The NBA Is Making Some MAJOR Changes For This Upcoming Season

According to Yahoo Sports' Sham Charania, the NBA will now ditch the referee-initiated reviews on out-of-bounds plays in exchange for a challenge system for the coaches. If all goes well, it'll rid us all of those 45-minute NBA endings for a more fast-paced finale.

They're also considering the addition of a mid-season tournament that would award each player on the winning team $1 million. Everyone likes money, so that has to work.

Is there anything worse than watching NBA players circle their fingers in the air to scare an official into a review? I argue that after the invention of the "hack-a-Shaq," the last thing fans of the NBA need to see are two officials standing on the sidelines like hooligans with a headset on. It's boring and completely wrecks the flow of the game.

The NBA still has plenty to fix, like the fact that defenders can't even breathe on any ball handler without being whistled for a foul, but this is a step in the right direction. Anything that can be done to minimize the zebras and maximize the talent is a positive.

We all hope the NBA continues this trend towards some major changes to make this product enjoyable like it was in the late 80s and 90s. Doesn't mean the players aren't great -- they are. The rules they have to abide by, though, are just pathetic.