There have been concerns that the lack of competitive balance displayed in the 2017 NBA Playoffs is bad for the league.

Playoff ratings on television are up four percent from last season. The NBA's broadcast partners aren't as anxious about the current lack of parity as team officials.

"We saw a very deep, very competitive regular season that played out positively from our perspective on how fans reacted," says Burke Magnus, ESPN's executive vice president of programming and scheduling.

While superteams help national rankings, local ratings sometimes suffer as a result. NBA ratings on regional sports networks were down 14 percent this season and even the Golden State Warriors dropped by 10 percent despite adding Kevin Durant. During the 15-16 season, the Warriors' ratings were boosted by their win streak to start the season and their quest for 73 wins.

"We were all wondering the same thing," says one of the GMs in attendance during a meeting at the combine in which Adam Silver discussed efforts to shorten games. "Is this because the new generation just watches highlights? Or is it because everybody knows who's going to win?"