With the NBA launching a Sirius XM channel this week, they've brought the big guns out in terms of guests.
Commissioner David Stern and soon-to-be commissioner Adam Silver were both on the station on Monday and, among other topics, they discussed the utility of the league's current division structure.
On @SiriusXMNBA, NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver said competition committee will look at whether divisions have outlived usefulness.
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) December 9, 2013
This has been a hot topic early in the season thanks to the tire fire that is the Atlantic Division, where the Boston Celtics hold a 1.5-game lead with a 10-12 record.
Because the in-conference schedules are largely balanced anyway, there seems to be little reason left to have divisions within the conference. At the very least, winning a terrible division probably shouldn't assure a team of a certain playoff seed.
Of course, there's also the issue of the conference imbalance. The West has been pounding on the East for years, and the current nine-seed in the West (Phoenix at 11-9) would sit third in the East.
That's something Stern seemed more concerned with, though a solution to that imbalance is far less obvious.
NBA commish David Stern sounds less concerned about divisions & more concerned about good team in West missing playoffs/getting lottery pick
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) December 9, 2013
In any case, it's always good to see the league being open to discussion and change.
