Every NBA news site had an article in which Silver said that he plans to permanently expand All-Star game rosters. His reason is that it is too hard for him to decide on injury replacements (e.g. David Lee vs. Demarcus Cousins). But if the teams are enlarged, he'll still have such decisions. So his idea is stupid. I'm not critical of anything else he's done, and in fact, he hasn't done this yet. So far it's just talk, and I hope it stays there.
As a flamboyant, not at all subtle, gay man, Silver will eventually be outed in the public conversation (message boards). If I were his PR advisor, I'd tell him to come out now, while his popularity is high. The honeymoon will end when he makes some mistake (e.g. a plastic ball, ads on jerseys, a new CBA lockout) and people hit him while he's down. He should choose the time to come out himself, instead of letting his future opponents choose the time. The best time is now. For the same reason, Obama pushed health care through in his first year. 9/11 "just happened" to occur in Bush's first year, allowing him almost his full term to continue his father's war before a successor could dissolve it. Silver should strike while the iron's hot and out himself during his honeymoon period. Manage by tamping down anticipated problems, instead of waiting for them to ignite and then stomping out fires.
To a certain extent this is true. Even with expansion, someone will always get snubbed. But there's a difference between guys like Monta Ellis or Mike Conley not getting in vs. Lillard. Dame is on the precipice of superstardom (signature shoe, Footlocker commercials, etc.) Guys like that are automatic All Stars. Many have said this is the "mother" of all snubbings. If they do expand the rosters, it may be called the "Damian Lillard Rule". That's how it far reaching this controversy has become. In 2010/11 LA was 21/9 at the break & considered the biggest snub, while Tim Duncan was voted in by coaches even though he was 13/9 (How many "life time achievement" all star games does Timmy get to play in by the way?) It was frustrating, but not shocking. LA never branded himself like Dame does - not many do, and his game isn't as flashy. Expansion isn't the answer. I've seen several good ideas, just in this thread alone. Find a way to get the 24 most deserving players in the game & put a cap on the number of games a player can miss due to injury and still be eligible to play.
