This topic is very close to my interests, and it is the primary reason I chose it. I love basketball, and the NBA, so choosing the scope of this topic was easy. I then thought about some debatable issues that have been occurring recently in the NBA, and this topic was the clear-cut winner of that group. This topic is probably a bit different than what most people will do, where they choose important political issues like abortion, consent, etc. However, I wanted to try and pick something that I knew other people would not pick, while at the same time of great interest to me. It affects me because being a huge NBA fan, I read about this issue and hear about it all of the time, and it is something that I truly do care about. My personal experience regarding this topic is of course limited because unlike a topic like consent, I cannot be impacted by it firsthand considering I am not a part of the NBA. I would say, however, that being a big fan, and caring about the league, any issue that affects it, indirectly affects me as well. In terms of qualification, I believe that I watch many more games than the average fan, read articles all of the time, talk to my friends about it every day, so I am immersed in the sport all of the time, and am very knowledgeable about most teams, players, and the league in general.

This article, written by Brian Windhorst and Dave McMenamin describes former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt's tumultuous journey through his season and a half in the head coach seat. It is incredibly detailed and thorough, giving tons of examples and quotes which explain the decision GM David Griffin made to fire Blatt. They talk about the influence of LeBron James, and his undermining to Blatt's leadership, as well as other player's opposition to him. This source is probably as unbiased as one can get. They are strictly factual, and simply present evidence to help the reader understand the decision that was made to let Blatt go.

This article discusses the Chicago Bulls parting with head coach Tom Thibodeau following their loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2015 Eastern Conference Finals. Nate Scott, the author, discusses how childishly the Bulls handled parting ways with Thib. The administration and Thib clearly had issues with one another, and their future together was doubtful at best, but the expelled him with a salty press release, and a security guard asked to escort Thib from the building; as if he was going to fight someone. This article is not biased about the main topic (Thibodeau being fired), but says that the way that they went about it was bad.

This article discusses the firing of Kevin McHale, who was the head coach of the Houston Rockets. This is yet another situation in the past year, where a successful coach has been fired. Thibodeau, who led the Bulls to the Eastern Conference Finals, was the counterpart to Kevin McHale, who led the Rockets to the Western Conference Finals against the Warriors, where they would lose. However, with a poor start to the beginning of the season, and James Harden seemingly unable to find his rhythm, they believed that a change was needed in order to find success. Marc Stein is an incredibly reputable NBA writer, perhaps the most, and his information is always sound and resolute, with no bias.


This research is very arguable, because in each case, there is a record of success for the coaches, so firing them is very debatable. This is especially true in the case of David Blatt, who is the most winning NBA coach to ever be fired, and the only one to be first in the conference. There are really only two points of view on each case, either that he should or should not be fired. Not being a fan of either the Bulls, Rockets, or Cavaliers, it was hard to take a stance on this topic because I was so on the fence about it. In the end, however, I decided that I believe that these coach firings, while can be justifiable in certain situations, have gotten out of hand, and are wrong. There are certainly instances where a change needs to be made for teams that are not succeeding, but when three of the top 4 teams in the NBA from the previous season replace their coach before the halfway mark of the season, that is not okay. Finally, I do not believe I need to revise my question at all, since I have a ton of substance on the topic, and it is very interesting and debatable, I believe it is great how it is.
