The NBA Has Fallen Into an Efficiency Trap
Teams pursuing the optimal strategy for winning with three-point shots are doing damage to the quality of the product.
A few weeks ago, when news broke early on a Sunday morning that the Dallas Mavericks had traded Slovenian superstar Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal that sent All-Star power forward Anthony Davis to Dallas, it was a reminder that the National Basketball Association can still turn heads. The trade was so shocking that LeBron James, now a teammate of Dončić’s, initially thought it was a hoax.
Over the next few days, the deal inspired conspiracy theories that the Mavericks’ owners were looking to pull a Major League and sandbag their own team to ease a move to Las Vegas. Or that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had engineered it to help one of the league’s marquee franchises. Pundits speculated about Dončić’s fitness and commitment to defense. Mavericks fans protested outside their own team’s arena. One thing was clear: When it comes to generating intrigue off the court, the NBA still has it.