agree that it is broken, but do agree that some things need changing.

1. This is an important one. Go back to the drawing board on the 2nd Apron. It is bad for the sport and is going to prevent trades and deals from happening that are good for the sport. Whomever drew this up I'm sure thought it would be a good idea, but in reality it is not.

2. Give more incentives in contracts. I would love to make contracts not guaranteed, but it will never happen. Make it the norm that incentives make up 20-25% of the salary. The union will push back, but telling them that the pool of money is going to the players (never decreasing)and the ones who are producing make the most should be enough. While I won't pretend to know how to structure the contracts, number one would be games played. If you aren't playing you are making less money which is going to your teammates that play more. But incentives for teams that win more games during the regular season (your team gets 10% of the pool of money if you are the best and the worst gets 0% of a pool of money) incentivizes all of the players to try and win games. Even teams that are tanking will have players that are trying as they want to make more money. I have seen enough comp plans in my day to know that money is a real motivator for many people. While it is true the base portion will make most of them rich regardless, making $10 million extra instead of $5 million extra would be a big deal.

3. Widen the court by 4 feet so that the arc extends at its natural distance. This should also lower the amount of guys who are on the line on the wing (it seems like it happens 4 or 5 times a game). This will make the game more open and get rid of the most efficient shot in basketball (outside of the dunk), the corner 3 (as it is shorter now). Will some NBA arenas have to adjust a little bit? Sure. But most have Hockey in there as well which is much wider than this would be. It won't be hard.

4. Start on Christmas day and run through August. I have accepted that you are not going to shorten the season (I think about 70 games would be much, much better), but at least this away the first 1/2 of your season isn't competing with the NFL and college football. You get the big Christmas day kickoff and your only competition after a few weeks is a couple of Sundays of NFL playoffs (easy to schedule around) and MLB. Other than the NBA and Stanley cup Finals, sports in the summer are boring. (I am no longer a huge baseball guy, but even when I was there are so many games that missing one and checking the box score is just fine for a fan of both teams and the opposite is true if you are going to a MLB game).

5. Promote your actual stars! Steph and Lebron are still good. But they haven't been the best players in the league for a long time. I promise that America would like Giannis, Jokic and Luka. They are all very likable guys and unreal basketball players. I know I am biased, but watching Jokic dissect a defense with his passing is poetry in motion. No one has had the raw power/athleticism of Giannis. Luka makes some unreal plays every time out. When these guys come to your city you should go watch. They are all worth the price of admission. But unfortunately the league won't let you know that. They will tell you to show up and watch a 40 year old Lebron because he blackmailed his team into drafting his son. It is crazy. And I'm not here to tell you not to watch Lebron, he is a living legend. But in terms of basketball skill these other 3 players (and if you want to include SGA I am fine with that) are doing more incredible things today.

6. Go to FIBA officiating (except the goaltending). I'm not sure when the NBA decided that anytime a defender is moving and there is contact that it is a foul on the defender. This is not the way the rule reads nor how it was intended. Both players are entitled to their space and path and whomever is the first one in the path is the one who is allowed to be there. Call it like it was intended! Now a help defender needs to establish himself and be set to take a charge, but that is a different thing altogether. Call carrying. It isn't legal. Let's quit with the "gather" additional step(s). In every league other than the NBA that is illegal. Why do we make it easier for our best players to score? That makes no sense. And please start fining the flops. What is the point of putting a rule into play when you see flops all over the place and ignore them? The very worst brand of basketball to watch is the basketball where the team with the ball is simply trying to draw a foul and has no intention of scoring the basketball. Please find a way to get rid of it.


In my opinion, if you were able to implement all of these things, or even one of these things the NBA would get better.