Does the game's integrity matter to you?
Seriously, Adam Silver, Kiki Vandeweghe, among others, is the integrity of the NBA important to you? Or at least the perceived integrity of the NBA? I keep seeing all of these "NBA Cares" commercials, yet, I don't seem to buy that the NBA does actually care about anything other than its' revenue (and those ads probably distract the low-minded cretins from the real issues in the NBA). You do realize that, by doing the (bleeping) petty (bleep) suspension, you have not only negatively affected the Golden State Warriors, who deserve the title, but you have affected people who live and die Warriors, you have affected the people gambling on the Finals as a whole (so Las Vegas probably isn't too happy with the NBA, since they lose more if the Cavs win) and you potentially cost the historically greatest season ever, all just for a few million dollars to add to your billions. Were these playoffs not lame enough already?
There's just so many fishy things that have gone on in the NBA since David Stearn took over back in 1984, the same year Michael Jordan was drafted. Starting with these finals, outside of the Draymond Green suspension, why is every game 3 days apart from the prior one? That didn't happen last year, the year before, and many years before that. Sure, there were the 2 games in between for the traveling, but every other game was one day apart. Is it for more money, or to benefit the Cavs (specifically LeBron)? My guess is, a lot of both. That, among countless little things that seem to benefit Cleveland, and the NBA.
Outside of that, let's look at the lottery. Yes, the draft lottery. Why does the NBA have one, and no other sports league does? Why should a team who goes .500 or better in a season have a shot at landing a Ben Simmons or Andrew Wiggins? Do you really think it's a coincidence that Cleveland has won 3 of the 4 lotteries post-LeBron, and now LeBron is back in Cleveland? Hmmm. What about the year Patrick Ewing was available, and the Knicks were not the worst team? All about making money, since New York is the biggest market (obviously) and they wanted Knicks fans engaged. What about the nixed Chris Paul trade, the only trade in recent memory that has been nixed? How about some more "bad officiating" in the playoffs? The offensive foul on Jordan's last shot against Utah? How about 97 free throw attempts for Dwayne Wade in the 2006 NBA Finals? And then, of course, there are numerous instances with the Lakers. 2000 and 2002 Western Conference Finals were suspect, and their last championship in 2010 Kobe was bailed out again and again. Look, I know that some of these bad calls are on the refs, but they can't be that bad, and even if they are, is it a coincidence that the "more important" team wins, such as the Jordan Bulls or the Kobe Lakers? How come none of these calls go toward the Sacramento Kings or the Utah Jazz? Chicago market and Jordan market > Utah market. Enough said.
I know some of you are out there thinking, why are the Knicks and Lakers so bad then if they want the big franchises to be good? First of all, it's all about LeBron right now, and probably for the next 3 years. And he won't be going there, so temporarily the Knicks and Lakers can be left to the side, kind of like how the Lakers weren't good "conveniently" when Jordan was around. And how the Lakers are poised to be really good again in three years, "conveniently" when LeBron is on the twilight of his career. Now, the Lakers aren't good (but were supposed to be) for 2 reasons: Dwight Howard was supposed to work out for them and the Steve Nash trade was a foolish bust by the Lakers. Then, Kobe got old and hurt and now they are rebuilding. The Knicks aren't good because James Dolan is a lunatic moron, and as long as he runs that franchise the Knicks will have to overcome him to win, no matter how hard the NBA tries to help them.
There you have it, so please, Adam Silver, stop what David Stearn started and let the NBA actually happen as it should, or risk losing more and more fans by the day.
