I think that the NBA did the right thing in taking a more measured approach to the synthetic basketball that is being used in the NBA.  David Stern recently said: 

"Right now our plans are to stay the course, but we will monitor it and if we find there is something to it and it is a serious issue, we will take the appropriate steps because the most important thing to us is the game,"

Earlier this week I got a phone call from Michael Curry who works alongside the executive office of the NBA.  He told me on the call that David Stern was going to order additional testing of the basketball and that the NBA really wanted feedback from the players.  This was great news to hear and I am really glad that the league office is taking feedback from the players so seriously.  I knew from the beginning that the league would listen to the players on this issue.  From all of the reports that I've heard, the main issue with the new basketball is that when it gets wet it gets extremely slippery and can slip out of players' hands causing turnovers, etc.    I'm excited to see how this unfolds.  I think that the additional testing will only confirm what the NBA players feedback has been about how slippery the ball is when it has moisture on it.

Early on, the NBA made the following statement describing the new ball as  "a better ball with a better grip and feel and more consistency from ball-to-ball."  I think that no one would doubt that all of the new balls are almost perfectly identical to a "t".  So there is most certainly "more consistency from ball-to-ball."  But to call the new synthetic ball "better" or that it has a "better grip" I think is premature.  I feel that once all of the feedback gets back to the league from the players, the verdict could be somewhat different.  When  the ball is dry there is no question but that the ball feels much more "tacky" or even sticky to some extent which could make shooting percentages go up.

Perhaps I am wrong though.  On my team there is one huge proponent of the new ball and it is Mike James.  Mike James says that "he loves the new ball."   And he hopes that the media does not go to him, b/c he will tell them he loves it.  Marko Jaric also is comfortable with the new ball, probably because he is used to international competition, where the synthetic ball is the norm.  However, other than Mike and Marko, I've not heard of anyone else loving the ball and I have talked to many many people and players.  And again, they key, prevalent complaint is how slippery the ball gets when it gets a little bit wet.  I think the other MAJOR concern is that all of the players just would like to have a voice in such a major decision.  This has been a common theme on my team inside the locker room.  I think the NBA is doing a great job of getting our feedback now and opening the dialogue by having people like Michael Curry reach out to us personally.