impossible to reach. The path to making the NBA fun again is making it more like the park we played at growing up, not less. (File under: opinions for which no one asked.)

And those guys are admitted Blazer fans. I am not. You can't cover them and be a fan of them. It's unethical. Bias coverage. Journalism 101. But wouldn't expect you to understand that.