Adrian Wojnarowski: Fear and Loathing of David Stern

[footey]

I actually think the NBA reffing has gotten better in the last couple of years in terms of not obviously favoring the star players.  Stern is an ego maniac, but I say in balance he is a good commissioner, and has been good for the game.

[Junkyard Dawg]

What Wojo writes is basically every thing I have ever thought about Stern "and his minions" (love that line) put down on paper in much more eloquent fashion.  And it pains me to say that because I am not at all a Wojo fan.

But my next question is also something I can't get past.  Of all the people involved in professional basketball since Stern became dictator, all the players, coaches, front-offices, scouts, trainers, etc., etc., why haven't a huge number of them spoken out against Stern before?  For example, the 2002 Sacramento Kings.  If I played on that team and thought for a second the Lakers were gifted that series, I would lead a march on Washington to have Stern removed.  Yet I've never heard anything from CWebb/Vlade/Rick Adelman, etc.. I mean I know some of them are still employed by the league, but it's just very hard to believe that nobody would speak out at some point.

[soap07]

Ugh, another poor piece by Wojo. As fair-weather as it gets. I've never seen a guy who writes hit pieces on easy targets like him.

But please: Journalism 101 - back up claims with facts or sources.

When Stern goes to Orlando’s ownership group, he knows it’ll soon be wondering how much of an impact Van Gundy’s mouth will have on Howard and the Magic in the playoffs. Teams tremble over retribution from Stern and fear it in the form of officiating.

Big and small markets. Winning and losing franchises. Great and lousy general managers and coaches. Old and new owners. They all agree: Don’t push Stern too hard because there will be a price to pay. Better off bowing, kissing the ring and shuffling past him.

Really? They all agree? Can you be more specific? A GM said this to you off the record? An assistant coach? Who?

Anything goes in Stern’s NBA, except challenging the emperor. The league office never cares about criticism about most of its biggest stars, owners and coaches. In some cases, it’ll openly encourage it. Want to invite a call to your boss? That’s easy. Pull back the curtain on the commissioner.

What does this even mean?

Several Clippers paid the bill for cancer surgery on an assistant coach, but the NBA cares. Sure it does – about Stern’s power, about his ego. The NBA has taken over USA Basketball and the Naismith Hall of Fame. It’s creating an infrastructure to control and make money off amateur and summer basketball through iHoops. The NBA has mobilized resources and staff to indoctrinate basketball cultures in the Far East, Europe and beyond.

I love this. Spreading basketball to other parts of the world is "indoctrinating". What? Since when is it the NBA' responsibility for a team employee's healthcare aside of the benefits currently given? My guess is that those healthcare plans are pretty good.

That's besides the point. It's your opinion whether Stern runs the NBA poorly or not. I choose to think that he doesn't. But if you're going to make claims like "people fear Stern" - put a name behind it or a source.
 

[Finkelskyhook]

Since the WWE was brought into this....I'll make an analogy.  

Much like when with the entire audience and commentators screaming and pointing....The only person in the arena who didn't see 6-8 450lb King Kong Bundy tippytoe into the ring and blast Macho Man Randy Savage over the head with a steel chair..And tippytoe out out of the ring...Is the referee

The only people who can't see that the 6-9 270lb messiah, who has taken one dribble past half court before dunking the ball  isn't traveling....Are the best trained, undisputedly, best basketball officials on the planet.

I can't bang my head against the wall enough to suspend disbelief...... In order to believe that the officials can't see NBA stars travel right in front of their faces.  That a commentator 75 feet away can see Shaq use 3 pivot feet before shooting.  But three of the world's best officials can't.  That everybody in the arena can see Wade and Nash carry on practically every posession except the officials.  That the only people who see a defender who goes straight up and gets barreled into by Paul Pierce committed a foul are the best trained officials on the planet....  ETC nauseating ETC.

So like the WWE, I watch the NBA to marvel at the amazing athletism and skills.  Where they differ to me is the degree of competition.  

But in a lot of ways the two entities are officiated the same.

[Andy Jick]

Since the WWE was brought into this....I'll make an analogy.  

Much like when with the entire audience and commentators screaming and pointing....The only person in the arena who didn't see 6-8 450lb King Kong Bundy tippytoe into the ring and blast Macho Man Randy Savage over the head with a steel chair..And tippytoe out out of the ring...Is the referee

The only people who can't see that the 6-9 270lb messiah, who has taken one dribble past half court before dunking the ball  isn't traveling....Are the best trained, undisputedly, best basketball officials on the planet.

I can't bang my head against the wall enough to suspend disbelief...... In order to believe that the officials can't see NBA stars travel right in front of their faces.  That a commentator 75 feet away can see Shaq use 3 pivot feet before shooting.  But three of the world's best officials can't.  That everybody in the arena can see Wade and Nash carry on practically every posession except the officials.  That the only people who see a defender who goes straight up and gets barreled into by Paul Pierce committed a foul are the best trained officials on the planet....  ETC nauseating ETC.

So like the WWE, I watch the NBA to marvel at the amazing athletism and skills.  Where they differ to me is the degree of competition.  

But in a lot of ways the two entities are officiated the same.

Great post... TP to you.  You just drained that sky-hook with this post.  Nice analogy and well stated.

[bdm860]

Since the WWE was brought into this....I'll make an analogy. 

Much like when with the entire audience and commentators screaming and pointing....The only person in the arena who didn't see 6-8 450lb King Kong Bundy tippytoe into the ring and blast Macho Man Randy Savage over the head with a steel chair..And tippytoe out out of the ring...Is the referee

The only people who can't see that the 6-9 270lb messiah, who has taken one dribble past half court before dunking the ball  isn't traveling....Are the best trained, undisputedly, best basketball officials on the planet.

I can't bang my head against the wall enough to suspend disbelief...... In order to believe that the officials can't see NBA stars travel right in front of their faces.  That a commentator 75 feet away can see Shaq use 3 pivot feet before shooting.  But three of the world's best officials can't.  That everybody in the arena can see Wade and Nash carry on practically every posession except the officials.  That the only people who see a defender who goes straight up and gets barreled into by Paul Pierce committed a foul are the best trained officials on the planet....  ETC nauseating ETC.

So like the WWE, I watch the NBA to marvel at the amazing athletism and skills.  Where they differ to me is the degree of competition. 

But in a lot of ways the two entities are officiated the same.

Personally I think this is a pretty big exaggeration.  How many times have you seen a play and thought THAT WAS A FOUL? Or thought THAT WAS GOALTENDING? Or thought THAT WAS CLEAN?  Only to watch the slow-motion replay and then watch it from a different angle, and find out you were wrong?  I know this happens to myself many times, and happens to announcers all the time too.

Plus I've gone to many games, and hear people complaining about calls that I thought the ref got right.  The guy sitting behind me yells THAT WAS A FOUL and I'm thinking to myself it looked clean to me.

I would say most fans and commentators get calls wrong a lot more often than than the refs do.

The game moves 100 miles per hour.  Plus it might be hard to see a 6'9" 270 pound player travel when there are 9 other giants surrounding him too, all moving in different directions and speeds.

I remember reffing a junior high game by myself last year.  That game moved very slow, no speed or athleticism to speak of, and I was easily head and shoulders taller than every kid out there.  And that was extremely hard to ref, and I know I missed a ton of calls.  It's easier to ref a game with replays, slow-motion, and multiple angles, from a TV cameras on perches that can zoom in, then it is to be in the trenches in real time with only your own 2 eyes.

[ManUp]

Lol, I approve of this article.

I've been saying it for a while now Stern rules the NBA like a Dictator.

Wojo is on fire these days.

[Finkelskyhook]

[i]Personally I think this is a pretty big exaggeration.  How many times have you seen a play and thought THAT WAS A FOUL? Or thought THAT WAS GOALTENDING? Or thought THAT WAS CLEAN?  Only to watch the slow-motion replay and then watch it from a different angle, and find out you were wrong?  I know this happens to myself many times, and happens to announcers all the time too.

Plus I've gone to many games, and hear people complaining about calls that I thought the ref got right.  The guy sitting behind me yells THAT WAS A FOUL and I'm thinking to myself it looked clean to me.

I would say most fans and commentators get calls wrong a lot more often than than the refs do.

The game moves 100 miles per hour.  Plus it might be hard to see a 6'9" 270 pound player travel when there are 9 other giants surrounding him too, all moving in different directions and speeds.

I remember reffing a junior high game by myself last year.  That game moved very slow, no speed or athleticism to speak of, and I was easily head and shoulders taller than every kid out there.  And that was extremely hard to ref, and I know I missed a ton of calls.  It's easier to ref a game with replays, slow-motion, and multiple angles, from a TV cameras on perches that can zoom in, then it is to be in the trenches in real time with only your own 2 eyes.
[/quote][/i]


It is exaggerated....To a point.  I'll give you the subjectivity point in some of your examples.  It's a very fast game.  You're right about that.  But what I'm talking about isn't subjective.

How come the same officials see Kendrick Perkins set an illegal screen every single time he sets one...Yet call Dwight Howard about one in five times he does the same thing...But the same exact official can't see Steve Nash or Dwyane Wade palm the ball virtually every single time he touches the ball?  They're all moving at the same speed in pretty much the same location when the two violations happen.  Why is Paul Pierce the only player in the NBA who can upfake, have his opponent go straight up, barrel forward into him, and not get called for an offensive foul?  

There's nothing subjective about any of those situations, bdm860.  Nothing.  With the exception of the messiah's traveling....(Which is so obvious that a grade school referee officiating with flash cards as his guide, can see it). None of these scenarios are in crowds or moving at any marked speed.  What these scenarios have in common is that the same rules are applied differently based on the person wearing the uniform and not the rule itself.  

When a 6'9" 270lb player  can take one dribble past halfcourt, take 3 giant steps weaving between defenders before dunking....And the only three people in the arena who can't see that he traveled are the three people, three of the best officials in the world....Who are trained specifically to see it...Well, I could give a rat's behind how fast he's moving.  I can see the messiah take 3 steps without a dribble if you ran it in quadruple speed.  I can watch the largest basketball player in the NBA shuffle his feet....As can Jeff Van Gundy from a commentators table 75-80 feet away...But the three officials....The most talented officials trained specifically to see the violation can't see Shaq shuffle his feet twice standing right in front of him...(Apparently like the messiah, he's moving 100mph, too?)  

Those aren't exaggerations, bdm860.  They happen in some form practically every game.

The reason I, and many people question the credibility of the officiating is precicely how often these officials are right about calls when a superstar isn't a participant in a given play.

[bdm860]

[i]Personally I think this is a pretty big exaggeration.  How many times have you seen a play and thought THAT WAS A FOUL? Or thought THAT WAS GOALTENDING? Or thought THAT WAS CLEAN?  Only to watch the slow-motion replay and then watch it from a different angle, and find out you were wrong?  I know this happens to myself many times, and happens to announcers all the time too.

Plus I've gone to many games, and hear people complaining about calls that I thought the ref got right.  The guy sitting behind me yells THAT WAS A FOUL and I'm thinking to myself it looked clean to me.

I would say most fans and commentators get calls wrong a lot more often than than the refs do.

The game moves 100 miles per hour.  Plus it might be hard to see a 6'9" 270 pound player travel when there are 9 other giants surrounding him too, all moving in different directions and speeds.

I remember reffing a junior high game by myself last year.  That game moved very slow, no speed or athleticism to speak of, and I was easily head and shoulders taller than every kid out there.  And that was extremely hard to ref, and I know I missed a ton of calls.  It's easier to ref a game with replays, slow-motion, and multiple angles, from a TV cameras on perches that can zoom in, then it is to be in the trenches in real time with only your own 2 eyes.

[/b][/i]


It is exaggerated....To a point.  I'll give you the subjectivity point in some of your examples.  It's a very fast game.  You're right about that.  But what I'm talking about isn't subjective.

How come the same officials see Kendrick Perkins set an illegal screen every single time he sets one...Yet call Dwight Howard about one in five times he does the same thing...But the same exact official can't see Steve Nash or Dwyane Wade palm the ball virtually every single time he touches the ball?  They're all moving at the same speed in pretty much the same location when the two violations happen.  Why is Paul Pierce the only player in the NBA who can upfake, have his opponent go straight up, barrel forward into him, and not get called for an offensive foul?  

There's nothing subjective about any of those situations, bdm860.  Nothing.  With the exception of the messiah's traveling....(Which is so obvious that a grade school referee officiating with flash cards as his guide, can see it). None of these scenarios are in crowds or moving at any marked speed.  What these scenarios have in common is that the same rules are applied differently based on the person wearing the uniform and not the rule itself.  

When a 6'9" 270lb player  can take one dribble past halfcourt, take 3 giant steps weaving between defenders before dunking....And the only three people in the arena who can't see that he traveled are the three people, three of the best officials in the world....Who are trained specifically to see it...Well, I could give a rat's behind how fast he's moving.  I can see the messiah take 3 steps without a dribble if you ran it in quadruple speed.  I can watch the largest basketball player in the NBA shuffle his feet....As can Jeff Van Gundy from a commentators table 75-80 feet away...But the three officials....The most talented officials trained specifically to see the violation can't see Shaq shuffle his feet twice standing right in front of him...(Apparently like the messiah, he's moving 100mph, too?)  

Those aren't exaggerations, bdm860.  They happen in some form practically every game.

The reason I, and many people question the credibility of the officiating is precicely how often these officials are right about calls when a superstar isn't a participant in a given play.

With Dwyane Wade and Steve Nash palming issue, who do the refs call actually call for palming that aren't getting these calls?

With Paul Pierce, I agree his move is crap, but who do the refs ever call an offensive player on in this situation?  I don't think I've ever seen the refs call an offensive foul in this situation, on anybody.

6'9" giant, 3 steps, weaving through the defense, etc.  Is this play on youtube?  I've seen LeBron travels go uncalled before (one specifically comes to mind, a steal around half court in Cleveland, wide open dunk in transition comes to mind).  I've seen NBA players of all levels get that extra 3rd step and get away with traveling.  I recall Gerald Green and Tony Allen getting that 3rd step for dunks too.

The officials call Kendrick Perkins for a illegal screen almost every time, because he sets an illegal screen almost every time.  I think most Celtics fans would agree Perk is terrible at setting picks.  Why does he lean in every time?  Grrr. Eh, it's OKC's problem now.  But Dwight Howard, doesn't lean in every time like Perk.  And sometimes when players do, it's not as obvious as Perk.  That's why they don't get called as often.  IMO, Dwight Howard does not set as many illegal screens as Perk.

I've seen Shaq get called for traveling for shuffling his feet before.  I've seen him get away with it too.  Shaq does not shuffle his feet every time.  You act like he does it every time and gets away with it.  Complete exaggeration.

Missed calls happen.  One reason star players get more missed calls not called against them is simply because they are in the game more and have the ball more.  Sure there are youtube clips of all the bad calls, people love to criticize the refs, so we see those more.  (I know I've seen the same few clips of LeBron traveling on here many, many times).  Nobody posts clips of the calls refs got right.

Look, I know the refs aren't perfect, and I know star calls exist.  I just don't think it's as bad (or easy to do right) as everybody thinks).

[Chris]

Lets not get too off track here with the more direct discussion of refs.  There are plenty of threads on that already, and I don't think we want to overshadow the original topic of this thread, which was the commisioner.  Obviously, the refs are connected with the discussion, but we don't need to break down all of the mistakes they make again.

[Adelaide Celt]

IMO, the popularity of the NBA has never fully recovered after the 1998/99 lockout + retirement of Jordan. Certainly not in my part of the world (Australia) anyway.

Now we have another one on the way... Of course Stern wouldn't give a toss, as long as they're making/saving their money. Fans' satisfaction and enjoyment means zilch.

Such a shame that a precedent has been set that NBA commissioners need to be in the job a good decade or two before they move on. Just 4 people in the job since 1946! Some might say that's good stability, I would argue it gives these people a sense that they are immovable and can run the league however they like until they've had enough.

[crownsy]

IMO, the popularity of the NBA has never fully recovered after the 1998/99 lockout + retirement of Jordan. Certainly not in my part of the world (Australia) anyway.

Now we have another one on the way... Of course Stern wouldn't give a toss, as long as they're making/saving their money. Fans' satisfaction and enjoyment means zilch.

Such a shame that a precedent has been set that NBA commissioners need to be in the job a good decade or two before they move on. Just 4 people in the job since 1946! Some might say that's good stability, I would argue it gives these people a sense that they are immovable and can run the league however they like until they've had enough.

But the devils advocate to that is that if the league wasn't as popular, why is it making so much money?

[Adelaide Celt]

IMO, the popularity of the NBA has never fully recovered after the 1998/99 lockout + retirement of Jordan. Certainly not in my part of the world (Australia) anyway.

Now we have another one on the way... Of course Stern wouldn't give a toss, as long as they're making/saving their money. Fans' satisfaction and enjoyment means zilch.

Such a shame that a precedent has been set that NBA commissioners need to be in the job a good decade or two before they move on. Just 4 people in the job since 1946! Some might say that's good stability, I would argue it gives these people a sense that they are immovable and can run the league however they like until they've had enough.

But the devils advocate to that is that if the league wasn't as popular, why is it making so much money?

That's a fair point and obviously I can only really talk with any surety about the state of the league in my backyard, which would be a very, very small market place for the NBA.

[Finkelskyhook]

IMHO, the officiating is the poster boy illustration of the micromanaging and corruption that has to come from league management.  Practically everything pertaining to Stern heard from coaches and players is a by-product of said officiating.  Chris, officiating is the root of the micromanagement.

The officials are simply too good to get the same things wrong so consistently based on the player's status in the NBA.

That said, it was very obvious the control Stern has of the NBA when Jeff Van Gundy said what he said as a Rockets coach.  I would be astounded to see Jeff Van Gundy coaching an NBA team prior to Stern's departure.  I'm actually surprised he speaks so freely as a commentator.

[Chris]

IMHO, the officiating is the poster boy illustration of the micromanaging and corruption that has to come from league management.  Practically everything pertaining to Stern heard from coaches and players is a by-product of said officiating.  Chris, officiating is the root of the micromanagement.

Oh, I agree.  I just don't want the thread to get completely taken off track by a side discussion of who the refs favor and how.  That has been discussed as nauseum elsewhere, and will take away from a much more macro discussion of the way the league is run on the whole.

Personally though, I still think Stern is a bit of a punchingbag here.  I think he is a guy who is very good at making himself the target, in order to deflect from the people who are really responsible (the owners). 

The owners and governors make the rules.  They negotiate the CBA not just with the players, but also with the refs.  They control all the commitees.

But, with Stern there to be the lightning rod, it allows them to basically get off scott free.

This is why I think Stern's comments were so telling.  Everyone seems to have responded to the tone, but when you look at what he actually said, it is interesting.  He basically said that he does not need to take care of it, because the owners will. 

Now, it seems most of you took this as a threat by Stern, but in fact, I think he was just pointing out that he is not the one in charge.  The owners are the ones who suffer from the league being slandered, because they are the ones who have all that money locked up in it.  And they are the ones who will make sure that it doesn't happen again.