Monroe: Can No. 1 Stern Save Holiday Spirit?

[duncan228]

Can No. 1 Stern save holiday spirit?
Mike Monroe

How close do we have to get to the holidays before the coaches of struggling NBA teams can count on the spirit of the season as a karmic protector of job security?

Ten days wasn't enough to save the Kings' Reggie Theus. On Monday, he became the sixth NBA head coach fired this season.

A few years ago, the league negotiated an extension of the date on which all contracts had to be guaranteed because too many players with non-guaranteed deals were being cut on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day so teams could cut payrolls.

Maybe commissioner David Stern should issue an edict forbidding dismissals in the final two weeks of the year, when the world is supposed to be merry and bright.

Stern may be in a mood to govern by fiat. He was just declared the best sports commissioner, back on top among sports czars in the annual ranking of the 50 most influential people in the sports business by SportsBusiness Journal.

Stern was No. 3 on the magazine's overall list, behind George Bodenheimer, president and CEO of ESPN/ABC Sports, and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

Stern jumped two notches. Combined with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's drop, from No. 2 to No. 4, this made Stern the highest-ranking commissioner. Major League Baseball's Bud Selig ranked No. 6; NASCAR's Brian France No. 9; the NHL's Gary Bettman, No. 12.

Adam Silver, the NBA's deputy commish, was No. 24. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was the lone NBA owner on the list, but he dropped from No. 24 to No. 35.

What does any of this mean to NBA fans, even Kings fans?

When you consider the magazine's rationale in positioning Stern ahead of the other commissioners, it means plenty. That is because it was based on his continued commitment to innovation, especially in global markets.

The magazine cited Stern's push into a previously untapped Asian market with the creation of NBA China. Combined with the league's partnership with Anschutz Entertainment Group, the company that owns and operates the Staples Center, to build 10 to 12 arenas in China, Stern has the NBA positioned to benefit from a significant new market.

In these tough economic times, there is nothing more vital to every professional league than potential new revenue streams. Sports Business Journal contends the NBA-AEG China arena deal “stands to pay off at some point.”

Of course, “some point” wasn't soon enough to save the jobs of 88 NBA employees laid off this fall, but Stern always sees the long view.

Basketball continues to soar in popularity in China, where the Olympic compe ion in Beijing in August provided another stimulus for a population that cares enough about the NBA to make Yi Jianlian third in the Eastern Conference in the first release of fan voting figures for this season's All-Star starters, announced last week.

There always is a chance all those votes were cast by Nets fans enthralled by Yi's 10.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game thus far this season, but Internet votes from Asia seem a considerably more likely source.

Stern understands this has the potential, someday, to help all the league's teams, even those with owners mean enough to fire a coach 10 days before Christmas.

[duncan228]

Sorry, wrong forum. I meant to post this in NBA Central.