[NorthJersey.com] David Stern's Career is on the Line

What would you expect from his replacement?

Stern brought basketball into the internation world.
He has kept the best balance between players and owners of any professional sport

So I ask
What could the next guy do better? What would be your expectation?

Rocket River

 

Its alot easier to do when you have Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and MJ in your league

 

He also made some big changes after the post MJ "lull," as some would describe it. Some rules changes have made the game a lot more fast- paced and pupular.

It would have to be really widespready for him to leave. One miscreant won't cause Stern to resign.

 

it would be cool if mj, bird and magic teamed up to be comissioners

 

He's done a great job but it's time for new blood. Some of the NBA's recent moves like the new basketball haven't worked. That was a stupid idea. Because he's been in charge so long, Stern has grown arrogant and too powerful as an individual for the NBA's own good. His over the top comments and reaction to JVG quoting a league official on Yao being officiated is one example.

Whether the leader of a major corporation, a basketball/football coach, a pastor of a church, etc, the act of stepping aside at the right time is the last crucial decision a great leader can make. Too many of them hang on too long.

 

Have to agree here. I personally thought Stern did a pretty good job throughout his career, but nothing too spectacular. He did what is expected of him, the only thing that he did that went above and beyond in my eyes is the internationalization of the NBA. I still disagree with a good amount of his decisions though (Artest suspended for a whole season AND playoffs, that ref comment that A_3PO mentioned, the new bball, the ugly UGLY retro jerseys, etc.) but for the most part, he did a decent job.

But yeah, unless you're superwise/supergood (which Stern isn't), it's never a good thing when someone holds the top position for a long time.

 

This article is about gambling and Stern's job. Unless professor Xavier was the commissioner there is not a single person that would have saw this coming. I guarantee it. You can attack Stern for a lot of things. But this situation would not have been stopped if someone else was at the helm. It could have been prevented, but it wouldn't have...

The media needs to get off his ass. This isn't his fault.

 

i really think this is overcooking the story here. members of the nba (other refs, staff, official-suits) probably knew, maybe only a select few, of donaghy's endeavours. when it comes to light those people will catch the crossfire of the witch hunt as well.

i really think this is excessive investigative journalism trying to force a lead. it is the story of ONE BAD GUY who had problems with debt, gambling, integrity and also apparently had some pretty roughneck friends. it does not mean that when the balls tip off this season, I or anybody should have reason to doubt that the officiating will be biased, fixed, illigitimate, or any more ruined by the human factor of officiating than it already is. the weakness of basketball is the subjective nature of its rules, and the dynamic range of types of contact between players making violations difficult to detect. im not trying to defend the referee, but it is the most subjective, personal sport when it comes to administrating the exhibition and always has been. simply cause tim donaghy is a f@g who cant control his life doesn't signal the downfall of officiating. bad presidents, good presidents. bad doctors, good doctors. bad refs, isolated rogues.

 

Selig all but knowingly allowed the steroids boom in the MLB to go on until the public and American government pinned him down by the neck.

Bettman has single-handedly imploded the NHL with his idotic philosophy of overexpanding or moving teams from diehard markets to chase temporary money in non-hockey US cities.

A ref got flipped by the mob without anyone at all suspecting a thing until the feds caught wind by pure accident while wiretapping.

Even that aside, I don't think many people at all appreciate just how great commissioner the league has. NFL can't get anyone outside of US borders to care despite repeated attempts, and Stern has revenue flooding in from around the globe. He arguably has the most popular league on an international scale aside from EPL. He has also overseen the most harmonious balance between ownership and a players union in any sport.

Is he all but Don Corleone? Maybe, but I doubt you'll see even a lateral transition with the next guy in his seat.

Evan

 

ditto.

the new ball was a crap idea but not enough to warrant his dismissal. one dirty ref aint enuff either ...

 

It is extremely hard to find a more popular league on a global basis. I would even argue that the NBA is a lot more accessible than soccer/football since its such an easy game to pick up and just play.

 

The man is accountable for the league:

ratings are down dramatically for the playoffs;

they're in a negative cash position, overall...revenues are down from previous years;

they're in the midst of a scandal that goes to the integrity of the game and stern's response is, "the system is fine...nothing to see here."


these are the sorts of things that people who occupy positions like his get fired for...or are asked to move on.

i think it's time for change.

 

Stern isn't directly responsible for the gambling problems of some refs. He's not their parents to watch their backs all the time, and he's no power to probe into the private lives of refs unlike the FBI.

What Stern should be held responsible for is his favoritism to refs against charges of bad officiating has been pathetic. He's the cause of the refs blowing calls because there is no official repercussion when they blow calls. He created an environment inducive to bad officiating.

Considering Stern is a very good businessman and what he's done for the league, Stern needs to be put on a watch, not to be fired now. If no good measures are taken, and officiating still remains poor, he needs to go.

 

i wouldnt blame stern for that one though - outside of s.a. and cleveland nobody cares about the spurz and cavs.

i do hold him accountable for the ref insofar as if he didnt know what was going on it was incompetence on his part and if he did know and he was covering up...well its obvious that he needs to go if that was the case.

im kind of biased as i dont really care for the guy - ive always found him to be pretty arrogant.

JVG FOR COMMISH!

 

MJ's league would be rampant with gambling.

 

JVG for commissioner would be pretty cool.

what about the logo. Seems like an even keel kinda guy. I would totally be cool with that.

 

of course he's accountable. when performance drops...when the measures that factor into gross revenues drop...the guy at the top is held accountable. it's like that in virtually every private enterprise i can think of.

 

Cause MJ did such a great job as GM...

 

MJ's off-the-court resume so far includes Kwame Brown. I say any managerial/executive power should be kept as far as possible from MJ's hands. Plus, he doesn't want to be part of a horse-and-pony show as any public position with the NBA would entail.