http://www.sacbee.com/351/story/90228.html
The Player: NBA chief is known as shrewd dealmaker
By Mark Kreidler and Scott Howard-Cooper - Bee Staff Writers
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, December 10, 2006
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A1
He's great in a room. That is the first thing. To watch David Stern work a crowd is to study marketing in action: Stern fairly radiates confidence, gentle humor and precisely the touch of control one might expect of the commissioner of the NBA.
It is also the side of Stern that few negotiators see behind closed doors. In those situations, it is the other Stern who emerges -- the professional persuader who honed his craft in the NBA's legal department, sharp and on point, dogged on an issue, willing to cajole, flatter or bully all parties involved until agreement is reached.
For the Sacramento region and the Kings, it is that private Stern whose role will be most critical in the coming months. And those who know him best suggest that, once Stern gets fully involved in a project such as the arena question now before him, the odds of the project coming to fruition increase dramatically.
"Whatever it takes," said longtime Stern confidant Rod Thorn, describing the commissioner's approach. "He's a dealmaker. He's always been a dealmaker."
Stern's ability to wrangle such deals is being tested in a changing climate for the league. After nearly two decades of explosive national and international growth, the NBA faces problematic hot spots in several smaller markets where the product once thrived: Seattle, Portland, Sacramento and Memphis, among others.
And with local leaders and the Maloof family at stalemate, and Sacramento-area voters having roundly rejected a tax plan to finance a new arena, Stern's decision to supervise the Kings' negotiations -- punctuated by his two-day fact-finding mission here last week -- is being viewed as something of a call to arms.
"Given the number of arena situations brewing in different markets, I believe Stern sees this as a critical issue for the league," said Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon.
"His (direct) involvement is what the owners -- who hire him -- would expect," Swangard said. "And I would put his negotiating talent in the 'best-in-class' category."
It is a talent honed by Stern, 64, over four decades of work with the NBA, beginning with his employment in the 1960s by a law firm that represented the league and highlighted by his appointment as commissioner in 1984.
Stern's subsequent tenure, viewed from almost any angle, has been a huge success. The league has added seven franchises, broadcasts into more than 215 countries, has dramatically improved its TV and radio contracts, and in so doing has increased its revenue 15-fold, according to information provided by the league.
Though Stern had little to do with the great confluence of events that initiated that growth phase -- the great Magic Johnson-Larry Bird bicoastal rivalry and the drafting of Michael Jordan by the Chicago Bulls in 1984 -- he had everything to do with how the NBA exploited and marketed its new image. His approach was star-driven, individual to the extreme, and it worked in ways other leagues soon were moved to emulate.
Stern, who was paid $8 million in 2004, according to Forbes magazine, put out his share of fires along the way, steadily improving the league's mass-market appeal while mostly avoiding the kinds of labor problems that have derailed other sports industries (a 1998-99 lockout being a notable exception).
He did so with a no-nonsense approach inside the negotiating room, where Stern was nothing if not direct.
"It's almost disarming to people how quickly he gets to the heart of the matter," said Larry Miller, owner of the Utah Jazz. "He doesn't get into a lot of what I call game-playing. He knows how to read who needs to be lifted up, as opposed to who needs a kick in the rear."
Stern is famous for his ability to recall names and details of the lives of people he meets only briefly. He once stood in a greeting line for an NBA office party and said hello by name to each of the people who walked through the door, at a time when the staff numbered in the hundreds.
The commissioner also is often much more aware of local issues than a franchise or its fans might think. Despite his position as the sort of uber-executive for the league, Stern is known among the NBA's owners for diligently doing his homework.
"His style is very much hands-on," said Jerry Colangelo, chairman and chief executive of the Phoenix Suns. "It goes beyond the business of the league, to the business of each franchise.
"He spends an inordinate amount of time in the trenches, dealing with arena issues, ownership issues, all of that. ... He always knows which way to go."
Thus, Stern brings to the Sacramento negotiations a gravitas that 22 years in the top job in the NBA would suggest. But by no means does he carry with him a flawless record.
In fact, Stern has spent the past couple of years engaged in one of the tougher stretches of his tenure. He has battled the players union in an attempt to enforce clothing rules, has seen conflagrations such as the Detroit-Indiana brawl two seasons ago, and has dealt with a sudden convergence of arena or attendance issues.
In a couple of those instances, Stern's presence might have hurt more than it helped. That was especially so this year in Seattle, where Stern intervened on the Sonics' behalf in their attempt to wrest either a new arena or a new lease from local leaders and voters.
"He actually went to Seattle to threaten the city," said Kevin Quinn, a Wisconsin-based sports economist.
Indeed, Stern's statement that Seattle "is making it pretty clear ... that they're not interested in having the NBA there," served mostly to harden feelings between the city and the team. Eventually, the Sonics' frustrated owner, Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz, sold the franchise to an Oklahoma City-based investment group, leaving open the possibility the team will be moved when its current lease expires in 2010.
Portland, too, has struggled to right its arena issues even though Stern was actively involved there over the summer, and the owner of the Memphis Grizzlies put his franchise up for sale despite having recently gained a new arena.
Now comes the Sacramento situation, which several NBA observers have identified as a watershed. Considering the Kings' reputation for sellout crowds and loyal fans, one school of thought is that Stern needs to do whatever it takes to ensure the franchise's long-term survival here, or else risk a falling out in smaller-market cities around the league.
Stern's assertion that he would take charge of the Kings' side of the negotiations was received as unprecedented news, but associates say Stern is almost always involved in arena deals, because they directly affect the value of franchises in the league.
The commissioner worked behind the scenes to find new ownership for the Timberwolves in Minnesota after an attempt to move them to New Orleans fell through. Stern brokered the deal two years ago that allowed the Hornets to move from Charlotte to New Orleans, then guaranteed an expansion franchise to Charlotte once it got a new arena approved.
But Stern has taken public-relations hits recently. The Seattle failure was a pronounced one, and he has been at odds with the players union since last season over a new dress code that some interpreted as aimed at urban and hip-hop fashion. This season, the league has been derided for sending representatives to games to, among other things, see if players were untucking their jerseys as they walked off the court, which is subject to a fine.
"I've never seen a group of rules that has upset the whole group of players like these have," union chief Billy Hunter told the New York Daily News.
Last week, Stern admitted he'd made a mistake in attempting to force on the players a new micro-fiber basketball, replacing the traditional leather ball they had used before this season. Players have been so unhappy with the new ball that Hunter filed a grievance over the way its use was unilaterally implemented.
Still, there is no question that Stern is someone to be reckoned with. Thorn, who worked with Stern in the NBA's offices for nearly 15 years before becoming an executive with the New Jersey Nets, suggests that the league's driving force for the past two-plus decades is not to be trifled with.
In fact, Thorn said, Stern's ability to read a room and pull together its disparate elements remains a startling thing. It may well be the skill that Stern utilizes most often on the road to a new arena in Sacramento.
"He finds ways to get things done," Thorn said. "A lot of people don't even understand what it takes to get a deal done. He does."
About the writer: The Bee's Mark Kreidler can be reached at (916) 321-1149 or mkreidler@sacbee.com.
The Player: NBA chief is known as shrewd dealmaker
By Mark Kreidler and Scott Howard-Cooper - Bee Staff Writers
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, December 10, 2006
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A1
He's great in a room. That is the first thing. To watch David Stern work a crowd is to study marketing in action: Stern fairly radiates confidence, gentle humor and precisely the touch of control one might expect of the commissioner of the NBA.
It is also the side of Stern that few negotiators see behind closed doors. In those situations, it is the other Stern who emerges -- the professional persuader who honed his craft in the NBA's legal department, sharp and on point, dogged on an issue, willing to cajole, flatter or bully all parties involved until agreement is reached.
For the Sacramento region and the Kings, it is that private Stern whose role will be most critical in the coming months. And those who know him best suggest that, once Stern gets fully involved in a project such as the arena question now before him, the odds of the project coming to fruition increase dramatically.
"Whatever it takes," said longtime Stern confidant Rod Thorn, describing the commissioner's approach. "He's a dealmaker. He's always been a dealmaker."
Stern's ability to wrangle such deals is being tested in a changing climate for the league. After nearly two decades of explosive national and international growth, the NBA faces problematic hot spots in several smaller markets where the product once thrived: Seattle, Portland, Sacramento and Memphis, among others.
And with local leaders and the Maloof family at stalemate, and Sacramento-area voters having roundly rejected a tax plan to finance a new arena, Stern's decision to supervise the Kings' negotiations -- punctuated by his two-day fact-finding mission here last week -- is being viewed as something of a call to arms.
"Given the number of arena situations brewing in different markets, I believe Stern sees this as a critical issue for the league," said Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon.
"His (direct) involvement is what the owners -- who hire him -- would expect," Swangard said. "And I would put his negotiating talent in the 'best-in-class' category."
It is a talent honed by Stern, 64, over four decades of work with the NBA, beginning with his employment in the 1960s by a law firm that represented the league and highlighted by his appointment as commissioner in 1984.
Stern's subsequent tenure, viewed from almost any angle, has been a huge success. The league has added seven franchises, broadcasts into more than 215 countries, has dramatically improved its TV and radio contracts, and in so doing has increased its revenue 15-fold, according to information provided by the league.
Though Stern had little to do with the great confluence of events that initiated that growth phase -- the great Magic Johnson-Larry Bird bicoastal rivalry and the drafting of Michael Jordan by the Chicago Bulls in 1984 -- he had everything to do with how the NBA exploited and marketed its new image. His approach was star-driven, individual to the extreme, and it worked in ways other leagues soon were moved to emulate.
Stern, who was paid $8 million in 2004, according to Forbes magazine, put out his share of fires along the way, steadily improving the league's mass-market appeal while mostly avoiding the kinds of labor problems that have derailed other sports industries (a 1998-99 lockout being a notable exception).
He did so with a no-nonsense approach inside the negotiating room, where Stern was nothing if not direct.
"It's almost disarming to people how quickly he gets to the heart of the matter," said Larry Miller, owner of the Utah Jazz. "He doesn't get into a lot of what I call game-playing. He knows how to read who needs to be lifted up, as opposed to who needs a kick in the rear."
Stern is famous for his ability to recall names and details of the lives of people he meets only briefly. He once stood in a greeting line for an NBA office party and said hello by name to each of the people who walked through the door, at a time when the staff numbered in the hundreds.
The commissioner also is often much more aware of local issues than a franchise or its fans might think. Despite his position as the sort of uber-executive for the league, Stern is known among the NBA's owners for diligently doing his homework.
"His style is very much hands-on," said Jerry Colangelo, chairman and chief executive of the Phoenix Suns. "It goes beyond the business of the league, to the business of each franchise.
"He spends an inordinate amount of time in the trenches, dealing with arena issues, ownership issues, all of that. ... He always knows which way to go."
Thus, Stern brings to the Sacramento negotiations a gravitas that 22 years in the top job in the NBA would suggest. But by no means does he carry with him a flawless record.
In fact, Stern has spent the past couple of years engaged in one of the tougher stretches of his tenure. He has battled the players union in an attempt to enforce clothing rules, has seen conflagrations such as the Detroit-Indiana brawl two seasons ago, and has dealt with a sudden convergence of arena or attendance issues.
In a couple of those instances, Stern's presence might have hurt more than it helped. That was especially so this year in Seattle, where Stern intervened on the Sonics' behalf in their attempt to wrest either a new arena or a new lease from local leaders and voters.
"He actually went to Seattle to threaten the city," said Kevin Quinn, a Wisconsin-based sports economist.
Indeed, Stern's statement that Seattle "is making it pretty clear ... that they're not interested in having the NBA there," served mostly to harden feelings between the city and the team. Eventually, the Sonics' frustrated owner, Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz, sold the franchise to an Oklahoma City-based investment group, leaving open the possibility the team will be moved when its current lease expires in 2010.
Portland, too, has struggled to right its arena issues even though Stern was actively involved there over the summer, and the owner of the Memphis Grizzlies put his franchise up for sale despite having recently gained a new arena.
Now comes the Sacramento situation, which several NBA observers have identified as a watershed. Considering the Kings' reputation for sellout crowds and loyal fans, one school of thought is that Stern needs to do whatever it takes to ensure the franchise's long-term survival here, or else risk a falling out in smaller-market cities around the league.
Stern's assertion that he would take charge of the Kings' side of the negotiations was received as unprecedented news, but associates say Stern is almost always involved in arena deals, because they directly affect the value of franchises in the league.
The commissioner worked behind the scenes to find new ownership for the Timberwolves in Minnesota after an attempt to move them to New Orleans fell through. Stern brokered the deal two years ago that allowed the Hornets to move from Charlotte to New Orleans, then guaranteed an expansion franchise to Charlotte once it got a new arena approved.
But Stern has taken public-relations hits recently. The Seattle failure was a pronounced one, and he has been at odds with the players union since last season over a new dress code that some interpreted as aimed at urban and hip-hop fashion. This season, the league has been derided for sending representatives to games to, among other things, see if players were untucking their jerseys as they walked off the court, which is subject to a fine.
"I've never seen a group of rules that has upset the whole group of players like these have," union chief Billy Hunter told the New York Daily News.
Last week, Stern admitted he'd made a mistake in attempting to force on the players a new micro-fiber basketball, replacing the traditional leather ball they had used before this season. Players have been so unhappy with the new ball that Hunter filed a grievance over the way its use was unilaterally implemented.
Still, there is no question that Stern is someone to be reckoned with. Thorn, who worked with Stern in the NBA's offices for nearly 15 years before becoming an executive with the New Jersey Nets, suggests that the league's driving force for the past two-plus decades is not to be trifled with.
In fact, Thorn said, Stern's ability to read a room and pull together its disparate elements remains a startling thing. It may well be the skill that Stern utilizes most often on the road to a new arena in Sacramento.
"He finds ways to get things done," Thorn said. "A lot of people don't even understand what it takes to get a deal done. He does."
About the writer: The Bee's Mark Kreidler can be reached at (916) 321-1149 or mkreidler@sacbee.com.
