Stern says elimination of teams to be discussed
NBA commissioner David Stern said yesterday he thinks eliminating teams will be on the table during collective bargaining as a way to solve the league's financial woes.
NBA commissioner David Stern said yesterday he thinks eliminating teams will be on the table during collective bargaining as a way to solve the league's financial woes.
"It's a sensitive subject for me, because I've spent 27 years in this job working very hard not only to maintain all of our teams, but along the way add a few," Stern said during his preseason conference call. "But I think that's a subject that will be on the table with the players as we look to see what's the optimum way to present our game, and are there cities and teams that cannot make it in the current economic environment. I'm not spending a lot of time on it."
CBSSports.com first reported Thursday that the league would "continue to be open to contraction," after Stern said he wanted player costs reduced by $700 milion to $800 million. The collective bargaining agreement expires June 30.
That set off predictable panic in some small-market cities whose teams have struggled on the court and at the gate. Asked whether contraction should be a chilling word in Memphis, Stern said: "No, it shouldn't be. It's a good word to use, especially in collective bargaining."
Players likely would fight contraction because of job losses.
Noteworthy
* Former Georgetown and NBA player Charles Smith was shot at his Prince George's County, Md., home, according to a police official familiar with the case. Police are still investigating a motive in the shooting, according to the police official, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the information had not been publicly released.
Police said a man found with a gunshot wound at the home in Bowie, Md., was taken to a local hospital where he was listed in serious condition. A search of the home early yesterday turned up a large quantity of cocaine and evidence of a gambling operation, said a spokeswoman, Sgt. Michelle Reedy.
* Miami Heat swingman Mike Miller will be sidelined until January after undergoing surgery to repair a broken right thumb, as well as ligament damage.