Members of the media, when working or living within a specific locality, are implicitly expected by fans to vote for guys on their local team rather than looking at the complete landscape of the league to determine who is most deserving of each regular season NBA honor. It isn’t fair, but it is a reality. There was a significant backlash to Arizona Cardinals play-by-play announcer and NBA reporter Dave Pasch, after he revealed on Twitter that he voted for Marcus Smart to win defensive player of the year over Phoenix Suns forward Mikal Bridges.
Not all voting members of the media choose to publicize their ballots. On Tuesday, Pasch joined Wolf & Luke on Arizona Sports 98.7 to explain why he continues to publicize his awards votes each year, even if it has meant vociferously hearing the opinions of fans.
“I like to do that… every time they announce an award winner,” said Pasch. “I usually say, ‘Here’s how I voted,’ to be transparent. Had I listed all of my votes for each ballot yesterday, I don’t think there would have been as much vitriol from Suns fans.”
Pasch did not leave Bridges off of the ballot entirely, selecting him as the runner-up to win defensive player of the year honors. While he voted for various other players and personnel from the Phoenix Suns organization in other awards categories, including Monty Williams as the winner of coach of the year. He says that none of the decisions he makes are based on factors solely outside of their qualifications pertaining to the award(s) for which they are nominated.
“None of us that are among the 100 voters take this lightly,” said Pasch. “All of us do our homework. I watch a lot of games and call a lot of games – and again, I’m not trying to defend myself. I’m just stating here that I think all of us make our decisions based on who we think should win – not on where we live or what team we root for.”
These awards are not bereft in their impact, as they carry significant financial implications, especially for players who are consistently nominated. Indeed, the voting members of the media know that their decisions could make a significant impact as to whether an individual player receives bonuses stipulated in their contract, or whether a player can become eligible to receive more lucrative contracts earlier in their careers.
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, for example, was left off of the three All-NBA teams in last year’s voting, and in so doing, was unable to take advantage of a rule allowing him to be paid a higher percentage of the salary cap. The rule, colloquially known as the “Derrick Rose Rule,” was added to the collective bargaining agreement following the 2010-11 lockout, and it cost Tatum $6.5 million in the average annual value of his salary under his new five-year extension, a total of $32.6 million through the life of the deal.
Despite the Phoenix Suns having the best record in the NBA during the 2021-22 regular season and winning the Western Conference last season, show co-host Ron Wolfey believes the team does not receive enough respect from the national media. In turn, he surmises that this inherent “lack of respect” has led to the organization being overlooked and neglected in league coverage. Nonetheless, Wolfey respects the vote and opinion of Pasch, a member of the media he affirms possesses substantial integrity.
“The one thing I know about you, my brother, is [that] you vote with your heart in your mind,” said Wolfey. “And not only that – you have more integrity in your pinky than I’ll ever have in my entire life. I know the guy you are, and because of that, I respect you greatly.”
Wolfley’s co-host agreed.
“I wish everybody would be transparent like that and put their votes up there because yours are pretty much in line,” he said to Pasch. “Whether people agree with your first or second choice, there was nothing crazy there, but [in] some years you clearly have somebody out there vote just completely off the wall and then they’re not ever held accountable for it.”
