Brad Rock: BIG3, TBT are a great deal for the participants but not necessarily for hoop fans

SALT LAKE CITY — Manny Pacquiao is 40 and still winning boxing titles, which proves good things can happen when athletes extend their careers. He won't get an argument from any ballers visiting Salt Lake this week.

"Longevity in this business is about being able to reinvent yourself or invent the future," someone once said. But it wasn't BIG3 founder Ice Cube. It was Microsoft executive Satya Nedella, describing the tech industry. Still, it sounds a lot like what the famed rapper/actor's 3-on-3 league is attempting, i.e. reshaping the game to fit middle-age bodies. Or possibly reframing notions on what being a top athlete means.

Anyway, it's a good gig for former NBA players, and $10,000 a game is excellent incentive. But is it great entertainment?

Depends on whether you're watching for basketball or memories.

Meanwhile, beginning Thursday, the Maverik Center will host ESPN-sponsored The Basketball Tournament, a winner-takes-all event in which the championship team earns $2 million. TBT largely consists of former college players that didn't reach the NBA.

While some say the BIG3 is simply old-guy hoops, foisted on a starstruck public, I'll confess that I'm OK with ex-players going for the gold (coins). BIG3 and TBT participants should earn a basketball paycheck as long as they can, if they stay in shape and show effort.

But I can't write about them as though they're regular sporting events.

BIG3 is more like a trip to the museum. TBT is an elite rec league with incredibly high stakes.

My wife says she doesn't want to attend a Stones or Paul McCartney concert because "I don't want to see them all old."

That's how I feel about BIG3.

It's not like the league lacks name recognition. Joe Johnson is leading the circuit in points, assists and second in rebounds. He is joined in the 12-team association by notables such as Al Jefferson, DeShawn Stevenson, Drew Gooden, Brandon Rush, Greg Oden, Brian Scalabrine, Carlos Boozer, Chris "Birdman" Andersen, Jason Richardson, Gilbert Arenas, Nate Robinson, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Lamar Odom and Carlos Arroyo. Stevenson, Johnson, Jefferson and Rush are the only former Jazz players scheduled to appear in Salt Lake.

The coaches are considerably more interesting: Gary Payton, Michael Cooper, Tiny Archibald, Rick Barry, Reggie Theus, Rick Mahorn, George Gervin, Charles Oakley, Nancy Lieberman, Julius Erving, Kenyon Martin and Lisa Leslie. Cooper, Barry, Leslie, Theus, Archibald and Oakley will be in Salt Lake.

Here's assuming most stories about the players have little to do with how spectacularly they play. Their histories are better than their games.

TBT's players are generally younger and less famous than BIG3. Some, like former BYU star Tyler Haws, have played overseas. Others with Utah ties include Dakarai Tucker (Utah), Ronnie Price (UVU), Sean Harris (USU), Spencer Butterfield (USU), Preston Medlin (USU), Shaun Green (Utah), Parker Van Dyke (Utah), Sedrick Barefield (Utah), Tyler Rawson (Utah) and Tim Drisdom (Utah).

Team Fredette, named after you-know-who, is coached by you-know-who and Dave Rose.

Watching athletes having senior moments isn't necessarily a waste of time. The PGA Tour Champions, for instance, is no joke. Players are over 50, but they don't depend on quickness and leaping. In general, oldies leagues are a tough sell, even when the players are vastly better than weekend warriors.

In 1989, the Senior Professional Baseball Association launched. Among the notables: Rollie Fingers, Ferguson Jenkins, Vida Blue, Bill Lee, Mickey Rivers, Bert Campaneris and Joaquin Andujar. The league lasted two troubled season. Attendance was sometimes under 1,000 a game.

Last week on its Twitter account, The Ringer took a lob at the BIG3, saying, "Have you ever wondered what would happen if a seven-time NBA All-Star (Johnson) played in a three-on-three league against a bunch of washed retirees?"

Ice Cube fired back: "This is very disrespectful. Washed? I'd like to see you get your sorry (expletive) out there with them …."

But the point isn't that the players can beat the writers. That has always been the case. It's whether the players are worth seeing in midlife.

The BIG3 claims to have averaged 13,500 attendance last year, which is a boffo crowd for practically any college game. If those numbers aren't inflated, then I'm missing something. Either way, if basketball season can't come soon enough, or you're looking for an autograph from your former favorite, this week should be heaven. Otherwise, it will be like catching aging rock bands at USANA or Vivint. You might be happier just staying home and humming along.