Fansided

Hardwood Paroxysm: How we’d fix the NBA

By HP Basketball Network

May 7, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert (55) goes up for the opening jump ball against Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat (4) in game two of the second round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
May 7, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert (55) goes up for the opening jump ball against Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat (4) in game two of the second round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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November 05, 2012; Sacramento, CA, USA; A fan holds a sign urging people to vote during the fourth quarter between the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors at Sleep Train Arena. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Golden State Warriors 94-92. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
November 05, 2012; Sacramento, CA, USA; A fan holds a sign urging people to vote during the fourth quarter between the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors at Sleep Train Arena. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Golden State Warriors 94-92. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

NBA Survivor

By Evans Clinchy (@evansclinchy)

I’m just spitballing here, and I’ll totally admit that this idea isn’t fully fleshed out, but I think it’s the start of something awesome. Let’s call it… NBA Survivor.

Forget everything you know about team building. There’s no more general managers trading players, no more coaches lobbying to have players cut or shipped off to the D-League. The fate of a team’s roster lies entirely in the hands of the players themselves.

The format is simple: Each season begins with 16 players on a team. Rosters remain as they are — for now.

Every two weeks, the remaining players vote to remove one player from the roster. This process continues for the entire season – by mid-April when the playoffs draw closer, rosters are down to five players and five-on-five play must continue, no substitutions allowed. Eventually, the NBA Finals roll around, and it’s one on one for the title.

The playoff drama would be fantastic. Imagine Tim Duncan and Tony Parker taking on Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook for the West title. Imagine KD against LeBron James, mano y mano, seven games, winner take all, for the Larry O’Brien. Also – imagine the storylines all year long!

Players would have to change their ways to adjust to the new system. Maybe Kevin Garnett wouldn’t yell at his teammates so much if he knew they could vote him off. Maybe James Harden would come to his senses and, you know… play defense occasionally. Conditioning would be even more important, though a failure to perform in small sample sizes might get you booted from the team. We’ve always talked about how important unselfishness is in basketball. In this format, it would take on a whole new meaning. In this NBA, you’d need to forge alliances just to survive.

And free agency each offseason would be ridiculous. All of the players voted off would make up the free agency pool, and players would be signing with both basketball and alliances in mind. It would be an absolute whirlwind of activity and intrigue.

Would this actually work? I’m not sure. It’s hard to say. All’s I know is Nick Young would have to reconsider his policy on passing the damn ball every now and then.

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