Fansided

We make mistakes too

By Ian Levy

Oct 17, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General view of a Spalding basketball with the signature of NBA commissioner Adam Silver (not pictured) at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 17, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General view of a Spalding basketball with the signature of NBA commissioner Adam Silver (not pictured) at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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I have been writing about basketball on the internet for a few years now and I’ve written my fair share of dumb things. Before the 2010 NBA Draft I argued, passionately, that the Indiana Pacers should try to trade Danny Granger and the 10th pick (which became Paul George) for a chance to move up and select Evan Turner. I wrote that the solution to the Lance Stephenson problem was to just give him the ball more and let him run the show. I am also on record, arguing that Frank Kaminsky was the perfect player for the Pacers and that Myles Turner was a bust waiting to happen (maybe everyone should stop listening to my opinions on the Pacers).

Those ridiculous ideas are just the tip of the iceberg. I am sure that I have published dozens more terrible ideas that my brain has thankfully neglected to store in long term memory. I have been wrong a lot. I have also written correct ideas in terrible ways. And then there are dozens of horrible pieces and arguments that have been headed off by the smart and diligent editors that I have had the honor of working with.

I share these stories to make the obvious point that none of us are perfect.

A few days ago at FanSided, we ran a slideshow entitled “5 crazy NBA trades that need to happen.” One of those trade suggestions — Rajon Rondo, a first round pick, and salary filler, for Stephen Curry — was a little bit crazier than the rest. We’ve taken some heat today on Twitter for the piece, and rightfully so. The different trades in that slider represented different degrees and styles of crazy. The writer could have done a better job of pulling on a consistent strand of crazy and making clear which strand he was working with. Our FanSided editorial team, definitely should have made sure that the chosen strand of crazy was clear, consistent, and obvious to readers.

The piece should not have run without those changes being made, but it did. And here we are. FanSided has come along way in the past few years and I am proud of the work we have done since I came aboard in April, building up quality NBA coverage both at The Step Back and at our regular NBA homepage. We strive to cover the league as well as LeBron James plays basketball, but we have to battle our inner Nick Young. Sometimes we throw up a triple-double. Sometimes we run up court celebrating while a blog post rims out behind us.

We will try our damnedest to make sure we are dialed in for the next one.

The good news is that Stephen Curry is probably not headed to the Chicago Bulls to fade into the middle of Eastern Conference. And Rajon Rondo is not on his way to the Bay Area to perhaps begin gumming up the works for one of the greatest rhythm offenses basketball has ever seen. Also, the Pacers never took any of my advice and are probably much better off for it.