http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/159135.html
NBA Beat: Official's punishment will have ripple effect
By Scott Howard-Cooper - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, April 22, 2007
Not-your-ordinary suspension began Tuesday, when referee Joe Crawford was benched for the rest of the season for repeatedly being unable to control his temper. But the impact comes now, with the start of the playoffs and the realization that this is the discipline in which everyone loses.
It could be an unfortunate ending to the career of an official with Hall of Fame credentials and is definitely an unwanted showdown for Commissioner David Stern, who spent countless hours preaching the conduct he expected from players and had the right to expect the same from the league's referees. More to the moment, it removes one of the best whistles from the heated moments of the postseason, in which Crawford had become a fixture while being rated among the best, if not the best, in his field.
And then there's what comes next.
Without nearly the attention given the relationship between the league and its players, the league and its referees could begin negotiating a new contract next season under the cover of tension.
Enough time remains for the emotions to subside -- the current deal expires after 2008-09 -- except that both sides have built their share of resentment before conversations even begin and acrimony really develops during negotiations.
The union already voiced its displeasure over the disciplines of officials being announced, saying its membership, without the haven of home games, faces enough public ridicule already. The league previously had agreed but this season suspended two referees, Rodney Mott in January for three games and Crawford indefinitely, and announced both moves.
The mood already had changed, though. As one member of the NBA's negotiating team said of the talks that led to the current deal: "The last go-round, for some reason, the officials' leadership got more militant than they had been in the past. ... It set an early difficult tone. Those last negotiations had been more difficult than they had been in the past. It was more caustic."
Memphis blues
The real impact of Jerry West's decision to resign as Memphis' president won't be known for months, if not longer, with a difficult transition ahead filled with anxiety and fitful stretches about what to do next. But enough about the people who will be spending time around him.
If retirement is a great challenge for the famously impatient West and his rocketing blood pressure, it's a long road ahead as well for those left behind in a franchise that faced great instability even with a legendary executive on board. All Memphis is missing now, after all, is a personnel boss, a coach, a potential new owner and a fan base in a town yawning over the NBA after three seasons in a new arena.
West will advise owner Michael Heisley on a successor and a coach, but how much input West actually will have remains to be seen, especially on a coach as Heisley tries to cut costs and with the added consideration that the new general manager will understandably want his own hires. Plus, Heisley didn't necessarily listen before: West pushed to fire Mike Fratello as coach last offseason and hire Suns assistant Marc Iavaroni, Heisley said no, players soon rebelled against Fratello, and Fratello was fired in December.
Now several teams might pursue Iavaroni, with openings in Charlotte, Memphis and Sacramento and vacancies likely in Seattle and possibly Indiana. The chase might go on a while too, until the end of the Phoenix season, long enough for one of the teams to potentially land No. 1 (Greg Oden) or No. 2 (Kevin Durant) in the draft and become that much more attractive as a landing spot for a first-time coach.
Best, Western
So much for the bottom-heavy Western Conference.
What once seemed a possibility of having teams make the playoffs with losing records, when it hadn't happened with one in a non-lockout season since 1996-97, ended with the No. 8 Warriors at 42-40.
Basketball royalty
The retirement of Willis Reed, most recently a Hornets vice president, ends a full career that included greatness as a player and time as a head coach in the NBA and college and as an executive in the pros. Though it might have been forgotten over time, he was also a Kings assistant on Bill Russell's bench in 1987-88, but, unlike his boss at the time, is remembered as a warm person and hard worker.
Close quote
Jay Leno, on the "Tonight Show" on Wednesday: "I have to make a correction. The other night I congratulated the Lakers for making the playoffs. Just Kobe made the playoffs. The other Lakers have been told to stay home."
About the writer: The Bee's Scott Howard-Cooper can be reached at showard-cooper@sacbee.com.
NBA Beat: Official's punishment will have ripple effect
By Scott Howard-Cooper - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, April 22, 2007
Not-your-ordinary suspension began Tuesday, when referee Joe Crawford was benched for the rest of the season for repeatedly being unable to control his temper. But the impact comes now, with the start of the playoffs and the realization that this is the discipline in which everyone loses.
It could be an unfortunate ending to the career of an official with Hall of Fame credentials and is definitely an unwanted showdown for Commissioner David Stern, who spent countless hours preaching the conduct he expected from players and had the right to expect the same from the league's referees. More to the moment, it removes one of the best whistles from the heated moments of the postseason, in which Crawford had become a fixture while being rated among the best, if not the best, in his field.
And then there's what comes next.
Without nearly the attention given the relationship between the league and its players, the league and its referees could begin negotiating a new contract next season under the cover of tension.
Enough time remains for the emotions to subside -- the current deal expires after 2008-09 -- except that both sides have built their share of resentment before conversations even begin and acrimony really develops during negotiations.
The union already voiced its displeasure over the disciplines of officials being announced, saying its membership, without the haven of home games, faces enough public ridicule already. The league previously had agreed but this season suspended two referees, Rodney Mott in January for three games and Crawford indefinitely, and announced both moves.
The mood already had changed, though. As one member of the NBA's negotiating team said of the talks that led to the current deal: "The last go-round, for some reason, the officials' leadership got more militant than they had been in the past. ... It set an early difficult tone. Those last negotiations had been more difficult than they had been in the past. It was more caustic."
Memphis blues
The real impact of Jerry West's decision to resign as Memphis' president won't be known for months, if not longer, with a difficult transition ahead filled with anxiety and fitful stretches about what to do next. But enough about the people who will be spending time around him.
If retirement is a great challenge for the famously impatient West and his rocketing blood pressure, it's a long road ahead as well for those left behind in a franchise that faced great instability even with a legendary executive on board. All Memphis is missing now, after all, is a personnel boss, a coach, a potential new owner and a fan base in a town yawning over the NBA after three seasons in a new arena.
West will advise owner Michael Heisley on a successor and a coach, but how much input West actually will have remains to be seen, especially on a coach as Heisley tries to cut costs and with the added consideration that the new general manager will understandably want his own hires. Plus, Heisley didn't necessarily listen before: West pushed to fire Mike Fratello as coach last offseason and hire Suns assistant Marc Iavaroni, Heisley said no, players soon rebelled against Fratello, and Fratello was fired in December.
Now several teams might pursue Iavaroni, with openings in Charlotte, Memphis and Sacramento and vacancies likely in Seattle and possibly Indiana. The chase might go on a while too, until the end of the Phoenix season, long enough for one of the teams to potentially land No. 1 (Greg Oden) or No. 2 (Kevin Durant) in the draft and become that much more attractive as a landing spot for a first-time coach.
Best, Western
So much for the bottom-heavy Western Conference.
What once seemed a possibility of having teams make the playoffs with losing records, when it hadn't happened with one in a non-lockout season since 1996-97, ended with the No. 8 Warriors at 42-40.
Basketball royalty
The retirement of Willis Reed, most recently a Hornets vice president, ends a full career that included greatness as a player and time as a head coach in the NBA and college and as an executive in the pros. Though it might have been forgotten over time, he was also a Kings assistant on Bill Russell's bench in 1987-88, but, unlike his boss at the time, is remembered as a warm person and hard worker.
Close quote
Jay Leno, on the "Tonight Show" on Wednesday: "I have to make a correction. The other night I congratulated the Lakers for making the playoffs. Just Kobe made the playoffs. The other Lakers have been told to stay home."
About the writer: The Bee's Scott Howard-Cooper can be reached at showard-cooper@sacbee.com.
