NBA Insider: All-Star Dunk Contest Is Broken, but Does NBA Want It to Be Fixed?
Anybody else get the feeling that the NBA Slam Dunk Contest on All-Star Weekend is the equivalent of the family pet that has grown old and incontinent? There's a deep and abiding affection for ol'—let's call him Hops—so the thought of putting him down is hard to bear. You feed him and scratch behind his ears and think about all the special moments you've shared (Vince, 'Nique, Michael), and it pains you to look at his current state.
Yet it's horrible to think about the massive vacuum Hops would leave if you put him down. You can't help wonder, though, if it would be a relief. Secretly, you wouldn't mind finding out.
Well, as much as any of us who have watched the event for years now wonder about its future, league sources indicate that ol' Hops isn't going anywhere. He is only considered decrepit because of, (a) our insatiable appetite for bigger and better and different; and, (b) the ease with which everyone and anyone who feels unsated can gripe and be heard.
As much whining and complaining as there seems to be when the dunk contest doesn't deliver the contestants or the entertainment we expect, a league source said even in its worst years its ratings dwarf those of any other Saturday night event.
"The feedback from our fans is the dunk contest is a highly anticipated event and one of the highlights of All-Star Weekend," an NBA spokesperson said. "Each year brings something different and we are excited to see what the four participants have in mind for this year's event."
Yeah, about those contestants. This year it's Giannis Antetokounmpo, Zach LaVine, Mason Plumlee and Victor Oladipo. The rules have reverted back to the original ones, with no time clock and a panel of judges. No real-time fan voting to decide the winner, which resulted in last year's event finishing with such a thud. Players can use props—including teammates—but they have to clear them with the league.
Basketball heads might find all that intriguing, but let's be honest: All-Star Weekend is not some boutique event. It's where the biggest names and brightest talents put on a show, and Giannis, Zach, Mason and Victor aren't must-see attractions to the casual basketball fan.
Maybe it's the whining and complaining, combined with the attention the event garners, that makes the dunk contest feel as if it is ready to be taken out behind the barn. Whereas players fume when they're not selected for Sunday's main event (see: Lillard, Damian) and vow to compete in the three-point contest until they win it (see: Curry, Steph), the dunk contest has been almost better known for those who have avoided it (see: James, LeBron).
Why do players love to dunk and preen in games yet hesitate about doing it on All-Star Weekend? Simple. They're scared. Scared that they will not win and thereby be seen as less the dunker than we thought they were. Scared that in the wholly unnatural environment of throwing down a dunk with no one else on the court and everyone silently watching, they will miss. Scared that the howling horde on social media and various TV networks will revel in their failure. Scared that their Q Rating and endorsement opportunities could subsequently take a hit.
Whether those are legitimate fears, the same kind of backlash for coming up short doesn't happen in any other event. No one holds it against Curry that he has been in the three-point shooting contest three times and hasn't won. There have been countless players who simply didn't have the kind of game that works well in Sunday's playground style and it showed (see: Duncan, Tim). But who can forget that Shawn Kemp couldn't keep the ball from flying out of his hands or Birdman Andersen's repeated failed attempts trying to throw down?
The players' union, for what it's worth, considers all those fears as legitimate. In labor negotiations, the one All-Star event it insisted the NBA could not mandate participation in is the dunk contest. The union bought into the players' argument that the event demands a lot of energy and puts stress on their legs—both preparing and competing in it—and therefore they should have the option to decline an invitation if they're not feeling up to it. Privately, one official admitted it's as much about protecting reputations as anything else.
The NBA, of course, could change all that. Players love being recognized as All-Stars, but they aren't all that wild about playing in the main event Sunday, especially if they've already done so. A player must be certifiably incapable of playing, however—especially if voted in by the fans—to sit it out and not incur a heavy fine from the league. Players who merely show up late for the weekend have been dinged.
The league could have the same approach to the dunk contest. It could allow the fans to vote and make participation mandatory unless injury prevents it. Chances are the dunks or the contest wouldn't be any better; in fact, it might be worse, in the same way the players voted into the All-Star Game aren't necessarily the ones best suited to create the best competition in a given year.
But if the game on Sunday and the three-point shooting contest and the dunk contest in its heyday are any indication, our infatuation with, and the spirit of, All-Star Weekend is less about what the competition is and more about who is doing it. As long as the ratings remain high, though, that's a fight the league sees no need to wage. Especially if this year's dream three-point field—Curry, Klay Thompson, Kyle Korver, J.J. Redick, Wes Matthews, Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Marco Belinelli, as the NBA announced—can't draw more eyeballs than the lesser-known dunkers.
So good ol' Hops lives. Long live good ol' Hops.
Around the League
• Some Warriors fans have seen David Lee as, more than anything, a trade chip or future cap relief, especially with the emergence of Draymond Green as the team's starting power forward. Not so fast. A team source says as of right now the Warriors have no intent of trading Lee, whose contract expires after he collects another $15.5 million next season and, depending on what his contract demands might be at age 33, they would not be opposed to keeping him in the fold. It will depend on whether he remains comfortable coming off the bench—a source says he is for now—and is willing to take a pay cut. Just how much could depend on what their payroll is at that point in time. As of now, he remains their only big man who is a threat on either block.
• While Grizzlies center Marc Gasol appears to be doing everything he can to make himself the most attractive free agent on this summer's market, an array of league executives and competing agents anticipate him staying to sign a five-year max deal in Memphis. Another potential big-man free agent, Blazers power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, also is expected to stay put. All that, of course, then makes Nets center Brook Lopez and Pistons big man Greg Monroe the most attractive potential free agents—which is one more reason to expect Lopez to be moved before the Feb. 19 deadline.
• It appears Jason Kidd cost another head coach his job. The dissatisfaction with Jacque Vaughn in Orlando was as great as it was, in part, because of what Kidd has done coaching the Bucks in Milwaukee. From the Magic's perspective, their roster is similar to what Kidd is working with both in composition and talent—a group of young, talented, multi-position players. Considering the seasons Magic center Nikola Vucevic and rookie point guard Elfrid Payton have had, the issues that have put Bucks big man Larry Sanders on the shelf and the injury to No. 2 pick Jabari Parker, a case could be made that Orlando actually has an edge in overall talent. Yet the Bucks have a winning record and are entrenched in the playoff picture while the Magic are almost certain to finish well below .500 and destined for the lottery.
As for Kidd displacing Larry Drew as the Bucks coach, I'm still not quite sure how that's on Kidd. Ownership has the choice to pursue another candidate, and how or when they do it in regard to the existing coach is on them. There are coaches who refuse to talk about their interest in a job publicly while someone else is still in it, but that doesn't mean they aren't behind the scenes talking to their connections in the organization to land it. There are some coaches who respect the brotherhood of the profession; there are far more, including some of the most respected in the business, who see it as every man for himself.
One-Question Interview
Wizards small forward Rasual Butler discusses how he fell out of the league and found his way back to have, at age 35, his most productive season in five years:
"I thought I was a veteran and had established myself. My preparation involved more spot shooting, thinking that I needed to save my body. I paid for it. My legs weren't really under me. Now I do everything at game speed, replicating game situations. Not many guys would admit this, but I let my foot off the gas a bit. You can't do that. There was one day I was in the gym; the (2012-13) season hadn't started yet, but no one was calling and it suddenly went through my head that I wasn't in the league. It took me to draft night, when I was upset that I wasn't seen for who I really was. I was so upset and disgusted with myself that I went home and hung out with my 16-year-old daughter. I was telling her stuff about always working hard and not taking anything for granted, but it was for her and myself to hear. I was scared to miss a day after that because someone might call and give me a workout or a 10-day contract.
"I ended up playing in the D-League (for the Tulsa 66ers) and it helped me a lot because of the respect I was given. They played through me. One game I took 34 shots, and they were good with it. I was getting the ball on the elbows—prime real estate—and that gave me a lot of confidence. (He was named the league's Impact Player of the Year.) I played for the Pacers last year, but after seeing the Wizards up close and personal in the playoffs this was a place I wanted to be. The tenacity they played with was real. I've always been focused, but I've found some new determination. I'm just enjoying the moment more and recognizing how favored I am, how blessed. I'm not 25 anymore."
Insider's Take
A scout analyzes what other teams see in point guard Norris Cole, whom the Miami Heat have made available for this year's trade deadline:
"He's a defensive specialist, basically. He can't shoot from outside and [opponents] push him down the side of the lane on pick-and-rolls. He can't finish at the basket, so he does the dribble-through like Steve Nash and passes out, but they don't have the shooters they used to have. Offensively, he just doesn't bring a lot to the table. He absolutely is one of the guys hurt by not playing with LeBron anymore. In his position before, he could just concentrate on defense and make the occasional shot. He came in and did what he was supposed to do. Now he'd make more sense on a team with a lot of shooters."
Ric Bucher covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @RicBucher.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
