The NBA will not televise its first-ever all-star draft, but it wasn’t supposed to be that way.
The NBA planned to televise the All-Star draft, but the NBPA says players couldn’t come to an agreement
The Players Association also did not rule out the possibility of broadcasting the draft in the future.
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
According to The New York Times’ Marc Stein, when the NBA first came up with the idea of drafting teams as a way to fix the annual all-star game, it initially intended on televising the draft. But it was the NBA Players Associaton that ultimately pushed back on the idea of airing the draft live.
And in a statement to SB Nation, the NBPA said some players couldn’t come to a consensus when it was time to make a vote:
“The NBPA did not consult a single agent on the issue of a televised all-star draft. It was the absence of a consensus by prospective players likely to be affected that led to support for a reveal. Whether a decision to broadcast the draft will be made after this year’s game, that will be determined going forward.”
The statement came on the heels of Stein’s report, which cited three reasons the NBA and NBPA ultimately chose not to televise the inaugural all-star draft:
1. The league does not want to risk embarrassing the last player chosen — or anyone else.
That’s a fair sentiment to have, and it’s honorable. But as LeBron James and John Wall have already noted: These are grown men making tons of money to play basketball. So what if you’re the last player taken in an all-star draft? You’re one of the 24 best players in the entire league!
2. The league does not want to put the captains in a position where they might upset teammates by passing over them.
This is real, and there are situations where it could very well occur. Stephen Curry has three all-star teammates, and odds are he won’t be able to get all three of them. And James might pass over Kevin Love if he can draft, say, Draymond Green or Kristaps Porzingis.
But this is all in the name of fun. It’s the one time players get to play with whomever they want. And if one player doesn’t end up on his teammate’s squad, he’ll know he got passed over either way.
3. The players’ union objected.
The NBA Players Association, according to Stein, “actually put up the most resistance” to letting the draft air publicly. Here’s what he wrote:
The players’ union objected. The union, presumably with considerable input from player agents, is the faction that actually put up the most resistance to letting all this play out in public. Some all-stars want the draft televised, but some don’t. So the league acquiesced.
In layman’s terms, the all-stars couldn’t agree on whether or not to televise the draft. That could be because the players who had a higher chance of being selected first were probably less pressed on the issue than the players more likely to be selected later in the draft.
Curry thinks the draft will be televised in the future
Curry was the leading vote-getter in the West and earned the title of captain as a result. But he suspects that while the first-ever NBA All-Star Draft may not be televised this year, it’s setting the stage for it to be aired live in the future:
“I’m sure as this new format unfolds, year after year, that’ll happen, but it won’t be this first time,” he said, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick. “This is a new format. It’s been a certain way for so long … we’ve still got training wheels on it and we’ll figure out how to make it better from here.”
Where do players stand on televising the draft?
There are a few players who had outspoken support for televising the all-star draft. Those players were John Wall, Klay Thompson, and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. Meanwhile, LeBron James just didn’t care.
John Wall: “We’re grown men”
“If you made the all-star game, it should be televised who is going to be on what team,” he said on NBC Sports Washington’s Wizards Tipoff podcast.” I don’t think you should call them and then wait until everybody sees who will be an all-star. They should let it be known. We’re grown men, like [LeBron] said. If they ain’t pick you, they ain’t pick you.”
Klay Thompson would make fun of the last pick, even if it was himself
“No I’m just happy to be there, man,” Thompson said, via KNBR. “It’s an honor to be an all-star and I’m not going to, I’ll probably actually request a trade if he doesn’t pick me. I’m just kidding. But it’ll be fun. I’m actually pretty excited for that. I wish they would announce it publicly cause I think it would be hilarious who’s the last pick. But it’s still awesome just to be there. Being an all-star, I don’t even care if I was last pick, it would just be fun to poke fun at that person.”
LeBron James doesn’t care
“It doesn’t matter to me,” James said, via ESPN’s Nick Friedell. “It doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, if I’m rewarded to be a part of the all-star game again, that’s cool for me. It doesn’t matter. All that other stuff is extracurricular.”
Steve Kerr: There’s no shame in being the last all-star picked
The new draft format is certainly a step in the right direction, and the NBA All-Star Game will be much better for it. Now, we just wait for step two: televising the draft so many fans are yearning for. Hopefully, it doesn’t take too long to get to that point.
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