I decided to email Aldridge about his article. Here's what I wrote:
Dear Mr. Aldridge,
As your article convincingly points out, the facts do not corroborate an NBA led conspiracy. Conspiracies that big would be hard to keep a secret anyway as there would be too many people involved. However, conspiracies of a few are much easier to pull off and the NBA *has* in fact had a problem with this (Donaghy). I think many conspiracy kooks think that Donaghy was not the only problem referee. The facts here are a lot less convincing as it only takes one crooked ref to sway a game.
The fuel for these kooks is inconsistency. There are different rules for different players. There are different rules in the last two minutes versus the first two minutes. There are refs that are clearly, statistically biased in favor of the home team. This inconsistency creates a perception of wrong-doing even if no crooks are involved. As a basketball fan, it makes it difficult to watch a game when you feel that the game is not fair. I get this feeling a lot more watching the NBA than I do watching NCAA or other sports.
The officiating in the NBA is the worst of all professional sports. Basketball is perhaps the most difficult sport to officiate given the speed of the game, but this doesn't mean the league can ignore what is a real problem with officiating quality. The league should take steps to make sure the rules are applied consistently. Add another official, add a sideline official to review tape, change difficult rules, do something! As long as officiating is perceived to be inconsistent, kooks will question the motives.