NBA Comissioner Stern goes too far: Time to go

Dec. 9, 2011

NBA Commissioner David Stern’s ludicrous decision to veto Thursday’s three-team trade between New Orleans, the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets is the most bodacious, outrageous, egotistical and ridiculous move in league’s history.

It’s time for Stern to say goodbye. Retire. He’s always ruled with a heavy hand. He’s always been as close to a bully as a brilliant strategist. He’ll probably go down as the best league leader in professional sports.

But for a New York City native, this smacks of stuff we’d hear about the Mafia. It’s like this the National Basketball Association of David Stern.

It’s time to see and hear Stern say, “I was wrong.”

This decision was so unfair in many different ways.All-Star point guard Chris Paul was slated to join the Lakers. L.A. would have sent all-star power forward Pau Gasol to Houston and valuable sixth man Lamar Odom was headed to New Orleans.

The Hornets also would have received guard Kevin Martin, forward Luis Scola, guard Goran Dragic and a 2012 first-round draft choice Houston had acquired from the New York Knicks.

The league said the trade was knocked down because of ‘basketball reasons.”

Presumably, that’s opposed to volleyball or curling reasons. That’s it? Basketball reasons?

No one knows what that means, but there have been perhaps 100(conservative estimate) worse trades consummated in the league’s history. Shoot, maybe since the turn of the century.

Certainly, when the NBA last season took control of New Orleans franchise ownership, the potential for all types of trouble became possible.

The Hornets then were placed into a different category than every other franchise.

The details of that arrangement between the league and Hornets are unknown to the general public.

Moreover, who knows who knows, if anyone knows.

Hornets general manager Dell Demps seemed to have made a pro-emptive strike to prevent Paul, who can become a free-agent following this season, from opting out of his deal and leaving the team with no compensation.

It would seem the league told Demps he couldn’t do his job and did so, after he did his job well.

Looking forward, one wonders where David Stern’s iron fist stops. There were rumors that small-market owners applied pressure on Stern to crush the deal.

So is Demps now incapable of making a trade with any team or just a team Stern and/or the other owners OK.

Stern said Paul was more valuable in New Orleans. Stern omitted to mention to whom this increased value belongs.Stern has made enough money over the years to shut it down, say goodbye and look back at how the league has grown under his management.

Yo, my man, let it go. It’s time.

From this view, it appears he’s lost it. At least, back in the day, he’d have couched his decision with a real explanation.

Basketball reasons?

Really, Dave?