Evidently, the players are to blame for the NBA All-Star draft being conducted behind closed doors.
The league originally planned to televise the picks, capitalizing on the drama that the draft was designed to create. However, that idea was nixed by some in the NBA Players Association, reports Marc Stein of the New York Times.
My understanding is that the new captains-pick-their-teams format was indeed hatched with the full intention to televise the draft. But union pushback -- NOT unanimous pushback, but enough -- scuttled the plans to put it on TV
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 25, 2018
League executives and the players' union met this summer in hopes of improving the All-Star Game, which yielded a ludicrous final score of 192-182 last year. They ultimately agreed to scrap conferences in favor of having two captains select from the remaining 22 players in an attempt to make the event more competitive.
