I really like the your ninth argument! Have any particular team in mind with that??? ;-)

I actually kind of like the interviews with the draftees. They should be short and concise, but they’re still valuable.

Otherwise excellent stuff. I’d have to think about number 9 before stamping approval on it, but it sounds very interesting. Would revamp the way people think about trades.

is actually the Atlanta Hawks rule from the 80s

Except 1, 4, and 5. Especially 5. Watching draft picks plummet is a right of spring and in some cultures signals the start of summer. I’ll probably be the only one to speak up for allowing the falling prospects to squirm, but apparently I am heartless.

But seriously, more pre-draft coverage? This would unfold as a bunch of panning shots of some basketball court in some city where some prospect lost his brother/mother/best friend when he was very young while in the background a melodramatic string quartet plays a gruelingly long A minor to C progression and his high school coach says, “from the day I met him, I knew he had the guts to make it.” No thank you.

Maybe a comedian. Although I would miss seeing Stern get booed by the NY audience every year, watching him and then Adam Silver for round 2 for hours on end is pretty brutal. A few well placed jokes could spice things up… and Stephen A’s schtick doesn’t qualify.

Or perhaps a bikini clad ring girl walking behind the commish with a sign indicating the current pick. (I apologize to the female BE readers for that suggestion.)

I thought the draft coverage regressed from bad to horrible this year. I don’t know if all of your suggestions make sense, but most of them do, and the underlying thing is simply that the draft (and draft coverage) needs a serious, serious overhaul.

I also find it amusing that the first thing they do when a player is drafted is hand them a baseball cap.

I would love to see “War Room” correspondents… just so that they could report which teams are burning up the phone lines and who are twiddling their thumbs. Imagine the potential for in draft smoke screens. GM’s pretending to be desperate to move up for a pick with only a 5 minute window for other teams to believe them or not. It would be entertaining.

Secondly… I want the “Commissioner Cam.” No one knows where he goes. If the cam were in place, it would finally be revealed that he gets the teams pick/trade in about 10 seconds and then just watches the commercials on ESPN… enjoying the ad revenue for the next 4:35 or so.

Great suggestions everyone. :)

BTW idea #9 is a great one, I hadn’t thought of that. Very original.

I think #5 would look like a perp walk, and would be worse than just sitting and waiting for your name. IMO.

It leaves a weekday for all the talking heads and media to discuss the draft while it is still fresh. Also, I would not want to waste a Sunday on it.

Moving the draft to a Sunday afternoon would definitely be a great idea, so I and others don’t have to use vacation pay to leave work early to watch everything. And SAS needs to go, he just makes me cringe.

the legal paperwork can’t be done any faster. it takes time. time, and attention to detail, two mortal enemies.

You’ve got some decent ideas. However, I don’t know about number 5. I suppose nobody should take any perverse joy in watching a prospect slip and/or squirm but inevitably it usually happens to somebody. Does mysteriously having them and their families “disappear” at a certain point make things better? Also for a team with a late pick who hasn’t drafted yet, watching that prospect that has slipped IS exciting. “Hey, he’s slipped we have a shot at…...” No I’m afraid that somebody will always have to be the last man sitting…having Dr. Evil press a button and their chair suddenly tips back and they fall into oblivion isn’t the answer.