Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban didn’t get to billionaire status without thinking outside the box a time or two. He also has never been afraid to speak his mind as an owner of an NBA team either.
So, when Cuban speaks it behooves many inside the NBA to at least listen.
He spoke to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Wednesday, and amongst the comments in the interview was an idea to help the NBA in the sports ratings war — extending the season 10 more days.
“I just think television has changed so that the difference in households watching television on June 12 [for the NBA Finals] vs. June 24 or 26 isn’t that big, because football hasn’t started yet,” Cuban said. “It’s just the dog days of baseball and people are crying for sports still, and there’s nothing to watch.
“I think spreading out will be great for the league.”
It’s an idea that allows the league to extend its season from the middle of June to the end of June when realistically it would run nearly unopposed on the sports landscape.
Of course there’s baseball going on, but that’s the middle of the season and the “dog days” of the MLB grind are settling in. Fewer people are paying as much attention to baseball in late June as they are come late August or early September.
Allowing the NBA Finals to run outside a potential head-to-head battle with the NHL’s Stanley Cup Finals or other sporting events on the international tip would be wise.
It also worth noting that Cuban was opposed to the extra few days off after the All-Star game, mainly because it just compressed more games in to fewer days. Of course, competing with the NHL isn’t the issue. The health of the top players in the league come playoff time is.
This change, along with an already talked about reduction in preseason contests, would allow for the season to not be so compact and allow for players to be in better condition come time for the playoffs.
Will the NBA listen? The season is long enough, but back-to-back days and three games in four nights are issues Commissioner Adam Silver has looked at fixing since he took over. The league has listened in the past with Cuban’s ideas, time will tell with this one, especially because of how many other teams will be on board as well.
