Does NBA Need To Make Some Major Changes? Yes It Needs To!

 Adam Silver is turning out to be a great commissioner for the NBA.

  Since taking over the reigns from David Sterns as the NBA commissioner in 2014, Adam Silver has brought some excitement to the game of basketball. He is always willing to step up and make changes when he finds it necessary to make changes. Silver is both proactive and reactive, as it was shown this year when he made changes to the format of the NBA All-Star game. For the past seven to eight years, NBA All-Star game has been disastrous for us fans to watch, because of the high volume of three-point shooting and uncontested dunks. The All-Star game didn't feel like a game at all. It felt like guys were just having fun. Then Silver had enough of players just wasting the All-Star event and got rid of the East All-Stars versus the West All-Stars. Silver decided that the two players who will receive the most votes from the fans will get to select players for their teams in a draft. This way the players will have something new and some pride to play for in the All-Star game, and that's exactly what happened. This year's All-Star game was exciting, but we all could have appreciated a live-telecast of the draft for the players' selection. In the end, All-Star game doesn't matter when it comes to making the overall product of NBA better. What matters is what happens in the real game during the regular season and postseasons. I am not asking Adam Silver to change anything. I am asking all the general managers except for the Warriors and Cavs, to make good and reasonable moves. If they can't make their teams better, I humbly request them to not make their teams worse.

Some unexplainable moves over the past four seasons.

  Yes, sometimes other teams are just better than you and there is nothing you can do but compete hard. However, over the past four seasons, some teams have assisted the top teams by giving them their own good players for basically nothing. Let's start with the Atlanta Hawks. They were decent in the 2013-14 season, but then in 2014-15, they started to hit on all cylinders. Hawks finished the season with 60 plus wins and with the number one seed in the eastern conference. Then they went onto win two series in the playoffs, each took them six games to advance. The Atlanta Hawks made it to their Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in their franchise history. Then they suffered a 4-0 sweep at the hands of LeBron's Cavs. Even though it was a let down by the Hawks, everyone expected them to come back stronger the following year. That didn't happen as they did worse that year. They made it to the playoffs in 2015-16 but didn't even have a fifty win season. After that season, they completely tore apart their roster. They traded Jeff Teague to Utah Jazz for the 12th overall pick in 2016. In free agency, they watched Al Horford signed a big contract with the Boston Celtics. Then during the 2016-17 season, they traded away their sharpshooter Kyle Korver for two old players, some cash, and a future first-round pick. These three players were All-Stars for the Hawks in the 2014-15 season, and they were all let go basically for nothing. The trade of Kyle Korver was the worst in my opinion. Hawks in 2017, traded Korver to the team that had swept them not once, but twice in back to back post seasons. Seriously Hawks, a team beat you 4-0 in the post-season twice, and then you give them one of your best players to make them even better than they were.

  Then there are the Utah Jazz, who topped the Atlanta Hawks when it comes to stupidity. Before the start of the current season, the Utah Jazz lost their number one scorer and their overall best player Gordon Hayward to the Boston Celtics. They did try to re-sign him, but Hayward wanted to go to a different direction.  Even after losing Gordon Hayward, the Jazz had some B plus players on their roster with Rudy Gobert, Rodney Hood, and Donovan Mitchell who they recently drafted. So what exactly did the Jazz do they after losing Hayward? We would expect them to build a good playoff team with their current assets and more additions, but no. They traded away Rodney Hood to the Cleveland Cavaliers on February 8, 2018, for Derrick Rose and Jae Crowder. Jazz got two players who could retire from NBA any day. Oh, by the way, Rose did retire earlier this year with the Cavs, but then LeBron James asked him to come back so then he could provide Cavs some minutes. Rodney Hood may not be a top ten player, but he has size, can hit his jumpers, is athletic, and can defend multiple positions. Why get two dead bodies for a player who has so much to offer and has potential to grow. So now what are the Jazz planning to do? Get to the first round and get swept either by the Golden State Warriors or the Houston Rockets. If the Utah Jazz get just one playoff win against one of the playoff teams, it would equal to them appearing in the Finals for their fanbase. Amazing right?

  So the Hawks and the Jazz made bad decisions with some uneven trades, but there are other teams who have made awful decisions with signing or resigning B or C level players to supermax deals. The Memphis Grizzlies since they relocated in 2001 from Vancouver, have been one of those teams who make it to the playoffs on a consistent basis, but then bounce out in the first or second round of the playoffs. They have never won a title, never been to the Finals, and have appeared in the Western Conference Finals just once in their franchise history. In the last seven years with Marc Gasol, Mike Conley Jr., and other role players, they have appeared in seven straight playoff games. We could say Marc Gasol was a top five or six big man in the game until two years ago, and Mike Conley Jr. is a solid B player. So if Grizzlies can't get to the Finals with Conley and Gasol, shouldn't they have approached another B or B plus player in free agency? Or look for a Ben Simmons type or Karl Anthony-Towns type player in the draft? Instead, they ended up giving Mike Conley Jr. who has gotten old, a big gigantic contract. The Memphis Grizzlies on July 14, 2016, re-signed Mike Conley Jr. to a five-year contract worth 153 million dollars. I know he has talent, but what in the world has he done to deserve such a contract? At that time, he had been the point guard of the team for ten years, and he never got to take them to the mountaintop. Grizzlies could have paid him ninety to hundred million dollars and use rest of the money on younger and faster players. Maybe, the Grizzlies thought that Conley Jr. would take them to new heights after he would get a big massive contract. Guess what Conley Jr. and the Grizzlies did during the 2017 season in which he played Conley played his first year of the big contract? The same thing which Conley Jr. and his team did a year earlier. In 2016, Grizzlies were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs, and then in 2017, Grizzlies were once again eliminated in the first round by the San Antonio Spurs. What do we expect from the Grizzlies this year? At the moment, they won't even be able to make it to the playoffs, as they are the twelveth seed in their conference. Yes Memphis, you guys did well with the Mike Conley Jr.'s contract!

  Dallas Mavericks may not be as big of a joke as a franchise as the Memphis Grizzlies, but since they won a title back in 2010-11 season, they have been one of the worst franchises in the NBA. After winning in 2011, Dallas Mavericks' management pretty much said to their fanbase that they don't care about winning or competing for more titles. In six seasons since 2011, Dallas Mavericks have been to the playoffs four times, lost all of them in the first round. As of right now, no one could tell where the Mavericks are heading. They have a soon to be a forty-year-old player in Dirk Nowitzki who is the franchise's best player of all time. Then they have a mid thirty-year-old player with Harrison Barnes, for whom they paid way too much to get in him free agency in 2016. Mavs signed Barnes with big money, to make it seem like that he was going to take them to the finals again. Finally, they have a twenty-year-old rookie with Dennis Smith Jr. So what exactly are the Mavs doing? Are they contending for a championship, or they are trying to get back to the playoffs, or they are going for a rebuild? Poor Dirk must have thought that his owner and management would help at least compete for a title before he hangs it up. However, they are definitely heading for a rebuild, but if you are going to do a rebuild, do it right. Fine, you can keep Dirk Nowitzki on your roster, but bringing in Harrison Barnes and Wesley Matthews for big money doesn't do your rebuild process any good.

  Making senseless trades and overpaying players of B and C levels by the bottom teams, make teams up top, such as the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers cruise through the regular season and then in the playoffs. What happened last year in the playoffs before the NBA Finals? Warriors and Cavs combined only one loss in the playoffs before they squared off against one another in the Finals. Everyone from Warriors and Cavs' organization could thank teams like Atlanta Hawks, Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Sacremento Kings, and Charlotte Hornets, for making it a bit easier for them to make it to the Finals for the past four seasons.

Which teams have potential to stop GSW and Cavs from making it to the Finals again?

 

Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers haven't been confirmed for a fourth straight meeting in the Finals yet, but odds are in their favor. Teams like Toronto Raptors, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Boston Celtics have a chance to prevent the Warriors and Cavs from making it to the Finals this year or at least end their dominance starting from next season.  Boston Celtics would have a great chance to upset the Cavs if they get Gordon Hayward back, otherwise not really. On the other hand, Toronto Raptors have struggled against the Cleveland Cavaliers significantly in the past few postseasons, but they now have some experience against them. I mean they should, as they play them three to four times every regular season, and have played them in two straight playoffs' series. Also, on the other hand, DeMar DeRozan is getting close to the superstar level and should be able to do damage against LeBron and Cavs in this year's postseason. Kyle Lowry DeRozan's teammate, should take a backseat and let DeRozan take over games in the playoffs. Raptors, don't have to win a series against the Cavs this year, but at least they should have a great competitive series against them. Nobody would appreciate it if the Raptors just let the Cavs run over them for the straight year.

  Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder are both loaded with talented players, and each team has at least two superstar players in their prime. For the Rockets, they have James Harden and Chris Paul as their leaders on the floor, and Mike D'Antoni as their head coach. All of them have come up short in the playoffs on different occasions with different teams. Now the three of them are together and are doing great in the regular season as they have the best record in the NBA currently. However, success in the regular season doesn't always translate in the playoffs. Some people are not giving the Rockets any chance of beating the Warriors in the playoffs because of the failures suffered by Harden, Paul, coach D'Antoni in the past. Rob Parker of FS1 regarding the Rockets said, 'If you put poison with poison, it will still be poison.' I am not sure if the Rockets will beat the Warriors, but they have a great chance.

OKC Thunder have the reigning MVP, Russell Westbrook. They have a great second option with Paul George and a great third option with Carmelo Anthony. Thunder also has Steven Adams, who is a force in the paint as he can block shots and come up with the rebounds on both sides of the ball. Finally, Thunder does have a great bench, players who could come in make shots and play defense. The team has the talent to beat the Warriors, but it all depends on Russell Westbrook. He is one of the best players in the game, easily top-five, but in crucial situations in big games, he makes very bad decisions with the ball. Westbrook needs to use his head more than he does. Everyone appreciates a player who plays with high energy, but no player could go a hundred miles per hour for the whole game or the whole series. Now he does have Paul George and Carmelo Anthony who could take away some scoring burden from him. So Westbrook needs to realize the fact that he is the point guard and the leader of the team. His team will succeed only if he chooses to play smart and winning basketball for himself and the team. If Westbrook does that, OKC has a great chance of knocking out the Warriors this year.

  It is great to have a dynasty or two in professional sports, but it isn't fun watching two teams dominate other twenty-eight teams without losing any sleep. NBA needs some serious competition in the playoffs. It could only happen if teams, like Atlanta Hawks, Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks, and others stop making dumb mistakes with contracts and trades. Hopefully, they stop making such errors and start looking forward to challenging rest of the teams in the league. We are counting on general managers of all teams to go for winning games rather than tanking every other year so they could get the top college prospect. Adam Silver, we would appreciate it if you change the rules when it comes to team tanking seasons on purpose. Prevent all the teams from tanking and urge them to compete. If one team gets beat by the other, it means the other team is better and played better. But when you lose purposely, you are doing a disservice to all the fans who support your team with their heart and soul.

  Play hard like they did!