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Ball Don't Lie on the Cavaliers

  • The Jamaican national team reminds me that it has multiple NBA players

    Last Thursday, I wrote a post discussing reports that Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert, who has made multiple appearances in international competition as a member of the Jamaican national basketball team, was seeking his release from that club in the hope of becoming part of Team USA this summer. In it, I wrote that Hibbert was the island nation's "only legitimate NBA player (unless you count Patrick Ewing Jr., maybe, and you shouldn't)."

    This did not sit particularly well with the Jamaica Basketball Association, according to a statement emailed to me Tuesday by JaBA communications director Keisha Hill:

    Dear Mr. Devine,

    We at the Jamaica Basketball Association have read with interest your article on Mr. Roy Hibbert seeking a release from the Association to play for the USA Team. It is a good article however we would like to clarify a statement that was made in reference to our international players.

    In your article as highlighted below you stated that Patrick Ewing Jnr is the only other legitimate player that is involved with our national programme. [...]

    This statement actually misses a few key facts, which we hope you will correct.

    There are a number NBA players who are Jamaican and who will be representing the National Team namely Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Samardo Samuels, Ryan Reid of the Oklahoma Thunder, Jerome Jordan of the New York Knicks and as you mentioned the former NBA player Patrick Ewing Jnr. All have played in the past and shall be playing in this summer's tournament which we also hope you will follow. It is unfortunate that Roy may not be a part of this team, but we believe we have credible pros to continue our considerable forward progress over the last 3 years.

    This is totally fair.

    Samuels played for the Jamaican national club in 2009. Jordan — a second-round pick of the Milwaukee Bucks in 2010 whose rights were then traded to the New York Knicks and who has played in Europe and the D-League for most of the past two years but did make 21 appearances for the Knicks this season — suited up for Jamaica in international competition in 2006.

    While neither Samuels nor Jordan were listed as part of the Jamaican national team on its most recent roster, Reid is. And though the 2010 second-round pick has spent most of the last two years with the Tulsa 66ers of the D-League, he did play 17 minutes of NBA ball in five appearances for the Oklahoma City Thunder this season. Samuels and Jordan reportedly confirmed earlier Tuesday that they would be part of the next edition of Team Jamaica; Reid and Ewing are also expected to join up.

    None of these players are NBA stars on the order of All-Star Hibbert — Samuels has averaged 6.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game in 91 career NBA contests over the past two seasons since coming out of Louisville, while Jordan, Reid and Ewing have all yet to see meaningful NBA action — and definitions of their respective values and to-date contributions as NBA players may vary. But they have all been "legitimate" NBA players; they have all worn NBA uniforms during NBA games. That much is inarguable.

    My apologies, Jamaica Basketball Association. I wish your national squad the best of luck in June's Centrobasket tournament and all other competitions moving forward.

  • David Stern changed the competition committee to push new rules, report says

    NBA commissioner David Stern holds a lot of power, but he can't make new on-court rules on his own. That job falls to the league's Competition Committee, an appointed group of owners, general managers, coaches and one player who decide how to improve the sport. In some cases, that involves introducing new rules — in others it means abolishing existing ones.

    For years, the Competition Committee consisted entirely of general managers. Last week, Stern changed the format and created a new nine-man group including Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert and Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle. To most observers, the list looked perfectly normal.

    However, a new report indicates that Stern might have changed the committee to push through a few of his own preferred rules. From Mitch Lawrence for the New York Daily News (via EOB):

    This was a commissioner-driven production, even though the league made it a point to announce that its owners called for the change. According to ownership sources, they did, but only after Stern first went to them and told them he wanted a new, smaller committee that would implement the changes he is seeking before he retires. He has told friends he's probably going to step down after two more seasons.

    The new committee was hand-picked by Stern and consists of two owners, four GMs and three coaches. When they come up with rules changes, those will go directly to the 30 owners for their consideration and vote. [...]

    "Stern is looking for more control," said a source. "He hasn't been able to get some things done because he's had to deal with 30 general managers and he can't control them. But now he has his people on the committee."

    Stern's new committee is expected to work on two major rules changes right away: Adopting the international rule for goaltending, meaning that balls could be legally knocked off the rim or backboard that now would result in a basket; and penalizing "floppers."

    The idea is a simple one: Stern wanted certain rules and couldn't get them through the committee in charge of those rules, so he reformed the structure of that committee and packed it with people who'd be receptive to his goals. It's a classic management strategy, especially for vaguely megalomaniacal leaders used to getting what they want.

    It also could be a good move in the long-term for a league that could use some of these changes. As we discussed last Monday, Stern expressed some interest in policing flopping and blamed previous Competition Committee members for blocking it. Outcry has been strong against the tactic throughout the playoffs, and rules could at least increase fan confidence in the league (though there's still some question as to how you stop a tactic intended to make intentional flopping look unintentional). The international goaltending rule has also been discussed for years and should add some excitement to plays around the basket.

    So, while Stern's methods might be questionable and not strictly fair to the spirit of the Competition Committee, it also could be for the good of the league. What you make of this situation probably depends on your view of Stern and his role. But for most fans — the people who just want to see a better version of basketball — Stern's tricks could have a positive effect on the NBA. If the end is a good thing, then the means don't matter quite so much.

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