Despite a steady stream of game cancellations because of positive COVID-19 tests, the NBA is apparently determined to try and organize an All-Star Game this season after all.
After initially cancelling plans for a February event, the league is reportedly considering an All-Star Game during the scheduled break from March 5 to March 10, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
From Wojnarowski:
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"The NBA and National Basketball Players Association are discussing the possibility of still holding an All-Star Game in early March -- possibly in Atlanta, sources tell ESPN.
"The traditional All-Star Weekend -- originally set for Indianapolis in February -- was canceled because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but sources tell ESPN there are ongoing talks with the league and union about Atlanta as a site for a single game on March 7."
Look, professional sports leagues have made it very clear in the past 10 months that they are about money first, and everything else second. It's understandable to a point; without some semblance of steady revenue streams, the leagues' infrastructures could collapse.
But there is no way it's worth adding an All-Star Game to the schedule, asking the biggest stars from around the league to descend on one city and play a game with no impact on the standings when it's hard enough to play every game that actually counts.
NBA
Forget, for a moment, the moral failings of trying to add this game, which are multiple.
If the league is truly concerned about its bottom line, jeopardizing dozens of its best players is a terrible business move.
What if, despite the league's best intentions and safety measures, there's an outbreak at the event? You've just sidelined the most attractive part of your product for a week-plus, which will directly impact viewership on nationally televised prime time matchups, as well as attendance at the few venues allowing some fans into their buildings - which is a discussion for another day.
The NBA nailed its Bubble experience last summer precisely because it took on outsized expenses to ensure its players' health and safety. The league is now learning, as the NBA and MLB and NHL also have, that the Bubble is essentially the only way to actually protect your very valuable work force without making sizable, and inconvenient, investments. So why would you go out of your way to make it even harder?
If the goal is to play as many important games as possible this season, adding a meaningless one is exceptionally dumb. The league will point to NBAPA president Chris Paul's idea for the game to "financially benefit Historically Black Colleges and Universities and COVID-19 relief."
Guess what: that can still happen without the game. Write a check to those institutions instead of spending money on an unnecessary exhibition, one that absolutely doesn't need to be played. Live to fight another day; or, in this case, to play another game.