Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Sentinel-Journal writes about the state of the NBA today and questions whether they are moving in the right direction.

On the announcement that the NBA had purchased land in London and Berlin with the intention of building NBA-quality arenas in each European city, Hunt?s reaction: ?Well, yipee?.

With all that is wrong with the league: bad officiating, falling attendance, two franchise moves in two years and a Finals that no one seems to be interested in, maybe expanding overseas should be second-guessed.  

He sarcastically writes, ?What a great idea. International travel is safe and hassle-free. There are no threats from abroad. Terrorist organizations would never target wealthy, famous Americans.?

On the leagues? expansion into Canada, Hunt writes, ?If Stern were honest, he'd probably admit that the league made a mistake in expanding to Canada. The NBA failed in Vancouver, one of the great cities of the world. Though the Raptors have strong ownership in the Toronto Maple Leafs, the financial imbalance of taking in Canadian dollars and paying out American dollars will never be rectified.?

The league has enough problems without trying to convince the world that teams in Loondon or Berlin are feasible. For example, the league just abandoned a good market (Charlotte) for a bad one (New Orleans). But let's give the owners credit for shrewdness on that one, because now they can collect about $10 million each in expansion fees when a franchise is replaced in North Carolina within the next couple of years.

Finally, Hunt writes that the Finals are little more than a formality in the way of giving the Lakers their trophy and this leads to a lack of interest. ?Championing the Lakers and another Shaq throw-down dunk is like pulling for the cable-TV company.?

?Instead of plotting world domination, the league probably needs to legislate some kind of anti-Shaq rules, like 14-foot baskets or a size limit, lest the Lakers win the next half-dozen titles.?