Tag: David Stern (Page 2 of 2)

Arenas to be suspended for rest of season?

January 27, 2010 /

The Washington Post reports that Wizards’ star Gilbert Arenas will be suspended for the remainder of the NBA season.

According to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Arenas also told Stern that he would tell the players’ union not to fight the suspension. Stern will announce his ruling later this afternoon.

Arenas met with Stern at the league offices in New York for nearly an hour this afternoon. He was accompanied by his attorney, Ken Wainstein.

The meeting came nearly two weeks after Arenas pleaded guilty to a felony gun charge and was expected to provide Stern with the final details before he determined a punishment for Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton, who were involved in a locker room dispute in which guns were displayed at Verizon Center on Dec. 21.

Arenas was suspended indefinitely for his behavior after the incident was first reported, including his decision to mockingly pretend he was shooting his teammates with his fingers before a game in Philadelphia on Jan. 5. Arenas has missed the past 12 games while serving the suspension. The Wizards have 38 games remaining, which would put the total of suspension at 50 games.

The article also notes that Arenas has no desire to play for Wizards’ President Ernie Grunfeld again, which is why it makes sense that Arenas wouldn’t fight the suspension.

Update: It’s official, David Stern suspended Arenas the rest of the season, according to Yahoo! Sports.


Photo from fOTOGLIF

NBA

NBA preparing Twitter guidelines

September 6, 2009 /

According to Yahoo! Sports, the NBA is planning to provide guidelines for their players that are using the different social media outlets to communicate to fans.

“Obviously, there is a happy medium between tweeting before the game and tweeting from our bench during the game,” Stern said by phone. “You want to make sure that pop culture doesn’t intrude on what brought us here, which is the game, and that we show the right respect for the game.”

The NFL announced its own guidelines on Monday by restricting players, coaches and football operations personnel – or anyone representing them – from using social media networks like Twitter and Facebook from 90 minutes before kickoff to the end of traditional media interviews after games. NFL game officials are banned from using social media at all times.

“We just need to make sure when it’s OK to Tweet and when it’s not OK to Tweet so it at least focuses around the game,” [Stern] said. “It would look unusual for a guy sitting on the bench to pick up his cell phone, and I think we can agree that he probably shouldn’t be writing e-mails. It’s not about Twitter; it’s about the line of communication. That’s what we’re focusing on.”

It’s understandable why a team or a league would want their players to avoid “tweeting” during business hours. They’re being paid to do a job, not interact with fans. That said, Twitter is a social and marketing phenomenon, so when used correctly, it can enhance the fan’s experience. There’s no way for the league or team to filter a player’s comments, so the restrictions make sense.

NBA, News

There’s a CBA storm brewing

April 24, 2009 /

Whenever I see the acronym “CBA,” I still think of the Continental Basketball Association, which is apparently still around, but only had four teams to start the season — the Albany Patroons, the East Kentucky Miners, the Lawton-Fort Sill Calvary and the Minot Skyrockets. Seriously.

CBA also stands for the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, which is essentially the agreement between the league, owners and its players regarding salary cap structure, trades, length/size of contracts, etc. Commissioner David Stern wants a major overhaul to account for the number of franchises in financial straits, but Billy Hunter, executive director of the NBA Player’s Association says the current system is just fine.

“One of the principle issues is that some owners are having a hard time with cash flow,” Hunter said. “I don’t see why that automatically means more give-backs from the players. It seems to me a new revenue-sharing plan among the owners is one of the things they have to look at. Then you wouldn’t be looking to the players every time there’s a shortfall.”

The current labor pact, signed in July, 2005, will expire in June, 2011. No substantive talks with the league on a subsequent deal will begin until after July 1, Hunter said, because union president Derek Fisher and other board members are involved in the playoffs. The current system guarantees the players 57 percent of basketball-related revenue (BRI).

Hunter declined to outline what the players might be seeking in the new deal, but a source said repealing the age limit, reducing the amount of player salaries held in escrow, loosening rules concerning restricted free agents and changing the league’s disciplinary system top the list.

The biggest points of contention are likely to be the age limit and the disciplinary system. The current deal requires a player to be 19 — and one year removed from high school in the U.S. — before he is draft-eligible. There has been talk that the league would like to raise the limit by another year, but one union source said “90 percent” of the current players are against it now.

Hunter’s logic is interesting…

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NBA, NBA Draft, News, Rumors & Gossip

The NBA should take a cue from FIBA…

August 26, 2008 /

…not the other way around.

FIBA (the governing body of international basketball) plans to extend its three-point line from 20’ 6” to 22’ 2” effective 2010. They’re also getting rid of the trapezoidal lane in an effort to standardize the game worldwide. The NCAA is extending its three point line from 19′ 9″ to 20′ 9″ starting this season. The NBA’s three-point line is 23’ 9” from the hoop.

I like the international line where it is. Doug Collins said during the Olympic broadcast that “too many players are able to shoot that shot” as a reason that it should be moved back. I say… who cares? I think most basketball purists agree that the international game (and the college game) is more fun to watch than the NBA game. I’m not talking about the talent of the players – I’m talking about how the game is played. Part of that has to do with the pressure that the three-point line puts on the defense. If a good portion of players can hit that shot, it forces more defenders to get out and guard those players. This, in turn, creates more spacing inside the arc and allows for more free-flowing, dynamic offense, which is good for the game.

Plus, the three-pointer makes the game more exciting. Underdogs have a better chance of pulling an upset, comebacks are easier, big scoring runs are more frequent and scores are higher. Aren’t these good things?

Then there’s the NBA’s shot from the side. It’s a different distance (22’) from the rest of the arc, which in and of itself is just silly. But at least once a game, a player will step out of bounds because he is trying to spot up behind the three-point line when he’s catching the ball. This is just a drag that slows the game down, and it would be virtually eliminated if the league moved the line in.

I’d rather see the NBA adopt the international 20’ 6” length than see FIBA extend its arc.

I know, it will never happen. People conform to David Stern and the NBA, not the other way around.

Fantasy Basketball, NBA, The Olympics

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