I love watching drafts. I love watching the combination of college basketball and pro basketball. Its a time to see players lives change. Its a time when hope springs anew for NBA teams and fans. Especially those in the top 3 spots in most years. The 2003 draft was unreal, the Zion draft was fascinating. This year though, was a tough watch. I have never felt this way watching any NFL draft.
Once you got past the 3rd pick, it felt like utter chaos. The viewer had so many balls to juggle in their mind and the ESPN production crew just let the viewer fumble those balls, and it made the whole TV show feel convoluted and less entertaining.
Let’s start with my biggest gripe, the trades. The NBA has to find a way to make this like the NFL. The player more than likely gets the right hat, and viewers can celebrate the pick right away. In last nights draft players didn’t know what team drafted them, the fans had to go right to Twitter to see if that pick is indeed staying with their favorite team, and the announcers had to do a 5 minute explainer about how a certain team got a certain pick. In the NFL Draft, the graphic changes, and boom you know who is on the clock or who is making the pick. The NBA has to change their calendar to make this easier. It will make ESPN’s job so much easier.
The analysis was woof. I want some more in depth analysis on fit of the team, the positives, the negatives and a few people who have seen the prospect a lot. ESPN has Jeremy Woo and Johnathan Givony on their payroll there shouldn’t be a reason why they aren’t a bigger player on draft night, or their Super Bowl. I love Jay Bilas bringing the college basketball perspective, and having JJ Redick on stage is important for the occasional pro for a pro trade so the viewer can have the instant analysis for what that hypothetical trade means to the teams. Andraya Carter was not ready for prime time. I have no idea what she was doing calling JJ Redick an “average shooter”. Its one thing to get a few things wrong about a prospect you haven’t watched, but to get something wrong like that about your co-host is pretty ridiculous. This isn’t an attack on women analysts. I would have loved Candace Parker, Rachel Nichols or Doris Burke on that stage. ESPN has a weird way of trying to push people up entirely too quick.
I think ESPN spends WAY too much time with interviews. One question is enough. We don’t need a life story on the prospect. Parents should get some shine, but having them on the interview couch is a little much. I want more dissecting on the picks. If ESPN is insistent on covering the back story, why not interview the prospects coach instead of the parents. Then you will at least get some X’s and O’s mixed with the prospects story.
The NBA Draft is there for the college fans of these prospects or the NBA nerd. There aren’t that many casuals sticking around for 3 hours of a first round. Make those 3 hours count ESPN, help those smart viewers learn something during the broadcast.
Burk Report 