I think you guys are taking this too seriously. I agree it's silly, but I'm pretty sure this just boils down to the rule (I'm pretty sure there is one) that prohibits teams from name-dropping players with regards to transfer/signing speculation while they're still under contract with other teams. Like Atlanta's letter, this was on an official Rockets medium, that's all there is to it. It is pretty silly though, yeah.
Popovich rested his star players many times before the Heat game earlier this year, but for some reason Stern noticed that time as it was on national TV against the Heat, and fined the Spurs a hefty 250K. Point being- Timing. The Atlanta Hawks letter to season ticket holders didn't help either, but the fact is, any article or report that mentions Dwight Howard and now CP3 has something to do with the Houston Rockets. They are in the spotlight right now, and Stern also probably hates the fact that this is also during the NBA finals which he desperately needs to be captivating. Stern is a lame duck commissioner right now who just doesn't give a F. He's going to do whatever he wants to just to prove he's in control. I think its time for this mob boss to finally get taken out of power. Lets hope Adam Silver learned from the positives, and can keep his ego in check unlike Stern.
I didn't get a chance to read the articles, but according to what Feigen and others have said, there was nothing beyond player profiles of the free agent crop. Than means no name-dropping or speculation, just information posted for the purpose of giving fans a feel for this year's free agency. This is what irks me. Look, we have CF to turn to for outstanding information whenever we want to get up to speed on things. Fans of some teams don't have that degree of quality coverage, and they rely on team web sites for their fix. Now, if teams become skittish and pull back from posting perfectly reasonable information for fear of retribution, it is the fans that suffer. Again. So no, it's not a silly small thing.
Ok, now this getting reaaaallly silly so I'm going to fire some questions that I hope some can answer: 1) Does the NBA work just like any organisation? 2) What rules does the NBA have to adhere to? 3) Can the Rockets fight this fine, since what the Rockets did is by the definition used according to the NBA not tampering? 4) If so, what would happen, could it go to court for example?
