Commenter JJ left us a note on this Philadelphia Inquirer article by David Aldridge on "how to fix the NBA in four easy steps".  I personally feel the NBA is in good shape and not in "need" of fixing, but some repairs and maintenance work is always a good idea.  So let's look at Aldridge's ideas:

1)  Create a Blue Ribbon Panel.  For the purpose of "taking a long, hard look at the league's structure for hiring, retaining, grading and teaching its officials".  Well, JJ's comments were absolutely right - blue ribbon panels are usually a tremendous waste of time.  How's Senator Mitchell's "investigation" going for MLB? 

I would just add that I'm not sure there is a problem in the NBA with retaining referees, or teaching their officials... they seem to have a grasp of the rules pretty well; whether or not they are calling fouls constantly is something that can be worked on, but perhaps a better approach would be to make explanations for calls more public. The NFL's referees, particularly Ed Hochuli, explain calls (particularly difficulty ones) to the crowd via a mic.  Even when they get the call wrong, at least people understand what the thought process is, which makes them more understanding.  Obviously a NBA referee isn't going to explain every call to the crowd ("player #20 took five steps after picking up his dribble, which is one more than we allow in the NBA right now"), but on some of the trickier ones... maybe they can try?  Perhaps it might help the perception of the league if refs explained some of the more questionable calls not just to the coaches, but to the crowd, too.

2)  Rehire Joey Crawford:  Ah... this is the classic "writer passing off a personal agenda as an impartial take" on the league.  David Aldridge explained the reasoning in only one short line: "But after the Donaghy revelations, bringing back the game's best official is imperative."  Aside from the fact that I think Crawford is, in fact, on his way back according to most reports (making this a redundant point), I fail to agree that he's "the game's best official".  He has too many issues, and I've been meaning to address them.  Check my next post... seriously, it's coming. Anyway, yeah... my guess is Joey Crawford (from PA, long time Philly resident) has some connections or friends over at the Inquirer.

3)  Engage the Players:  Basically, "coaches and general managers are part of the rating system for referees; why aren't players?"  I agree with this one (as does JJ), in principle.  I don't know if it'll make a huge difference - do you think Rasheed Wallace crapping on 50 out of the 60 refs is going to help the NBA figure out what to do?  Okay, that's not true - Rasheed crapping won't make a difference, but let's say 80% of the players hate a ref; that makes him suspect.  Then what?  Does Stern or Stu Jackson or the head of the Ref's Union (Ronnie Nunn) put him on probation?  Demote him?  The issue isn't just getting back feedback - I image that the GM/coaches have given back decent feedback on the refs.  So the question then is "what does the NBA do with this info"?

And secondly, Tim Donaghy was well-liked by most players.  The coaches hated him (quick on the technicals, hot tempered), but the players seemed to like him.  So this isn't exactly going to solve that "rogue" problem, though again, if you are looking for little things you can do to improve the system, it's not a bad idea.

4) Be Bold.  Ah, the catch-all cliche.  Look, it encompasses any other suggestion you throw out there, except for "do nothing".  Anything new is by definition "bold"! 

That aside, he does suggest one great idea - farm out the refs entirely.  It is bold, but it is also riskier - we're used to home grown refs here in the US; MLB umpires, NFL officials and NBA refs are all controlled by their respective leagues.  So farming out seems a new, bold idea that hasn't been tried yet.  Problem is, well... I don't trust outside companies for really important sh*t at my business, do you?  Like I don't mind using an outside vendor for security or for lunch, for example.  But to have them in charge of my company's most important product?  Isn't that like IBM putting a consultant in charge of computers?  It seems somewhat risky, although it would make things like firing a bad official much easier. 

I do like the idea of using grades from the IAABO, an outside firm.  Again, getting lots of impartial feedback is a good start.  The critical step is the next one, though... what to do with that data?   Is Stern going to run off bad refs like he kinda started to do with Joey Crawford last season?  Is he even able to punish really bad refs with suspensions and demotions? 

If Stern is opportunistic, this would be his big chance to pull a power move and get some freedom from the ref's union to do some unilateral decision making on referee evaluations.  This is Stern's 9/11 (horrible analogy, I apologize in advance).  He can take some power if he is so inclined, and start cutting off so-called "suspicious" or "possibly rogue" refs at his discretion.  Would that make the league better?  Perhaps yes, perhaps no... depends on who he cuts and why.  But fear is the enemy of complaisancy.  And the refs in the NBA have definitely gotten a little too comfortable.  Now that's bold. 

Also, a while back I wrote a piece over at TSF about the future of officiating in general.  It dealt with all three major sports, and how automated they could become if they wanted.  The NBA could cut out half the ref's calls by using such things as sensors on the ball and out lines (to determine possession) - not having to concentrate too much on this would make it easier for ref's to focus on the calls that humans have to make. 

In the end, though, here's the deal:  The NBA's problem isn't the possibility of point shaving referees or players.  That will always be a risk, to a certain degree.  The real problem is the perception fans (or critics) have of the referees in the NBA, versus other leagues.  The best way to deal with that is to address the complaints in a more serious manner; instead of fining Mark Cuban ever week, answer his complaints publicly.  Answer the feedback, and address the concerns raised.  Tackle the perception problem.

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