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And your Spurs were powerless to stop it from happening. Boo mutha in' Hoo
Lakers-Celtics just what the commish ordered
By Adrian Wojnarowski
Yahoo Sports
BOSTON – In the moment of revelation a year ago, the commissioner’s instinct was that the NBA lost its chance for salvation. The bouncing balls had gone all wrong in that Secaucus, N.J., television studio, and now the representatives of Portland, Seattle and Atlanta lined up on the stage, finalists in the draft lottery.
Against the odds, Greg Oden and Kevin Durant weren’t on the way to Boston.
Nor Los Angeles…
Philadelphia.
“The Pacific Northwest and the Deep South,” David Stern grumbled in the row behind me that mid-May night. “Give me a big market.”
As it turned out, the teams with the best chances of winning the top two picks – the Memphis Grizzlies and Boston Celtics – finished fourth and fifth in the lottery. This made Memphis sellers and Boston buyers. This set into motion Pau Gasol to the Lakers, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to the Celtics.
The basketball season’s saviors wouldn’t be one-and-done teeny boppers, but twenty- and thirty-somethings chasing championships.
Even a seething Stern couldn’t have conceived that a wayward lottery would’ve triggered the events that led to his sport’s wildest dream – the Los Angeles Lakers-Boston Celtics NBA Finals that starts with Game 1 on Thursday night. America’s rushing back to its televisions to rediscover one of the sport’s most romantic rivalries, the Celtics-Lakers rising out of the rubble.
Between that mid-May night and these NBA Finals, there were times everyone wondered whether Stern had lost his grip on the sport. For the league, this had been a time of crises and uncertainty. The residue of an embarrassing All-Star weekend in Las Vegas lingered. The suspensions of Phoenix Suns Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw delivered crushing criticisms of the commissioner. Basketball’s best player, Kobe Bryant, behaved like a petulant child, demanding to leave L.A.
And once the lowest-rated NBA Finals ever were done, the FBI walked into Stern’s Olympic Tower office and told him that one of his referee’s, Tim Donaghy, was on the take of gamblers.
All was breaking loose when Stern walked into a news conference at a midtown Manhattan hotel and declared that Donaghy’s deeds cons uted the darkest day in NBA history. While it first seemed like it would take the league a long time to live this story done, it passed by opening night. There had been some discussion that this story passed out of the public consciousness so rapidly because of the commissioner’s deft handling, but it had nothing to do with him.
Yes, it helped that no other officials were implicated, but truth be told: Stern was the beneficiary of a public that had become numb to scandal, sporting and societal. From steroids to spygate to phony collegiate amateurism, the public has come to expect that nothing is on the up and up. Everyone condemned Donaghy, tsk-tsked the NBA and moved onto the next disgrace.
Mostly, the basketball saved Stern. Finally, the game was the story again. For the first time since the Michael Jordan Bulls’ dynasty crumbled, there comes a Finals that has people talking not about what the league isn’t, but what it is again.
The collision course of Los Angeles and Boston covered Stern on his relentlessly embarrassing alliance with smarmy Seattle owner Clay Bennett, whose uncovered emails exposed duplicitous intentions to move the Sonics, and a strange man-crush on the commissioner. It appears these days that Stern takes his ownership allies where he can get them, because the old guard loyalists like Detroit’s Bill Davidson and Washington’s Abe Pollian are fading away.
Twenty-five years ago, the great progress Stern made as commissioner started with the good fortune of those Magic Johnson-Larry Bird Finals, a marketing genius born out of a dream. They moved Stern into the big seat a quarter century ago, and the Lakers-Celtics started him, started the NBA, on the way to a glorious run. Out of the bouncing balls in the Jersey swamp, out of the league’s darkest hour, the commissioner gets the good fortune of dumb luck again.
Somehow, it’s Los Angeles-Boston.
The commissioner’s lottery plea has been answered.
Give him his big markets.
And your Spurs were powerless to stop it from happening. Boo mutha in' Hoo
Since David took the time to send me an email today, i figured the least i could do was respond to him!
Yes David I am enjoying this most unpredictable NBA season very much. After all, who would have predicted the Celtics and the Lakers would both make the Finals????
Only ALL of America! Clearly after Boston acquired KG and Ray Allen they were a Lock in the “L”Eastern Conference. And after ex Laker and former GM of the Memphis Grizzlies, Jerry West, decided to give away his best player to help the Lakers it was a forgone conclusion that the Lakers would make the Finals in the West.
Other than the 1985 Patrick Ewing lottery ball drawing for the Knicks, I can’t think of a more “rigged” situation in the NBA. I guess the BlackSox scandal from 70 years ago is worse, but not much.
Fortunately for you and the league a Boston vs. L.A. series will draw tremendous ratings so I guess it is all worth it????
Perry Hood
NBA Season Ticket Holder and wondering why?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: David J. Stern [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2008 8:56 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: A special message from the NBA
[ View this email in your browser here ]
> My Account
> Member Center
Perry,
I hope you are enjoying this extraordinary season, filled with intense compe ion and exciting performances by the world's greatest athletes.
We are excited to announce the launch of All-Access--the NBA's free, official membership program--and to welcome you as an inaugural member. All-Access provides you, our most passionate fans, with exclusive benefits and new ways to go behind the scenes and get into the action.
In the next few days, you will receive an email highlighting some of your All-Access benefits for June, including:
Exclusive access to 2008 NBA Draft tickets. » More
A chance to win a trip for two to Las Vegas to watch a day's worth of 2008 NBA Summer League games from courtside and participate in the honorary tip-off. » More
Live streaming audio of every NBA Finals 2008 game with NBA Audio League Pass. » More
In addition, there are many more benefits that you can take advantage of at NBA.com/AllAccess. New and enhanced benefits will be added throughout the summer and next season. We will keep you updated on these through occasional emails and through the All-Access Member Center.
Thank you again for your support and enjoy The Finals!
David J. Stern
Commissioner, National Basketball Association
I'm just glad that all the hard work the Lakers and Celtics put into developing their teams over years and years of scouting, development, and wise drafting have finally paid off.
Congratulations to the Lakers and Celtics! May the best team win.
Check my signature
Boston - Los Angeles was as much a given as invading Iraq was in late 2002. You couldn't stop it.
When your team just isn't good enough, it's always a conspiracy
Has been for the lakerfans for years.
It's like helping out the re ed special ed kids in school and giving them more chances cause they can't do it on their own. It's the way i see stern helping out big market teams. I think that there's a lot of deals that go under the table in the world of sports. Fixed deals have been around since the gladiator sports in Rome so ya'll think they actually stoped now because we have a democracy and laws? Oh wait? Didn't they have that too back then?
You know, with all of this big market talk, I can not wait for the day when Stern has to watch a OKC Sonics / Milwaukee Bucks Final.
Dude, the backbone of the Lakers team has been together for a while and for the most part they were all drafted by LA.
Drafted
Kobe
Sasha
Turiaf
Walton
Farmar
Fisher
and the ones aquired by trade or free agency with the exception of Pau, have been here quite a while as well.
Odom
Mihm
Vlad
The Celtics on the ohter hand are a different story.
The Spurs just weren't good enough this season.
Let that sink in Spur fan. It's the truth and deep down in your heart of hearts you know it to be true.
I got the same exact email. I entered the contest to get a chance to go to some Summer League games. lol
Kobe was drafted by the Hornets, put up a hissy fit, then was traded to LA for Vlade.
Kobe- Drafted by the Hornets
Fisher- Technically a FA signing since he was gone from the team for three seasons
Your Top 4 players were all aquired via trade or free agency.
But kudos for drafting all those other 7-9ppg players that are the backbone of your team.
And for what it is worth:
Vlad- This was only his second season in LA
Mihm- Played 23 games all season
LMAO I got an email like that and also thought about replying.
You guys are still crying, man.....
it's
[email protected]
great post!
I like your at ude.
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