David J. Stern Wins “Power Ball”

Let me begin this article by expressing my great admiration for NBA Commissioner David Stern. What this man has accomplished over the last 15-years alone has been nothing short of amazing; from global marketing, instituting a dress code, working with the players’ union to establish a rookie salary cap, and many of the other great things he has done for the overall improvement of a once stagnant league. However, with that being said, there are a number of things that do not sit well with me when it comes to Commissioner Stern.

First is the nixed trade of Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers before the start of last season. In this particular instance, Mr. Stern reminded me of Major League Baseball’s top boss, Bud Selig. I always wondered how a team owned by the Commissioner could be so perennially horrible? Selig and his cohorts have never attempted to be aggressive during free agency; they have continuously let their young superstars (C.C. Sabathia, Zack Greinke, and Prince Fielder) walk away from their franchise without much resistance. Commissioner Stern voided the Chris Paul trade, and then had the stones to say that, “this particular trade wasn’t good for basketball.” Really? In whose eyes? Mr. Stern has a lot of people fooled, but I’m simply not one of them.

Earlier this season, no one really objected when San Antonio Spurs’ coach Greg Poppovich opted to rest his players(Duncan, Ginobli, Parker, and Green). That is until, David Stern started making outrageous statements about the league’s “obligation” to the NBA fans. That’s a bunch of crap!

Where was the obligation to the fans during the negotiations to try and avoid a lockout? If his obligations were geared toward fan satisfaction, Stern would have pushed for the Board of Directors(NBA owners) to accept the offer from the players’ union, and business would have continued as usual. Instead, he opted to side with the owners and engineer a lockout.  I feel that Commissioner Stern abuses his power when it’s beneficial to him and his image; sometimes he makes the unpopular choice and his image takes a hit, but for the most part, he likes to deflect criticism away from himself and the league.

Let’s be honest for a minute; I know that there are fans of different teams, and in different states all around the country, but in Miami, I don’t believe fans were upset at the fact that three aging stars for the Spurs were not playing. When the Miami Heat were scheduled to play the San Antonio Spurs, the Heat fans came to see number six; D. Wade doesn’t hold much weight in South Beach anymore. King James owns that town and every legit sports fan knows this. The fact of the matter is that David Stern wanted to be notified about the inactivity of the Spurs players; for not being notified ahead of time warranted a 250-thousand-dollar fine for the Spurs?

I feel that his power should be limited to player conduct, league promotion, marketing, global growth, financial prosperity for all franchises, player safety, and the overall integrity of the NBA. The Commissioner should not be allowed to have a say in who plays and who doesn’t; that’s why the Spurs’ organization hired Greg Poppovich and GM R.C. Buford.

What’s next from Stern? Determining what music plays in the locker rooms? How many tattoos one player is allowed to have? Banning headphones when traveling on road trips? I just think that a line should be drawn and the Commissioner shouldn’t be allowed to step over it. Period.