NBA Referee Exec Says Bradley Beal Traveled vs. Pistons Despite NBRA Statement

NBA vice president of referee development and training Monty McCutchen told Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com that Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal did travel against the Detroit Pistons in a much-discussed play on Monday evening.

While the travel itself had no effect on the result (a 121-112 Piston win), the no-call looked like a big miss at first glance:

McCutchen made the following comments to McMenamin regarding the matter:

"While in some cases a fumble at the end of a dribble on the gather can be retrieved, that is not what happened on this play. Bradley Beal gathers the ball and takes two steps, but then loses control of the ball. Once he has lost control after taking the two steps, he must regain control and pass or shoot before taking another step in order to be legal. Since he does not regain control until another step, the play is a travel."

That opinion contradicted the National Basketball Referees Association's take:

The NBRA offered further clarification on its position, with an emphasis on whether Beal did or did not "fumble" the basketball:

Perhaps that logic makes sense to someone out there, and it's worth conceding that the opinion could be correct.

But it doesn't seem to jibe with the eye test, which indicates that Beal carried the ball like a running back darting through the line of scrimmage.

This travel debate seems akin to the never-ending catch rule in the NFL, where endless debate has ensued with buzz words and phrases including "the eye test," "completing the process," "a football move," "controlling the ball" and "going to the ground."

If we're introducing terms like "fumble" into the lexicon of whether or not a basketball player traveled, then fans may find themselves feeling like Nick Young did when he became a question-mark meme.

Beal ended the possession with a two-point jumper, but the Pistons never led by fewer than eight points the rest of the way en route to their 121-112 win.