David Stern to Step down as NBA commissioner

[bsfins]

Adam Silver will take over as Comish...I'm not a Basketball fan,but thought I'd pass it along...
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--sources--david-stern-stepping-down-feb--1--2014-25361209.html

[Landshark]

Where is Sunstroke?  I've seen him rip David Stern in the past.  He must be dancing with joy at this news.

[Phishfan]

Stern was terrible.

[Fins4ever]

I heard on the radio during a trivia contest that Stern is the longest tenured commish of any sport with 30 yrs. That is a long time.

I am not a follower of B ball either, but I have friends that are and none of them like him. Not sure why.

[EDGECRUSHER]

He sucks because the league is fixed with corrupt officials deciding games instead of the players. I am sure there are a bunch of Heat fans on this board, but their first championship was a complete travesty. Not as bad as Kings/Lakers which has now been confirmed as being fixed by the former ref who was jailed for fixing games for the mafia.

If I want my sports to be predetermined, I'll watch wrestling.

[Phishfan]

I am not a follower of B ball either, but I have friends that are and none of them like him. Not sure why.

The biggest issue I have that comes to mind for me currently was the voiding of the Chris Paul trade to the Lakers last year. League owners protested to Stern that New Orleans should not be allowed to trade Paul into a large market. The Lakers deal offered better players to N.O. but the deal that eventually was approved by the league, Paul to the Clippers. How can you deny his trade because of the market size and then allow a trade to a team that plays in the exact same arena?

[masterfins]

I think Kim Jong Goodell learned how to be a Commish by watching Stern.  Stern made money for the owners and players, but the game itself has suffered.  The only time I'll watch an NBA game is playoff time, and even then the early rounds are fixed to give certain teams an advantage to make the finals.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

I think Kim Jong Goodell learned how to be a Commish by watching Stern.  Stern made money for the owners and players, but the game itself has suffered.  The only time I'll watch an NBA game is playoff time, and even then the early rounds are fixed to give certain teams an advantage to make the finals.

While I have plenty of complaints with Goodel, comparing Goodel to Stern is like comparing Marino to Ryan Leaf. 

[Dave Gray]

Stern deserves credit.  He's hated, but he did usher in a new era to the sport.  He made it a star league, instead of a team league, which really helps set it apart from the others.

[Phishfan]

Stern deserves credit.  He's hated, but he did usher in a new era to the sport.  He made it a star league, instead of a team league, which really helps set it apart from the others.

I don't think credit is deserved there. The NBA ranks very low to me currently and Stern was the comish during its demise. The "star" method of play and lack of team focus is one reason I'm only watching the playoffs.

[Jim Gray]

One of the sports shows was talking about how the NBA has changed since Stern took over 30 years ago.  I don't remember everything, but if only a fraction of this is true, it's pretty amazing

- grew the number of teams (gave us the Heat!)
- league has grown in popularity by 30 times
- when he took over, 1/3 of the franchizes were broke, now the league is profitable
- when he took over, the finals were televised on tape delay (amazing....they couldn't get on live TV)
- he brought credibility to a thug league where drugs were rampant

[mecadonzilla]

- he brought credibility to a thug league where drugs were rampant

Drugs are not rampant now in the NBA?

[Spider-Dan]

When was the last time an NBA player died from a drug overdose?

The NBA of the early '80s had players with major cocaine problems.

[Landshark]

When was the last time an NBA player died from a drug overdose?

The NBA of the early '80s had players with major cocaine problems.

Len Bias

[Spider-Dan]

Len Bias died in 1986, right in the beginning of the Stern era, which was my point.

When you look at other players like John Lucas or David Thompson or Michael Ray Richardson or Chris Washburn, you can see that the NBA had a much bigger problem with drugs in the '70s and '80s than it does today.