By Marc Stein ESPN.com NBA commissioner David Stern, in a stunning reversal, has decided to shelve the new microfiber composite basketball after just a few months of use and switch back to the old leather model for all games starting Jan. 1, ESPN.com has learned. The decision will be formally announced by the league later this week, according to sources close to the situation. Despite an avalanche of player complaints about the new synthetic model from the first day of training camp in October, skepticism was high among players that Stern would consent to a change during the season. But with a number of prominent players complaining of cuts on their hands caused by the new ball's high-friction cover --Phoenix's Steve Nash and New Jersey's Jason Kidd among them -- Stern was forced to concede that an in-season swap was unavoidable with the new ball inflicting injuries. Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com.
LOL this is the only reason why I'm going to get the new Synthetic ball because it's going to be a collectors item...
Yeah, so does this mean that all the synthetic basketballs are very valuable because they were only used in play for about three months?
My guess is that the cuts did the ball in. It's one thing to have player complaining about the ball not feeling/playing right, it's quite another when people actually start to bleed. Not that the injuries are career threatening or anything, but it's still serious enough to address. You wouldn't subject any employee (whether players or secretaries) to equipment that make their fingers bleed-- in fact, it's probably illegal.
How much you want to bet we find some 60 grit sandpaper in Steve Nash's locker. I was with Stern until I heard about the cuts on players' hands. That is unacceptable under any circumstances.
I think the Player's Union probably had a lot to do with it. Billy Hunter and Co. were ready to see Stern and the NBA in court over the ball. I think Stern knew he was going to be forced by a judge to switch back to the old ball.
