The NBA's in-season tournament is a cool but flawed concept

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NBA commissioner Adam Silver outlined some of the details of his league’s in-season Cup tournament set to debut next season.

Among the things Silver revealed at the Sports Business Journal’s World Congress of Sports conference Tuesday, he said the tournament will begin with all 30 teams and involve pool play, a knockout round and a neutral-site final four. The games will take place in November and December and look different than traditional games, with teams wearing alternate uniforms. And the two teams in the final will be the only teams with an extra game added to their standard 82-game schedules.

In summary, the tournament will be played through regular season games that were going to be played regardless. It just adds a little more meaning to them. What’s not to like about the idea?

As Silver noted, it’s not a totally foreign concept to have more than one title in a single season. “Taking a page from European soccer where they play for multiple cups throughout the season. We think — taking nothing away from the Larry O’Brien trophy and the ultimate goal of winning a championship — that you can create another competition within the season that becomes meaningful,” Silver said. “And there’s a recognition that new traditions are not built overnight.”

This is something the NBA was smart to pursue, and it can be a huge success over time. I’m just not sure it’ll generate sustained interest from players, teams and fans without the league eventually tying bigger incentives to it. Slapping a Cup on a few regular-season games won’t make people care about those games any more than they already do.

It starts with the players. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Bobby Marks reported Monday that each player on the tournament-winning team will receive $500,000, and there’s also a cash incentive for the other semifinalists. However, none of it is likely enough to compel a star player to play, let alone go hard for a regular-season game they might have otherwise rested. If stars don’t take the Cup seriously, neither will fans.

It’ll be great to see young players on building teams finally have something to play for, but a regular-season game between the Magic and Pistons with a Cup on the line is still just a regular-season game between the Magic and Pistons. That won’t draw nearly the attention as a game between Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard.

The truth is, there might not be a cash incentive big enough to make stars play games they don’t need to. So, the only other thing that could add a little more intrigue to the tournament is to attach the stakes to something like postseason play, though finding the perfect answer is easier said than done. Maybe the Cup title should guarantee a spot in the play-in tournament at the very least?

Whatever it is, this is all new to the NBA and the in-season tournament in Year 1 won’t be what it is in Year 10. It’ll evolve and I trust that the necessary adjustments will be made to make it as successful as possible in the future.

The Sacramento Kings’ series against the Golden State Warriors has been absolutely fascinating for obvious reasons.

Lately, all the talk has been about Draymond Green stomping on Domantas Sabonis and getting himself suspended a game. But as Charles Barkley correctly pointed out, all that’s done is taken away from how good the Kings have been to go up 2-0 on the reigning champs.

Hopefully, it doesn’t also give people an excuse for why this young upstart team that hasn’t been to the playoffs in years dethroned the dynasty of this era — if the Kings do succeed in winning the series.

However, one media personality is giving Golden State a totally different excuse. Wednesday on First Take, J.J. Redick argued that the referees have dictated too much in the Kings’ favor, and our guy Sykes couldn’t disagree more:

“Never in a million years did I think the Sacramento Kings would be on the right end of a complaint about officiating in the NBA, but here we are.

The Kings have always been on the wrong end of the stick when it comes to NBA officiating controversies and, quite honestly, some of the worst moments in league history. Remember DeMarcus Cousins’ rant? That’s an actual thing. And that’s even been the case this season.

So when you hear JJ Redick complaining about how the officiating in the Kings-Warriors series has tilted the Kings way, yeah. It feels pretty laughable.”

Yeah, I can’t say I agree with Redick on this one.

One to Watch

(All odds via BetMGM)

Lakers (+1.5, -110) at Grizzlies (-110), O/U 225.5, 7:30 PM ET

This game is a pick-em and I’m rolling with the Lakers to take it and go up 2-0 on the Grizzlies. With Ja Morant a game-time decision, I think LA’s veterans know they can’t afford to let this slip while he’s on the mend. They also shouldn’t be counting on role players to carry them in another road game. It’s on Anthony Davis and LeBron James this time, and they’ll be locked in from tip.

Shootaround

— Bryan Kalbrosky: We should all hate that Draymond Green got suspended

— Fans overreacted to Chris Paul and Kawhi Leonard bumping shoulders

— Charles Barkley and Shaq couldn’t hold it together comparing Derrick White to Stephen A. Smith

— Trae Young received ‘overrated’ chants after NBA players voted him most overrated