Tramel's ScissorTales: NBA Cup is a fantastic idea that will enhance OKC Thunder season
Europeans have brought many things across the pond. Some good, some bad. Sugarcane, Roman law, guns, wheat, diseases. Sort them out any way you want.
And we’re still stealing ideas from the Euros. The NBA Cup, for example.
The NBA on Saturday announced the details of its long-anticipated in-season tournament, to be held this November and December, and while I was predisposed to dismiss the idea as gimmicky, I have reversed course.
The NBA’s plan is fantastic. Simply fantastic.
Like a lot of things from Europe, we’ve taken the idea and improved it.
The Europeans have side tournaments and special events that are not part of the EuroLeague schedule. But aside from the championship game, every NBA Cup game will be part of the NBA’s regular season. The last thing the NBA needed was more exhibition games. It’s hard enough to get players and fans excited about regular-season games.
But the NBA Cup can be contested through the confines of the 82-game schedule, without much imbalance.
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Each team will play four scheduled games in pool play, then either the bracket play (knockout round) for eight teams or quickly-scheduled games for the 22 other franchises.
The idea of playing for a championship inside the season is not renegade. College basketball has done it forever, mostly now with conference tournaments, and in the past with holiday tournaments like the late, great All-College, the Rainbow Classic, the Great Alaska Shootout and more.
If you don’t think teams want to win their conference tournament, you haven’t witnessed the celebration or the net-cutting that goes with those titles. And just like the NBA Cup, those tournaments are part of the season. Their results matter when it comes to NCAA Tournament status.
Sam Presti long has advocated for the Thunder celebrating Northwest Division banners. When Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are on your team, division titles seem a little hokey. The NBA no longer even offers any playoff perk to a division champ.
Presti’s theory: winning ought to matter more, success ought to count for something, even if a team doesn’t end up with a parade through a downtown boulevard or a cool canal.
The same theory applies to the NBA Cup. For most NBA teams, the league championship is not possible, and deep down everyone knows it.
But the NBA Cup – with its single-elimination bracket play, along with Las Vegas hosting the semifinals and final – offers more variation on season success.
An upstart like the Thunder was in 2022-23, or an upstart with upside like the 2023-24 Thunder figures to be, at least has the chance of cashing in.
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Look at the excitement brought by the play-in tournament, which is merely an expanded playoff. Many of us scoffed, but it has proven to be a season-enhancer.
The in-season tournament will appeal to some players’ pride. The carrot of prize money — $500,000 per player for the championship, $200,000 for the runner-up, $100,000 for the semifinal losers and $50,000 for the quarterfinal losers — is nice and could motivate some players.
The superstars, no. Nor the well-paid crowd making eight figures left of the decimal point. And the young players on minimum contracts or rookie deals won’t be enticed to be more engaged — the Aaron Wigginses and Josh Giddeys already are spurred by the promise of bigger and better deals, should they show their chops.
The television networks will love it. November and December games with extra intrigue and import? Exactly what the NBA needs when it’s competing with King Football. The Tuesday/Friday format, spread over five weeks from early November into early December, guarantees no head-to-head television with the National Football League and scant competition from college football.
The NBA Cup championship is set for December 9, a date in which Army-Navy holds court as the lone gridiron game.
Frankly, just the scheduling of the NBA Cup renews faith in the sharpness of league decision-makers.
The Cup does come with some challenges. Each team’s schedule will come with two TBDs — games to be determined, depending on the Cup standings, the week of December 4.
Twenty-four NBA games will be spread over December 6 and December 8, all with a week (or less) notice. The marketing team will be working overtime to get butts in those seats.
Such a hassle seems worth it. Maybe recent champs like Denver and Golden State won’t get excited. Maybe the high-brow markets of Los Angeles and Boston will dismiss the NBA Cup. Maybe 2024 title contenders Phoenix and Miami and Philadelphia will consider an in-season tournament a pain in the patoot.
But Oklahoma City and Sacramento and Memphis and Cleveland and Atlanta and all the NBA ports not desensitized by success or expectations? The NBA Cup figures to spice a season.
Thanks, Europe.
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Pac-12 attendance an issue
Utah statistician Jeff Fuller — an ophthalmologist and admitted Brigham Young fan — has produced a series of analytical reports showing the Pac-12's problem with obtaining an acceptable television contract.
Fuller’s latest report: Pac-12 attendance drops.
Writing for ESPN960sports.com, Fuller detailed how the Pac-12 ranks far below the other Power Five conferences in maintaining attendance norms.
Comparing 2012 attendance vs. 2019 attendance and 2022 attendance, the Pac-12's decline has been stunning: 14.2 percent in 2019, 17.3 percent in 2022.
The other Power Five figures from 2012 to 2019: Big Ten -7.1%, Southeastern Conference -3.7%, Atlantic Coast -3.3%, Big 12 –2.6%.
From 2012 to 2022: Big Ten –5.7%, ACC –3.6%, Big 12 –0.5%, SEC +1.3%.
The Big 12, of course, soon will lose OU and Texas, so it won’t be easy for the Big 12 to keep those solid percentages. But still, the Big 12 is in a far better situation than the Pac-12.
In average attendance, without OU and Texas, the Big 12 would drop from outright third to a virtual tie for third with the ACC, with the Pac-12 a distant fifth. In 2012, Fuller points out, the ACC was a clear fifth.
Fuller says Power Five attendance has declined 4.6 percent since 2012, but excluding the Pac-12, that figures drops to just 2.1 percent, compared to the Pac-12's 17.3.
Here are average attendance numbers from 2022:
SEC: 76,587
SEC including OU and Texas: 78,519
Big Ten: 66,062
Big Ten including Southern Cal and UCLA, which are jumping to the Big Ten in 2024: 64,434
Big 12: 58,723
Big 12 minus OU and Texas: 50,394
ACC: 47,663
Big 12 minus OU and Texas but including Brigham Young, Central Florida, Houston and Cincinnati, which have joined the league for 2023: 47,301
Pac-12: 44,109
Pac-12 minus USC and UCLA: 42,322
Pac-12 minus USC and UCLA but including San Diego State and Southern Methodist, which were rumored to be Pac-12 bound: 39,785.
Not great numbers for the Pac.
Fuller also points out that when gauging percentage of capacity, the Pac-12 performs worst.
In 2022, the Big 12 led the Power Five leagues in percent capacity: Big 12 96.1%, SEC 95.1%, Big Ten 89.9%, ACC 81.9%, Pac-12 77.5%.
Fuller’s research extends to basketball: the Pac-12's hoops attendance has undergone a precipitous decline from 2017 to 2013: Pac-12 –24.3%, ACC –12.2%, Big East –3.3%, Big Ten –1.4%, SEC +1.0%, Big 12 +1.0%.
None of these trends are dealbreakers for a Pac-12 television contract. But taken together, they could show that declining interest in the Pac-12 is hurting television negotiations.
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The List: College football active coaches
Pat Fitzgerald became the Northwestern football coach under unusual circumstances. He lost the job the same way.
Northwestern promoted Fitzgerald to head coach in June 2006, upon the death of Randy Walker. Northwestern fired Fitzgerald on Monday, in the wake of a hazing scandal.
Fitzgerald’s departure reordered the list of active coaching tenures. Here are the 10 major-college head coaches who have been on the job the longest.
1. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa: Hired on December 2, 1998, a day after OU hired Iowa graduate Bob Stoops.
2. Kyle Whittingham, Utah: Whittingham’s hiring in December 2004 was full of intrigue; Utah head coach Urban Meyer took the Florida job, and the Utes offered the job to Meyer’s defensive coordinator. But Whittingham’s alma mater, arch-rival Brigham Young, was looking for a head coach, too. Whittingham spent a few days pondering both jobs, then took Utah.
3. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State: Hired in early January 2005, after Les Miles took the Louisiana State job.
4. Rick Stockstill, Middle Tennessee: His first season was 2006; most mid-majors don’t keep a coach that long.
5. Troy Calhoun, Air Force: Hired in December in 2006 to replace the retired Fisher DeBerry, who held the job for 23 seasons. The Academy is a stable place.
6. Nick Saban, Alabama: Hired away from the Miami Dolphins on January 3, 2007, which I assume is celebrated as a state holiday in the crimson precincts of Alabama.
7. Dabo Swinney, Clemson: Named interim head coach on October 13, 2008, after the Tigers fired Tommy Bowden. Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips, who formerly was AD at OSU, removed Swinney’s interim tag on December 1.
8. Mark Stoops, Kentucky: Hired on December 27, 2012, Stoops has thrived in the basketball-mad culture of UK.
9. Dave Doeren, North Carolina State: Hired on December 1, 2012, Doeren is 10 years on the job, in relative anonymity.
10. Chuck Martin, Miami-Ohio: Hired on December 3, 2013. The Mid-American is a solid place to coach; Big Ten schools often come shopping at the MAC, which doesn’t have a quick-fire culture.
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Mailbag: Thunder ownership
The subject of the Thunder’s future in Oklahoma City is an evergreen subject.
Shannon: Bill Simmons’ podcast this morning opens with an NBA 6pack of questions. One being, ‘With OKC having the best group of young players in the league, why wouldn’t someone offer Clay (Bennett) $3-4-5 billion? There’s a two-year issue/conversation about who pays for a new arena. Can Clay say ‘no’ to an overpay offer?’ I’m paraphrasing. I have to admit, he scared me a little. Do you believe that’s where we’re headed?”
Tramel: No. For a couple of reasons.
I’m quite confident a new arena will be part of an upcoming MAPS vote. Those MAPS votes have been passing quite consistently.
I think Bennett is very interested in legacy. He's not an opulent person and he's already got plenty of money. Why would he want to live out the rest of his life as a villain in his hometown, where he has been all-time hero? He's stared down cancer. He knows what's important.
And the Thunder ownership structure is such that at least three of the four primary owners (each owning 19 percent) would have to agree to sell. That's Bennett, Jeff Records, George Kaiser and whoever is involved with Aubrey McClendon's estate (not sure where that stands right now).
So it would take a lot more than just Bennett saying yes, and getting him to say yes would be difficult, if not impossible.
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Fewer exhibitions good for NFL
We are 23 days from the first National Football League exhibition game: the Hall of Fame Game from Canton, Ohio, this year matching the Jetropolitans and the Browns.
The Jets and Browns drew the short straw. They each are playing four preseason games. The rest of the league teams are playing three each.
And that’s an overlooked improvement to the NFL. In the wake of the 17-game schedule, teams are playing fewer exhibitions, down from four.
I know fans of a younger generation won’t believe this, but in the 1970s, NFL teams each played 14 regular-season games and six exhibitions. That’s lunacy.
I’m not a fan of the 17-game schedule. I thought the NFL could have kept the schedule at 16 games, put two off weeks into every schedule, and provided the same number of television windows as we have with the 17-game schedule.
Same amount of television, but fewer injury risks. Sixteen home dates would have been the only financial casualty.
But give the NFL this: the health risk has not risen with the 17-game schedule. The health risk to the players who play the most? Sure. The health risk to the players who make final rosters? Yes.
But someone had to play out the 60 minutes of that fourth exhibition game per team, and no one dogs it when they’re fighting for a roster spot or to be noticed.
Heck, the league might be healthier with 17 regular-season games and three exhibitiions, rather than 16 and four.
Only the hardest-core of fan enjoys exhibition games. If you know a team intimately well, perhaps an exhibition would give you some depth-chart and roster-spot expertise. Sort of like the old open scrimmages in college football.
But otherwise, exhibitions are a waste of a fan’s time, and they make for bad television.
And we have fewer of them now, courtesy of the 17-game schedule.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: NBA Cup in-season tournament will enhance OKC Thunder's season
