The NBA has considered adding a four-point line, as Rod Thorn said that the concept has "come up" in discussions.

"Oh man," Thorn told Abbott, "Some of the players we have can shoot the ball 30 feet as easily as they can shoot 23, 24 feet." 

Thorn remembers how good Vince Carter could shoot from well beyond the three-point line.

"I remember when we had Vince Carter in New Jersey," Thorn said. "Well, he could shoot the ball from the seats and make half of 'em."

A four-point line would spread the floor as well.

"In the NBA, we just clogged up the middle and dared teams to shoot from the outside," Alex Hannum said. "Nobody bothered to guard anyone 20 feet from the basket, but the 3-point play really did open up the middle...No other rule made the game more wide open and more fun to watch."

Tim Frank, senior vice president of communications for the NBA, responded to the issue.

"No one at the NBA, nor the competition committee, has had any serious conversations about increasing the size of the floor or adding a 4-point line. Rod Thorn and Kiki VanDeWeghe were entertaining a line of questioning about out of the box ideas and ESPN.com chose to make a story that doesn’t exist.”