NBA All Stars: Should fans decide - part two

NBA All Stars: Should fans decide - part two
by Dan Salem and Todd Salem (1-31-14)

[Part one - All Star teams collide]



TODD:
I have to address the more important issue now, Kobe Bryant. His inclusion in the starting lineup of the NBA All-Star game bothers me for myriad of reasons. This is a fan vote of course, but that doesn't mean the fans deserve it.

What is happening here is the NBA is turning into the MLB. Either the game counts or it doesn't. And what I mean is not literally whether who wins the All-Star game matters in basketball like in baseball. But the game acknowledgement does. A player making an All-Star game is historic. It matters for the legacy of a player, as well as the story of the league.

As you pointed out, Kobe's run of All-Star invites will continue. This will mark his 16th selection in his 18-year career. When it comes time to determine Hall of Fame resumes and where a player stands in the pantheon of his sport, All-Star games are often referenced. When next generation's Bill Simmons releases The Book of Basketball Part Two and tries to determine who is the better Laker between Kobe and Magic Johnson, the All-Star game appearances will come up. And you know what? In forty years, no one is going to remember that Kobe's 2014 selection was a joke and a debacle. It will just be an appearance like any of the others.

I guess my problem with the fan vote is that they are too stupid to be given this kind of power. There are only three solutions. Here they are, in order of practicality from "impossible" to "why is this not already the case?!?":

1. Lessen the historical value of a player making an All-Star game. Value All-NBA team selections instead and phase out the worth of the All-Star game appearance itself.

2. Don't let fans vote. Fans are, by definition, biased and crazy.

3. Give the fans a crop of players to vote from for the starting lineups. A player such as Kobe Bryant would not be eligible since he's barely played this season.

Tell me why number three wouldn't work.


DAN:
I'm glad you acknowledged the ridiculousness of options one and two. There are very few benchmarks to compare players between generations. All Star game appearances is one of the best, disregarding the obvious caveat where a player past his prime continues to get voted in. And we have to let the fans vote. The All Star game is just a show. There is little to no defense played, so it is literally (spoken a la Rob Lowe's character from Parks and Recreation) a fun event for the fans to enjoy. They should get to see who they want, with one caveat that you very nicely addressed in option three.

I really like the idea of giving the fans a specific ballot, but leaving Kobe Bryant off entirely would be a HUGE mistake by the NBA. The All Star voting is international. The NBA wants to grow the sport internationally. Kobe Bryant is the most popular and most famous NBA player internationally. See the problem? He got voted in because the world still loves him and probably doesn't even realize he's been injured, or doesn't care. I know this speaks to a different issue, but the NBA has to market its most popular players and Kobe Bryant is up there in the top three, if not number one.

It would however be easy for the NBA to get the final All Star voting results, look at them and rule that a player must have played in at least 50% of his team's games this season to be a starter. The player can still be on the All Star team, but they can't be considered a starter if they've played less than half of his team's games. This is not a particularly unfair rule and still leaves voting in the hands of the fans. Let them vote in all the hurt guys they want, but they won't be named a starter because they've been injured or suspended.

Did I solve your problem?


TODD:
That fails to solve the problem of a player's career resume being bumped up by faulty selections. The fact that a player is actually "starting" the game is irrelevant to me. Kobe Bryant did not deserve to be named an All-Star this season. Thus, he should not have been on the ballot if we can't trust fans to actually make that distinction.

This event is not supposed to be a popularity contest. It is supposed to reward the players who are having the best season. Otherwise, Jeremy Lin should just be starting point guard for both teams. Let him switch sides at halftime.

[If you missed Part one - All Star teams collide]

LeBron James: A new Castle for the King - Part two

LeBron James: A new Castle for the King - Part two
by Dan Salem and Todd Salem (6-14-13)

[Part one - King of Kings]



TODD:
LeBron James is exercising his opt out clause next summer and moving his castle out of Miami. The King will be returning home and the new and improved Big Three will now be in Cleveland. LeBron returns to Ohio to make amends and team with Kyrie Irving and Anderson Varejao. Long live the King.

The great part is, this threesome actually fits together stylistically better than the Big Three in Miami ever have. Of course Irving needs to improve his defense and Varejao needs to stay healthy and playing at last season's high level, but these guys have loads of talent. I repeat, LOADS. I did not include the Cavaliers on my list of teams that LeBron would have brought to the NBA Finals because in that hypothetical scenario he would have been replacing Kyrie Irving. However, if he opts out of his contract and decides to join the Cavs of his own volition, then watch out! Teamed with the ever improving duo of Dion Waiters and Tristan Thompson, this squad would be a force to rival anyone in the entire Eastern Conference from day one.

The only other location that LeBron would choose to move to is Los Angeles. People have been speculating he might opt out to join the Lakers, if he spurns Cleveland yet again. Those are the three most logical/likely choices (staying in Miami, signing with the Cavs, signing with the Lake Show). But would joining LA be better? I think the Cleveland team would be a better option personally, and as a basketball fan I want to see this happen. If you assume the Lakers' Big Three would become LeBron, Kobe Bryant (eventually, once he's healthy) and either Dwight Howard or Pau Gasol, is that better than what Cleveland would have? I'm not so sure. It certainly isn't as fun to root for.


DAN:
Did you suddenly become a Cleveland fan? Having LeBron return 'home' to rejoin the Cavaliers is what happens in movies, but rarely plays out in real life sports until the final year or two of a players contract. LeBron is not signing with Cleveland in the summer of 2014. Maybe for the final year or two of his career, so that puts us in the summer of 2020 then. He isn't joining the Lakers either. A Big Three of James, Kobe and Gasol (I'm assuming Howard is long gone - hated playing with Kobe) is amazing on paper, but who knows when Kobe will be back at 100 percent. Kobe's like a meaner, more controlling version of Dwyane Wade (both injured) and Gasol is a more consistent version of Chris Bosh with better defense. That's a crappy situation to spurn Miami for, even if it is Los Angeles. Let me make things simple. LeBron is not going to LA or returning to Cleveland for one reason and one reason only, his legacy.

I get the impression LeBron is a big picture guy. He joined the Miami Heat in order to win a string of championships and cement himself as the greatest of all time, at least that was the idea. And NBA legacies have been forged with strings of titles on one team, with the same coach, not spread across two or three different ones. Yes, yes, he's the face of a new generation that values the team less, but he isn't blind. Doing it all in one place is preferable.

The Heat have made the NBA Finals in every season LeBron's been there, and even if they lose this year, he's got one more season in South Beach for sure. Pat Riley is a basketball genius and the coach down there isn't half bad either. LeBron will approach his opt out clause with four straight NBA Finals appearances and either two or three rings (my prediction - barely a stretch). He isn't messing with that and neither is Pat Riley. This year's Miami team is old, but its not a permanent mess. Both Wade and Bosh can also opt out after next season, but don't expect things to make it that far. I predict Bosh gets shipped out of town this summer for youth and Riley gives Wade one more season to be healthy before he's traded too.

We've seen old teams suddenly get young from one season to the next and LeBron isn't about to break up the dynasty he has forming with Eric Spoelstra and Miami. DYNASTY. I realize the team has fallen apart around him this season, but that's what trades are for. The Heat might have limited financial wiggle room and be approaching an outrageous luxury tax, but what's more important? Winning multiple rings in a row, or winning three out of five rings or whatever it may be, or not paying a luxury tax? I think the Heat eat the tax and rake in the extra money from having the greatest NBA Franchise of the new decade. Imagine if LeBron actually gets the five or six rings he called for when joining the Miami Heat. Now that's a legacy.

[If you missed Part one - King of Kings]