Kiki Vandeweghe Confirms NBA Will Not Get Rid of Last-2-Minute Reports

Kiki Vandeweghe, the NBA's executive vice president of basketball operations, confirmed the league will continue to produce the last-two-minute officiating reports despite recent criticism.

Zach Lowe of ESPN.com reported Thursday that Vandeweghe said there's been no discussion about removing the controversial reviews. Instead, the NBA is considering an expansion of the efforts to release reports that feature the entire game in the future. 

The league affirming its stance on the issue comes after a wave of anti-report comments in recent weeks by superstar players and officials.

Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN.com passed along remarks from Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant after one of the reports stated he should have benefited from a foul call late in the team's Christmas Day loss to the reigning champion Cleveland Cavaliers.

"The refs didn't lose us that game. We lost that game. We could have been better," Durant said. "I think it's bulls--t that the NBA threw the refs under the bus like that."

Cavs star LeBron James agreed the referees are treated unfairly under the current report system and advocated for the complete review Vandeweghe hinted at, per AJ Neuharth-Keusch of USA Today:

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I'm not a fan of the two-minute report. I think it discredits what the referees are doing for 48 minutes. If that's the case, you might as well do a 48-minute report. It's not fair to the referees that you only talk about the final two minutes of the game and not the first 46.

There's plays that's missed, there's plays that's called throughout 48 minutes that don't get talked about. I don't think it's fair for the referees that people get to have their opinions or scrutinize referees for the last two minutes because it discredits what the rest of the game is about. The rest of the game is played, you've gotta play the first two minutes like the last two minutes.

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Meanwhile, the National Basketball Referees Association released a statement of its own about why the reports should end, including the promotion of "hostility toward officials:"

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While the NBRA did analyze and publish the early findings of the L2M reports, and yes, the referees have reason to be proud of their accuracy in what are arguably the most intense moments in basketball, we still want to see the L2M report abolished. The L2M reports do not provide transparency, but offer only the illusion of transparency.

1) They have no impact on the outcome of a game. 2) They promote hostility towards officials because the focus is never on the percentage we get correct, only the percentage incorrect. 3) While the stated goal of the L2M is to promote understanding and credibility, after almost two years, we have seen no evidence of improved understanding or credibility. 4) A focus on stats promotes stat-oriented officiating versus game-oriented officiating that better balances game flow and fair play. We have no issue with being publicly critiqued; we simply believe the league's L2M platform is not the right way to do it.

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The NBA's official website noted: "L2Ms are part of the NBA's ongoing effort to build a greater awareness and understanding of the rules and processes that govern our game. Additionally, they serve as a mechanism of accountability to our fans and the media who fairly seek clarifications after our games."

Ultimately, the league has felt compelled to provide a more transparent environment since the Tim Donaghy scandal in 2007. The last-two-minute reports, which debuted in March 2015, were one of the ideas hatched from that ongoing effort.

Durant's and James' comments about only providing a glimpse at the final two minutes are accurate, however, especially given the 50-50 nature of many key calls. Releasing a review of the entire game sounds like a more probable compromise than removing the reports altogether, though.