Sources: NBA considering reseeding conference finalists, postseason play-in

[gouki88]

I simply don't get why the NBA is hellbent on making changes

I just think Adam Silver is trying to make more money for the league and increase TV ratings. Me personally, just let it be!

You would think he'd be happy with record-high league popularity, but seemingly not

[GreenlyGreeny]

I do like the idea of April Madness where the 16 worst teams go into a four-round tourney after game 78 to determine the 8th seed in each conference. It gives a strong incentive to finish 7th or higher, so no slacking after the all-star break even if you’ve got the 8th best record in your conference no matter what. And there’s top-flight matches amongst the 14 best for the final four games of the year. Most interestingly, it also gives hope to fans of teams that sucked 78 of the 82 regular season games, so you there’s no way to be eliminated from the playoffs until game 78, which may lead to greater emphasis on rebuilding via youth, fans sticking around, etc. good example: if someone lost a superstar player at the beginning of the season who makes it back with a few games to go, there’s still hope of a playoff appearance! Giving the final two 8th seeds a match-up for the best odds of winning the lottery would be extremely exciting, too, particularly if the whole tourney ends the season and the lottery is conducted that night before kicking off the playoffs. More hope for the losing teams heading into the playoffs.

[KGs Knee]

Is a million per player for winning the proposed in-season tourney enough to get players to bite?

I'd guess at least 50% of the league would be fine with it, given that is a large portion of their salary.  The star players may not care, as it is a small fraction of their salary.  I'll be interested to see what the players ultimately are able to negotiate out of this if the league really is determined to make this happen.  The union ultimately has to be on-board, and Silver still has to convince the owners this will actually be profitable for them.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/28341740/sources-1m-per-player-prize-mulled-proposed-season-tournament

[slamtheking]

Is a million per player for winning the proposed in-season tourney enough to get players to bite?

I'd guess at least 50% of the league would be fine with it, given that is a large portion of their salary.  The star players may not care, as it is a small fraction of their salary.  I'll be interested to see what the players ultimately are able to negotiate out of this if the league really is determined to make this happen.  The union ultimately has to be on-board, and Silver still has to convince the owners this will actually be profitable for them.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/28341740/sources-1m-per-player-prize-mulled-proposed-season-tournament

still don't see the appeal of this.  just play the season as is.

[mr. dee]

They already made the all-star game worse. Please not this, also.

[cman88]

this sounds horrible. Eliminates alot of the rivalries. and what happens when say a "brooklyn" has a first round series in Portland and has to fly back and forth 10hours for games.

Not to mention, wait until we get a Clippers/Lakers finals and no one in the rest of the country cares or will stay up to watch it because it only benefits one state.

Just bad ideas all around.

[hpantazo]

I'm pro having a cup and a league. It would be on par with what the rest of the world does. That being said, 4 game reduction doesn't make much sense imo. If they want to have a mid season tournament and hopefully get rid of B2B games in general, they need to reduce the season schedule by than 4 games. I believe it would help solve the load management issue a bit as well.

Imo, i think that is the long term goal of the changes, to set up a standard international system for future NBA expansion, with the long term goal of creating an NBA version of the World Cup.

[KGs Knee]

Is a million per player for winning the proposed in-season tourney enough to get players to bite?

I'd guess at least 50% of the league would be fine with it, given that is a large portion of their salary.  The star players may not care, as it is a small fraction of their salary.  I'll be interested to see what the players ultimately are able to negotiate out of this if the league really is determined to make this happen.  The union ultimately has to be on-board, and Silver still has to convince the owners this will actually be profitable for them.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/28341740/sources-1m-per-player-prize-mulled-proposed-season-tournament

still don't see the appeal of this.  just play the season as is.

I'd prefer the league leaves things alone. I don't see a problem that needs fixing. Load management doesn't bother me. I want my best players healthy for the playoffs, so if they have to sit out occasional games it fine with me.

But it's clear to me this is something Silver wants to happen. I have no idea if the owners and players will get on board or not. Silver is going to have to prove this is worth it financially, which is all the owners are motivated by. What you and I want only matters to them if it costs them money.

[Amonkey]

I was thinking, what if they used the soccer model and did a Under 23 tournament. That way you can still get some big stars and not have to worry about older players bowing out, the $1 million incentive is bigger for younger players that may not have that big contract yet, it avoids the risk of injuries for older players and let's us see some younger players get more action in meaningful games.

This approach may not get as many of the top names, but I think it can get enough stars to make it interesting and it'd be better for the die-hard since we'd be able to see the Tacko Falls and Langford play.

What do you think?

[ederson]

The NBA doesn't care about diehards. No major league worldwide nowadays cares about diehards.

[nickagneta]

I was thinking, what if they used the soccer model and did a Under 23 tournament. That way you can still get some big stars and not have to worry about older players bowing out, the $1 million incentive is bigger for younger players that may not have that big contract yet, it avoids the risk of injuries for older players and let's us see some younger players get more action in meaningful games.

This approach may not get as many of the top names, but I think it can get enough stars to make it interesting and it'd be better for the die-hard since we'd be able to see the Tacko Falls and Langford play.

What do you think?

It's gimmicky.

It's circus like.

It's carny like.

It's not going to be appealing to the American basketball audience, really only to international fans. And I think any of these terrible ideas will be nixed by the players union. Don't see the NBPA supporting any of this.

[wiley]

tournament idea is silly.  Not really a Mark Cuban fan but he nailed it:  "So dumb"
(not against Cuban either...don't know much about him and what makes him sometimes controversial).

[Amonkey]

I was thinking, what if they used the soccer model and did a Under 23 tournament. That way you can still get some big stars and not have to worry about older players bowing out, the $1 million incentive is bigger for younger players that may not have that big contract yet, it avoids the risk of injuries for older players and let's us see some younger players get more action in meaningful games.

This approach may not get as many of the top names, but I think it can get enough stars to make it interesting and it'd be better for the die-hard since we'd be able to see the Tacko Falls and Langford play.

What do you think?

It's gimmicky.

It's circus like.

It's carny like.

It's not going to be appealing to the American basketball audience, really only to international fans. And I think any of these terrible ideas will be nixed by the players union. Don't see the NBPA supporting any of this.

Soccer just had their FIFA World Club Finals and that was a pretty big deal to the countries involved. Basically, every National Champion (and some runner-ups) play a tournament in their respective continent. The winner of that tournament played in a mini-tourney that ended up being Flamengo (Brazil) playing Liverpool (England). These two teams would never play each other otherwise.

Anyway, it was a fun tournament and created a lot of hype for the teams. Granted, you can't do the same in the NBA but if they make it right, they can have a fun tournament.

[nickagneta]

I was thinking, what if they used the soccer model and did a Under 23 tournament. That way you can still get some big stars and not have to worry about older players bowing out, the $1 million incentive is bigger for younger players that may not have that big contract yet, it avoids the risk of injuries for older players and let's us see some younger players get more action in meaningful games.

This approach may not get as many of the top names, but I think it can get enough stars to make it interesting and it'd be better for the die-hard since we'd be able to see the Tacko Falls and Langford play.

What do you think?

It's gimmicky.

It's circus like.

It's carny like.

It's not going to be appealing to the American basketball audience, really only to international fans. And I think any of these terrible ideas will be nixed by the players union. Don't see the NBPA supporting any of this.

Soccer just had their FIFA World Club Finals and that was a pretty big deal to the countries involved. Basically, every National Champion (and some runner-ups) play a tournament in their respective continent. The winner of that tournament played in a mini-tourney that ended up being Flamengo (Brazil) playing Liverpool (England). These two teams would never play each other otherwise.

Anyway, it was a fun tournament and created a lot of hype for the teams. Granted, you can't do the same in the NBA but if they make it right, they can have a fun tournament.

Yeah, but that is soccer and that is international. American sports are quite different. You can mess with the All Star games but you don't mess with the seasons. Not like that

[nickagneta]

It appeared the NBA owners were scheduled to vote on these playoff changes,  schedule changes, and in season tournament stuff but that vote has been cancelled and the entire idea will be looked at further at a time in the future.

Translation: Silver didn't have the votes amongst owners or the players leadership told him they would never support it. So its dead....for now.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/28503734/sources-nba-puts-vote-schedule-overhaul-hold-eyes-changes