It's the offseason in the NBA, and if ever the league had a real 'off'season, it's this year. There has been little movement during the summer, and the feel of many NBA stories (including some of my own) is not very positive. So, I've spent about a week thinking about certain things. And, after thinking about things, here comes the result. Here are some things about the NBA I would do if there was a perfect world for the association.

Beef #1: The recent trouble of rookies Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur

This has been the hot topic of the recent NBA posts. Let me be brief: Arthur and Chalmers made a mistake under the current laws of the land. It has nothing to do with race, upbringing, or anything but their personal judgment. As such, there's plenty to blame to go around. I realize that I came down hard on David Stern yesterday, but I believe that Stern must be consistent. As for the players union, yes, they should work with Stern to change the rules regarding this. But both sides must be proactive, not reactive

Solution: Institute madatory suspensions for any player caught using pot (I'd say a 1 game suspension to start is O.K., and then go from there). As for players like Josh Howard, do what the NFL does and just periodically test him to make sure he's straight.

Beef #2: The coverage on ESPN/ABC is, as Bill Walton says, "Horrrrrrrible".

This was supposed to be the topic of a different post about two weeks ago, but my computer troubles prevented it. Anyhow, to the point; many people (at least on other sites I frequent) don't like how ESPN/ABC handles the NBA package. Yet, despite this, they were renewed until 2016! In this instance, money triumphs over all, and that's sad to me. I actually enjoy the real classic games from the NBC and CBS eras because they handled the NBA better than ESPN/ABC.

Solution: The NBA does deals with the networks just like the NFL does. ESPN/ABC gets a "Game of the Week" every Sunday (starting in January); NBC and CBS get conference-exclusive games whenever they want to schedule them (like Fox does with the NFC and CBS does with the AFC). TNT can keep their schedule as is.

For those who say "How could the major networks work that package in?", I say this; NBC is 4th in the major network ratings! Wouldn't you rather see action than "Celebrity Circus"? I know CBS would be a little trickier, but their Saturday night lineup is thin. Can't they squeeze it in there? And wouldn't it be cool to get the old school NBA songs from each network than the generic #### on ESPN/ABC! Maybe you can even do "Retro Week" and bring back the voices from the past for one broadcast. Imagine the possibilities.

Beef #3: The lack of player movement

Other than the Ron Artest trade, there hasn't been much to talk about. That's why these blogs haven't been real active. Simply put enough, there has been little to talk about.

Solution: Get a couple of GMs drunk and convince them that last year's trade of Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol was a steal for Memphis, and get them on the phones, telling them "One of you must make a major deal!".

This will probably be the scariest part of the utopia for Mitch Kupchak, Danny Ainge, Pat Riley, Joe Dumars, etc. Need I say more about how the unpredictability would make the NBA more interesting?

Beef #4: Stephen A. Smith

Sorry, I just can't keep him out of a problem/solution blog.

Solution: Fire him.

No explanation necessary.

What would you do if there was an NBA utopia? I don't care how outlandish it may be; leave a suggestion if you want. In the mean time, I'm going to give Riles another drink.

(P.S. You may notice the song player I just added. Finally, technolgy worked for me! If you have any songs that I can search and add, suggest them! Hell, might as well fill it up!)

(P.P.S. Did I mention we should fire Stephen A. Smith?)