Unlike NFL, NBA Draft shows less is more
Follow
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
A couple of months ago, the NFL unleashed an unprecedented amount of broadcast coverage for its annual draft, flooding the airwaves of ESPN, NFL Network, Fox and ABC, while airing every round on network TV for the first time.
Thirty-two players were selected in the first round, a process that lasted nearly four hours and got its own night. Sheesh!
Thank goodness the NBA doesn’t take the same approach. The league’s draft begins – and ends – on Thursday.
Granted, the NFL can’t wrap up matters in four hours like the NBA. Seven rounds take a lot longer than two rounds, so it’s understandable that the football draft is a multi-day event. But Roger Goodell & Co. drag out their affair in a blatant money grab.
If the NBA operated in similar fashion, its first round would consume the entire broadcast on Thursday and the show would end with a reminder: “Tune in for the second round tomorrow night!”
Instead, Commissioner Adam Silver will welcome 30 first-rounders onstage at Barclays Center, beaming along with the newly-minted millionaires who receive fully guaranteed contracts. Then, if tradition holds, deputy commissioner Mark Tatum will get his moment in the spotlight, welcoming the 30 second-rounders whose NBA fortunes are, literally, less certain.
But a copious amount of intrigue and speculation is something the two leagues have in common regarding their respective choose-em ups.
While the NBA doesn’t have anyone who’s synonymous with draft coverage like Mel Kiper Jr. and offshoot Todd McShay, there’s no shortage of professional opiners to dissect teams’ selections and players’ prospects. Just don’t look for dueling analysis during simultaneous broadcasts on three networks like the NFL did this year with the opening two rounds.
The NBA is content to let ESPN do the heavy lifting on draft night. In turn, the network is doubling down this year, offering simultaneous telecasts on ESPN and ESPN2. The former features the traditional approach from a set at Barclays Center. The latter will originate from ESPN’s South Street Seaport Studios in New York and be hosted by The Jump’s Rachel Nichols.
The NBA enjoys another advantage besides its reduced number of outlets that bombard us with data and insights on unknown players: We aren’t subjected to the information overload for several months!
Eleven weeks passed between the Super Bowl and NFL Draft this year. Conversely, the NBA Finals ended just two weeks ago, allowing us to flow seamlessly from past to future with a mere fraction of the NFL’s dead space and hot air in-between. Sensible people can absorb only so many mock drafts and big-board changes before loopiness sets in.
That’s not to suggest that overkill is absent from the NBA.
It simply occurs in a compressed time frame.
By the time Silver announces the first pick, currently held by Phoenix, we’ll “know” that Deandre Ayton is a can’t-miss prospect who’ll help revolutionize the game. We’ll know that everyone except Marvin Bagley III is diametrically opposed to being drafted second by Sacramento, and EuroLeague star Luka Doncic could go anywhere from No. 2 to No. 5, with several teams contemplating a move up to get him.
What we don’t know – as usual – could fill a book or large pamphlet.
Many teams deal in half-truths or whole lies as the draft approaches. Others work out deals that won’t be revealed until Thursday, while others craft trades as the draft unfolds. All the above makes prognostications extremely unreliable regarding which player goes when and where.
I suppose that adds to the drama, plots running parallel to next season’s whereabouts for LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, and other stars who might be on the move. That adds an entirely different feel to NBA proceedings on draft night.
But this draft is likely to resemble most of its predecessors: Two or three players will emerge as future All-Stars. Another handful will evolve into quality starters. Others will develop into solid role players.
The rest will barely be remembered if they make it to one Opening Night.
At least the local team has a first-round pick this year, which hasn’t been the case in three of the past four drafts. The Wizards could find great value at No. 15, the spot where Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Steve Nash were selected in the past.
Or general manager Ernie Grunfeld could trade the pick as you read this sentence – if he didn’t do so as I typed it.
In any case, enjoy the draft where less is more, a lesson the NFL should learn.
— Brooklyn-born and Howard-educated, Deron Snyder writes his award-winning column for The Washington Times on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Follow him on Twitter @DeronSnyder.
