What it Takes to Become a Basketball Player - Essay Example

Introduction

In this policy analysis, we shall be looking at what it takes to be a basketball player and the challenges different teams face; these are factors that are contributed by the media and the job role itself. Managing a basketball corporation is not an easy task; various forces pull from different directions negating any decision that is made by the commissioner. In the 21st century, so many people are exposed to social media where they use it to address their issues, and in this case, to influence a targeted group of people and spread propaganda. This research will look at different adverse effects faced by the basketball teams and how they arise. Further, it shall look at the different ways these challenges have affected this specific side of sports, the basketball, and the best way to curb these uncertainties. Based on recent performances on various basketball games, it is evident that serious problems are attacking the sport and its union. Though not popular as football, basketball has declined in its performance and influence on people. Many suggest that the best way to avoid these challenges is to have stable leadership, with clear and well-outlined policies that govern the leaders, the teams, and the players.

Client’s position

The client's position is the National Basketball Association Commissioner, commonly known as the NBA commissioner. In a more elaborate language, the NBA commissioner is the Chief Executive Officer who is the CEO of the national basketball. This is the highest position in governing this sport. This top position is elected by the board of governors, where the person with the best qualification and experience get the job. On the other hand, the commissioner has different managerial and administrative roles that play a part in keeping the sport going. The functions include overseeing all the activities involved in various games or leagues and organizing for play; this requires; time and venue, creating a rotter for referees. It may look like a tough cookie, but the commissioner has assistants that help him/her get all these roles flowing smoothly throughout his/her term in leadership.

Moreover, the NBA commissioner is also in charge of addressing the media on any issues that arise while he/she is still in office. The CEO discusses media houses such as supersport, ESPN, and TNT, and this job role gives us the idea of how much power the commissioner in basketball. Furthermore, being the most influential person in the NBA, the commissioner makes the teams have a continuous surplus of resources, and the venues have sponsors. This is done by evaluating and bargaining of different contacts from sponsors, and for this information, the NBA commissioner holds an essential and respected title.

Policy Problem

The problem to be evaluated is why basketball is declining in the 21st century. This has been a question that has been left unanswered for many basketball seasons; there is no specific pointer for this question but several underlying reasons that have contributed to the decline and underperformance basketball. For example, the decline in any sport is provided by continuous mismanagement of teams and lack or reduced motivation. In this case, basketball has been overtaken by other famous and well-paying career sports e.g., football. One of the main reasons is leadership. Inconsistence in good governance of a sport or team has contributed to so many teams falling and players quitting. The current NBA commissioner is Adam Silver; his leadership in NBA is considered different from the previous leaders. He is the most trusted and the most enduring commissioner NBA has not had in a long while. This indifference and inconsistency in leadership make teams fall because a leader mends torn areas in a sport. The next leader does not bother in keeping the repair intact.

On the other hand, the late David Stern served as NBA commissioner between 1984 and 2014. In his 30 years of leadership, he experienced a lot; the sport went through positive and negative waves, some of which were contributed by the administration and some provided by other factors. David Stern's main challenge was the growth rate of teams and how he would manage them. The other problem that may have contributed to a decline in basketball is low returns to players; this means that basketball is not yielding enough to make it a career in the 21st century as it was in the past. For career players, there is a feeling of low poor or low returns after matches; this means that the NBA is not generating enough revenue to pay teams and their players.

This sort of challenge has led to many players opting for other careers or teams; many who have entirely quit the sport have confirmed that basketball has taken an adverse turn in the way it's rewarding its players. However, the NBA commissioner in a press release he contradicted these claims by different players. He insisted that the NBA has been recognizing and rewarding its teams and players accordingly. On this same matter, the basketball association has also denied the accusation of underpaying most of the teams and players.

More to the decline of basketball, the rate of the decline has disadvantaged many rising and upcoming basketball stars. The fall has demotivated a number of youths pursuing basketball as a career; they have sorted other alternatives to making a living. The lost fame in basketball games has influenced a lot of stories and contradictions in media houses and newspapers. Waking up to different stories covering basketball teams, games, and players has been the order of the day. Every media house is bearing different versions of factors affecting the NBA in general.

Root Causes

The root causes are the initiating reasons why NBA commissioner has been the lead reason to a decline in basketball; the root causes involve why the commissioner may be underperforming of overwhelmed with his specific job roles. One is the growth of new teams, so many organizations have come up in the 21st century, and we all know how managing a large group can be hectic sometimes. With the rise is the number of teams, the Commissioner and his team has been overwhelmed with responsibilities, which has contributed to the underperformance in the leadership team.

The other root cause is insufficient sponsors for teams and games. We all know that sponsors contribute a lot of organizations or games' finances; they help reduce or cut the cost incurred in a season or a specific team or tournament. Teams have to depend on sponsors to fund them; without enough or complete lack of sponsors, an organization cannot manage its players or rather, and it cannot afford to pay its players. Due to this root cause, many players have opted for other careers with better returns, or in this case, they have decided for other teams with better sponsors, and for that reason, there are less competitive teams and less emerging stars.

Policy Alternatives

As an NBA commissioner, I believe Adam Silver would not want to leave a negative legacy behind; he would want to leave a positive impact on everyone who loves and plays basketball. Here are some alternatives that can be implemented for a better basketball sport; (1). Continuous and consistent leadership, (2).Regulation of teams, (3).Sponsorship, and (4). Motivation. Through the implementation of these four alternatives by the NBA commissioner, I believe the world of basketball will in a better place in the future.

Continuous and consistent leadership

Constant and consistent leadership means that, if a previous leader has set a positive pace, the next leader should follow suit. There should not be any indifference in leadership performance only on the leadership styles; this will reduce the culture shock that teams face when they get new leaders.

Regulation of teams

The emergence of new groups can be regulated and controlled by the NBA commissioner and his side; this will reduce the drastic growth of teams and players, creating more manageable teams and players. This alternative will also play a part in cutting costs and saving on it.

Sponsorship

Inviting more sponsors to fund teams and games is advisable, but on the other hand, the commissioner should ensure that the games are in accordance with the market or spectators. By having sponsors, basketball is able to grow and attract better players.

Motivation

Motivation means empowering teams and their players. In this case, players should be given a better and equal return to their performance in a specific game. Teams should be given enough funds to accommodate their players. This way, their morale to play a have better organizations will increase and hence having better teams.

Evaluation criteria

These are methods that are used to establish whether an alternative was effective;

• Effectiveness Based on the policy alternatives elaborated above, if they are all implemented, how effective will they be on basketball, will the change the perception or notion that basketball is on its decline.
• Legality

Should there be any legal document that will govern the alternatives listed above, or should it be a free will on every practice? If there will be a constitution that will guide the other options, what should happen to the law benders, how should they be punished?

• Efficiency

On these criteria, it intends to measure how well NBA leadership will perform together with the teams that are after implementation of the alternatives. Will it be positive or negative?

• Fairness

As mentioned in legality, the constitution would be a good idea to ensure everyone is treated equally and with fairness. From the NBA leadership, there should be a sort of assurance of fairness, where there is any case of inequality, then strict measures should be taken.

Recommended Alternative

In this policy analysis, some alternatives have the assurance of a better basketball sport, and some don't. For this particular one, I believe leadership is more responsible for the future of basketball. The leaders are more accountable in setting the pace for the sport than the teams and players; hence, it is essential that the leadership take the initiative on improving on its weak areas before anything else.

This sort of challenge has led to many players opting for other careers or teams; many who have entirely quit the sport have confirmed that basketball has taken an adverse turn in the way it's rewarding its players. However, the NBA commissioner in a press release he contradicted these claims by different players. He insisted that the NBA has been recognizing and rewarding its teams and players accordingly. On this same matter, the basketball association has also denied the accusation of underpaying most of the teams and players.

More to the decline of basketball, the rate of the decline has disadvantaged many rising and upcoming basketball stars. The fall has demotivated a number of youths pursuing basketball as a career; they have sorted other alternatives to making a living. The lost fame in basketball games has influenced a lot of stories and contradictions in media houses and newspapers. Waking up to different stories covering basketball teams, games, and players has been the order of the day. Every media house is bearing different versions of factors affecting the NBA in general.

Root Causes

The root causes are the initiating reasons why NBA commissioner has been the lead reason to a decline in basketball; the root causes involve why the commissioner may be underperforming of overwhelmed with his specific job roles. One is the growth of new teams, so many organizations have come up in the 21st century, and we all know how managing a large group can be hectic sometimes. With the rise is the number of teams, the Commissioner and his team has been overwhelmed with responsibilities, which has contributed to the underperformance in the leadership team.

The other root cause is insufficient sponsors for teams and games. We all know that sponsors contribute a lot of organizations or games' finances; they help reduce or cut the cost incurred in a season or a specific team or tournament. Teams have to depend on sponsors to fund them; without enough or complete lack of sponsors, an organization cannot manage its players or rather, and it cannot afford to pay its players. Due to this root cause, many players have opted for other careers with better returns, or in this case, they have decided for other teams with better sponsors, and for that reason, there are less competitive teams and less emerging stars.

Policy Alternatives

As an NBA commissioner, I believe Adam Silver would not want to leave a negative legacy behind; he would want to leave a positive impact on everyone who loves and plays basketball. Here are some alternatives that can be implemented for a better basketball sport; (1). Continuous and consistent leadership, (2).Regulation of teams, (3).Sponsorship, and (4). Motivation. Through the implementation of these four alternatives by the NBA commissioner, I believe the world of basketball will in a better place in the future.

Continuous and consistent leadership

Constant and consistent leadership means that, if a previous leader has set a positive pace, the next leader should follow suit. There should not be any indifference in leadership performance only on the leadership styles; this will reduce the culture shock that teams face when they get new leaders.

Regulation of teams

The emergence of new groups can be regulated and controlled by the NBA commissioner and his side; this will reduce the drastic growth of teams and players, creating more manageable teams and players. This alternative will also play a part in cutting costs and saving on it.

Sponsorship

Inviting more sponsors to fund teams and games is advisable, but on the other hand, the commissioner should ensure that the games are in accordance with the market or spectators. By having sponsors, basketball is able to grow and attract better players.

Motivation

Motivation means empowering teams and their players. In this case, players should be given a better and equal return to their performance in a specific game. Read More