With the 2016 NBA All-Star game quick approaching, there’s also a litany of issues that people have with what is going on for the main attraction on Sunday.
When the voting results were announced last week for the NBA All-Star Game, there was a couple of close calls which possibly could have ruined the game. One that happened to a lesser degree was Pau Gasol coming close to Carmelo Anthony for the final starting lineup spot in the Eastern Conference. The other was the one that people were outraged about. Dallas Mavericks big man Zaza Pachulia came super close to beating out Kawhi Leonard for the final forward spot on the Western Conference. Also, for a while, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving was leading the Eastern Conference guards in voting. Voting which is done by the fans.
The lineups ended up working out in favor of just about everyone, with some exceptions like Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony. The bigger issue was the idea of who will coach the game itself.
San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was announced as the Western Conference coach yesterday because last season, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr coached the team. The issue is, Steve Kerr didn’t coach a majority of the season, it was Luke Walton at the helm for the Warriors so according to some, Walton should be the coach for the West. In the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers are in the top spot in the conference but they recently fired their coach, David Blatt, so Tyronn Lue is slated to be the starter for the East. Lue currently has a 2-1 career record as a head coach but he will be the coach of the East All-Stars.
So with so much controversy, NBA commissioner Adam Silver says there may be changes coming.
Following from Sam Amick of USA Today.
Silver, who was a speaker at the Total Health Forum in which the NBA partnered with Kaiser Permanente to discuss the importance of fitness and diet, said afterward that the evolution of social media has affected fan voting enough that the league will reevaluate the current system.
“On (fan) balloting, it’s something we’ll continue to look at,” Silver said. ”We love the fact that fans have input into who the All-Stars are. As social media changes the world and is disruptive, it’s been mildly disruptive to our balloting systems as well. I know that’s something we’ll take a fresh look at.”
Translation: the days of high-profile celebrities like Justin Bieber or Drake having a significant impact on voting may not last. Because fans can vote via Twitter by using the player’s name and the hashtag #NBAVote, musicians and athletes alike have offered their support for players who they believe should be in the game.
“In the West, we were monitoring the situation,” Silver said. “If Steve Kerr had not come back before All-Star or before Jan. 31, the date of which the coach is set based on the winningest record, we maybe would’ve taken a fresh look at it. But the way it worked out, Steve’s back. People may not realize how involved Steve has been with this team. He may not have been the coach on the bench, but he’s been there every step of the way, and I know Coach Walton says the same thing.”
“In the East, the team with the best record and the coach of that team, according to our rules, the All-Star coach,” Silver said. “In this case, it’s Ty Lue, and he’s the coach. Remember, he was the associate head coach of the team, and every head coach in this league will tell you it’s not just him or her, it’s their entire staff, and that’s how rules work…There was no discussion about Dwane Casey becoming the coach of the East.”
