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First, I'd like to say that I welcome Mr. Cuban to the Forum, unlike some others, I feel that he brings a unique perspective that can help us all engage in meaningful discussion. Obviously the site is mainly to discuss plays, mechanics and philosophies among officials, but as long as it's respectful, I think coaches, fans and owners provide great perspective. Coaches appear at officiating camps all the time, this is no different.
I think Mark is genuine in his desire to continually improve the quality of NBA officiating and he wants the best possible, most prepared crews on the games. Having the best officials is only good for business, and it's a goal we share at all levels of officiating. I'm nowhere near the NBA level, but I, and the thousands of other officials continue to strive to have the best possible games, and I know the preparation is there in the NBA. I don't necessarily agree with Cuban's tactics, but hey, what do I know, I'm not an NBA owner.
One thing that has only been touched on briefly is that there are 3 basic tracks for officials, pro, college mens and college womens. Some of the tracks are interchangable, but there are different mechanics and largely different philosophies in each of the tracks. It's been discussed on this forum that some guys who go the pro route can get blackballed and have trouble picking up even quality high school games as a result of working Pro-Am stuff in some areas. I haven't personally experienced any of this, but I've heard of it.
My opinion on where the focus should be as a young official going through the camp system is that there needs to be a lot more connection between the NBA and the colleges. I think the college conferences are largely to blame for the lack of consistency because there really is no one overriding, consistent philosophy across college basketball because different supervisors like different things mechanically and philosophically. The thing the NBA has done well is that they have all their officials on the same page, relatively speaking. I recently heard a Final Four official comment about the disparity in officiating from one side of the country to the other from a mechanical and philosophical perspective. So Mr. Cuban, my point to you is that I think to improve officiating overall, I think there needs to be a closer connection between the pros and the colleges and we need to as officials strive for more uniformity on all levels.
One other point Mark, in regards to the playoff officials. You have a valid point that the top guys should work more often in the playoffs because there's big money at stake, but it seems you are discounting the need for young officials to gain experience in the playoff environment. When the Crawfords and the Bavattas retire, someone's gonna have to step into their shoes as a crew chief, how do you propose the NBA develop the top officials of the future?
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