The knock on Stern these last several years is that he is stubbornly tyrannical, and that it’s been a long time coming for him to step down. Off the top of my head, I can think of four events that helped fuel this reputation of his. There was a public outcry for each one, but each one was defensible.
The Dress Code
In 2005, Stern implemented a dress code. The argument against it was that it was racially charged against African Americans, that it targeted the hip hop culture, that it sought to domesticate players who portrayed such an image. Allen Iverson said at the time that the dress code would not change his character, implying that that’s what it was trying to accomplish. But sometimes in sports, the race card is played when race probably has nothing to do with it. The bottom line is, the NBA is a business. Everyone’s heard that before, but it is a business and many businesses have a dress code. The company I work for requires that its employees dress a certain way, not to enshroud our personalities or change our character, but to maintain an image of professionalism. That’s what David Stern wanted as well.
The Suspensions
In the 2007 Western Conference Semifinals between the Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs, Amar’e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw of the Suns were suspended for Game 5. In the last minutes of Game 4, Robert Horry checked Steve Nash into the scorer’s table, creating a stir at the spot of the crime and inciting both Stoudemire and Diaw to jump up from their seats and leave the bench area. Ever since the Malice in the Palace in 2004, the league went to painstaking lengths to prevent such a horrific fracas from ever occurring again. One rule that’s since emerged was the rule that any player who leaves the bench area during an altercation would be suspended. Amar’e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw left the bench area during the altercation. Hence, it was the right call to suspend them. Stoudemire himself, in the midst of complaining, admitted that he should have shown restraint (he said that the ruling was unfair because Tim Duncan also left the bench area without penalty in a previous game, not realizing that there was no altercation that prompted Duncan to do so). People were upset in general that the NBA cheated the teams involved and basketball fans from what would have continued to be a great series and a probable championship for Phoenix. Be that as it may, rules are rules and David Stern was right to enforce it.
The Relocation
The Seattle Supersonics moved to Oklahoma City in 2008. Bill Simmons, senior editor of Grantland.com, believes this to be the blackest mark on the canvas of Stern’s work. It is just a bit hard for just a layman fan like me to see that this is the fault of the commissioner. David Stern had a pre-New Orleans situation on his hands. Seattle’s owners, unable to secure the works for a new arena building, wanted to sell, but no buyers could be found. The worst case scenario was for the league to take on the team, as it would happen with New Orleans just a few years later, but fortunately they never had to reach that bridge. Clay Bennett and his group from Oklahoma City bought the team with the promise that they would give an effort in good faith to keep the team in Seattle. And to their credit, they did try, proposing to build a $500 million dollar arena in a Seattle suburb using taxpayers’ money. When that proposal fell through, moving the team, which was the group’s first preference, became the best option. Yes, it happened during the Stern era, and yes, the faithful fans of Seattle were robbed of their team, but it is difficult to concede that the commissioner had much sway in the decision.
The Veto
Seemingly everyone vilified Stern for vetoing the trade that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers before the start of the 2011-2012 season. Stern claimed that it was purely for basketball reasons, and he was right. If that trade went through, the Hornets would have had Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, Lamar Odom, Goran Dragic, and what turned out to be the 16th pick in the 2012 draft (the Rockets drafted Royce White out of Iowa State). New Orleans GM Dell Demps was highly praised for getting back so much talent. And while it is true that each player offered a net positive, it is understandable that Stern was not as impressed as the rest of us. Martin offered little more than scoring. Scola was turning 32. Odom likely would have had the same meltdown he had in Dallas. Dragic had shown nothing at that point in his career other than one notable quarter In a playoff game in 2010. And a mid-round draft pick isn’t exactly a sure thing. David Stern wanted nothing more than for the team to have a real owner as soon as possible. He knew if this trade went through, the Hornets would have had no star power, no one to draw fans to the games, and no one young and talented enough to build a team around. He knew how hard it would be to sell a team with that kind of makeup. And, most importantly, he knew the Hornets could do better. That is why, as the acting owner of the team, he held out. And the rest is history. The Hornets received a package highlighted by budding star Eric Gordon from the Clippers. The team was bought by Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints of the NFL, pretty much ensuring that the team would stay put. And, also the whole lottery thing (irony, not conspiracy). Well done, David Stern.
30 Great Years
So barring any real setback, it appears as though Stern will have performed his 30-year career as commissioner adequately (his word, not mine). David Stern, you guided the NBA to what it is today, a league that I and millions of others love to watch and talk about, and when the time comes for you to step down, you and your ways will be missed – by at least this fan.
No comments:
Post a Comment