The entire league is finding out what a tool David Stern really is.

[Q_FBE]

http://www.nesn.com/2011/12/rejected-chris-paul-trade-prompts-expletive-laden-tirade-by-enraged-nba-executive.html?rs-img120=0

That was probably either Mitch Kupchack (Laker's GM) or the Houston Rockets GM that said that.

The Laker's fan forums are rightfully up in arms over it. I am even having to console Laker fans in my office over the failed Chris Paul trade and they now understand what I have known for 20 years that David Stern is all about David Stern instead of looking out for the best interests of the NBA and maintaining it's structural integrity.

Apparently, the rules of engagement for doing business in the NBA runs directly through the commissioners office and David Stern is abusing his power. He needs to be removed from office before the league falls to rubble.

Lets hope it is Dallas/OKC vs Boston/Chicago in the 2012 NBA finals to show that business done the right way yields the best results.

This is not the David Stern Fantasy Basketball League, this is the National Basketball Association.

And while you are at it let us enforce the travelling rule on everybody, including LeBron James.

[BudweiserCeltic]

David Stern is simply acting as any owner around the league with their own team would do. I think he's doing absolutely the right thing, you know... think about what's best for the franchise?

For all this talk about having a deal in place, Demps is merely acting as a GM nothing more. Though apparently not much at the moment.

[snively]

They're mad in the same sense that you'd be mad if someone handed you one of those fake winning lottery tickets.  Not because something rightfully earned was taken away, but because their hopes were elevated and then brought crashing down.

Stern's mistake was letting someone like Dell Demps have authority over the Hornets in the first place.

[Roy H.]

David Stern is simply acting as any owner around the league with their own team would do. I think he's doing absolutely the right thing, you know... think about what's best for the franchise?

Except, of course, Stern's #1 priority as Commissioner is to look out for the well-being of *all* franchises, not just one of them.  It's a HUGE conflict of interest, and one that makes the NBA look corrupt.

[Moreover]

David Stern is simply acting as any owner around the league with their own team would do. I think he's doing absolutely the right thing, you know... think about what's best for the franchise?

Except, of course, Stern's #1 priority as Commissioner is to look out for the well-being of *all* franchises, not just one of them.  It's a HUGE conflict of interest, and one that makes the NBA look corrupt.

Owners should have thought about that when they bought the Hornets.

[BudweiserCeltic]

David Stern is simply acting as any owner around the league with their own team would do. I think he's doing absolutely the right thing, you know... think about what's best for the franchise?

Except, of course, Stern's #1 priority as Commissioner is to look out for the well-being of *all* franchises, not just one of them.  It's a HUGE conflict of interest, and one that makes the NBA look corrupt.

Yes, it's a conflict of interest, but that's what you get when you have a league owned team. Now that you have a league owned team, you have to deal with it and think about what's best for it.

It'll be ugly as you're saying, but doesn't make his decision to not allow a trade that he viewed as improper for the Hornet's franchise to go through. If he's going to play owner, he better play it right, and that's what he's done so far as far as I'm concerned.

Fact is that you can't give the power to someone like Demps, who has no real stake on the well being of the franchise and let him do as he pleases with the roster.

There's no balance of power, Stern getting involved has become that balance of power. He's simply asking for a good trade to be made. No one is forced to make a trade at whatever value he feels CP3 is. The Hornets don't have to trade CP3 for that matter.

[Moreover]

They're mad in the same sense that you'd be mad if someone handed you one of those fake winning lottery tickets.  Not because something rightfully earned was taken away, but because their hopes were elevated and then brought crashing down.

Stern's mistake was letting someone like Dell Demps have authority over the Hornets in the first place.

This I agree with. He should have nominated a care-taking GM like Stu Jackson, someome from the league's office, right away. Keeping Dell Demps was a stupid mistake.

[LarBrd33]

I think Stern is doing a fine job and the backlash he is getting is kind of unwarranted.  

The NBA's main priority with the Hornets is to sell the team to a new buyer.  The Laker/Rocket/Hornet trade made absolutely no sense for the Hornets.  It's not merely about the talent the team was getting back.  Scola, Odom and Martin represent a large chunk of change due over the course of the next 4 years.  And considering the team is likely going to have a VERY rough time selling tickets post-Chris Paul (they have lost money almost every year even WITH Chris Paul), it doesn't make sense to actually INCREASE the payroll.

I assume Stern knows more about the prospective buyers than the average NBA fan does.  And I imagine he is aware that nobody wants to spend 300 million for a franchise that is going to lose 30 million a year off the bat.  

The reason the Hornets/NBA are so infatuated with Eric Gordon or Stephen Curry is because they both represent legitimate young talent who are still on their rookie contracts.  That makes perfect sense for the Hornets to pull the trigger on that.   I'm not sure why they are being sticklers on also including he Minny 1st rounder, but I imagine it's because they are in a position to do so.  You have Boston who is offering up Rondo and multiple 1st rounders... Rondo is a better player than Gordon (in my bias opinion)... but Rondo isn't on his rookie contract (likely why they aren't interested in him).  Still, it's probably tough for them to swallow taking Gordon WITHOUT that draft pick when they know they have arguably "better" offers available.  

[MBunge]

David Stern is simply acting as any owner around the league with their own team would do. I think he's doing absolutely the right thing, you know... think about what's best for the franchise?

Except, of course, Stern's #1 priority as Commissioner is to look out for the well-being of *all* franchises, not just one of them.  It's a HUGE conflict of interest, and one that makes the NBA look corrupt.

I'd defend Stern that he was doing exactly that by vetoing the LA/HOU/NO trade.  NO losing Chris Paul and getting back older players and a higher payroll was a ridiculous deal that not only would have crippled the league-owned Hornets but, if LA then found a way to flip Bynum for Howard, could have dramatically affected the competitive balance in the NBA for the next 5 years.

Do you think any other owner, looking at the future of his franchise, trades Paul for three 30 years old, a back-up PG and a higher payroll?

Mike

[CeltsAcumen]

While I agree David Stern is a tool, a manipulative tool/dictator, I do believe people already knew this as a fact. 

[The DarkPassenger]

David Stern is a tool and I can't wait to see someone else run the NBA but with the Lakers-Rockets-Hornets trade that he vetoed I think he might have a point. It was not about the fact that LAL was getting Chris Paul it was the age of the players involved in the trade.

Kevin Martin- 28 (29 in February)
Pau Gasol- 31
Lamar Odom- 32
Luis Scola- 31
Goran Dragic- 25
Chris Paul- 26

How many of those guys are going to be playing at a productive level in 2-3 years? Especially if Gasol continues down his down slide that started in the playoffs. Yeah Gasol, Odom, Martin, Scola are key players of the current teams they play on but for how long going forward? He was in the right to stop this trade. He'd be a Laker already if the players were younger and had a higher ceiling. I mean Dragic is a role guy, nothing more most likely. Martin is good but won't be a hall of famer or anything. Lastly Chris Paul is of course elite and will be for years but he's the only one in the deal.

Now he's insane by trying to basically leave the LAC player-less in the current attempt to trade Chris Paul but that's just him being him. I think it'd be good for the NBA if Paul went to Clippers and Howard either stayed in Orlando or went to the Nets. Obviously I'd rather have them both in green but, yeah that won't happen most likely so that's my second wish.

[Q_FBE]

David Stern is simply acting as any owner around the league with their own team would do. I think he's doing absolutely the right thing, you know... think about what's best for the franchise?

Except, of course, Stern's #1 priority as Commissioner is to look out for the well-being of *all* franchises, not just one of them.  It's a HUGE conflict of interest, and one that makes the NBA look corrupt.

Owners should have thought about that when they bought the Hornets.

No they should have contracted the Hornets and about 5 other floundering franchises (Toronto, Cleveland, Charlotte, Minnesota, and Sacremento). Then you amnesty the players and have auctions for their services. That is the most fair way to redistribute the talent. To auction for a player, you pick up his contract (cap hit) so a team must have room under the cap to do that.

[BudweiserCeltic]

The only thing I've found upsetting about this whole situation is that I've been forced to defend Stern.

[LarBrd33]

He's not a tool.  Half the stuff people say about him is garbage. 

Months ago he was on a podcast with Bill Simmons and Bill brought the fact that nobody wanted to buy the Hornets.  Stern quickly corrected him.  Apparently there were multiple parties interested in purchasing he Hornets, but the NBA wanted to make sure that they were buying into a healthy franchise.  They wanted to wait until new CBA was finalized and they knew what to expect.  Kinda like saying, "I have multiple people who want to buy this car, but I'm not going to sell it until I have mechanic look at it, give it a tune-up, fix the dent on the driver's side door... and make sure I'm getting the most bang for my buck and not selling someone a lemon"...

There have been rumors that a mystery buyer is influencing Stern and wasn't comfortable with the deals being offered.  I believe it. 

This would be like if someone was very interested in your car, but you said, "hey... i'll sell it to you next week.. as soon as the mechanic checks it for you"  and the guy said "ok sounds good".   Then you go, "oh... and I'm going to paint it pink" to which the guy responds, "no deal... keep it the same color or paint it blue"

[Roy H.]

David Stern is simply acting as any owner around the league with their own team would do. I think he's doing absolutely the right thing, you know... think about what's best for the franchise?

Except, of course, Stern's #1 priority as Commissioner is to look out for the well-being of *all* franchises, not just one of them.  It's a HUGE conflict of interest, and one that makes the NBA look corrupt.

Owners should have thought about that when they bought the Hornets.

They did think it through, and they "walled off" Demps and gave him independent autonomy.  That was their decision, and that's the way the Hornets have been operating since before last year's trade deadline.  It was a sound decision to avoid the very real and very apparent conflict of interest between an owner and a Commissioner.

This year, though, Stern changed his mind, and unilaterally changed the rules of the game.  Regardless of whether people think Stern is a wiser GM than Dell Demps, it's not his role.