Cavs fined 100k, Stern denies tampering, criticizes Gilbert

[Watt]

David Stern said in Monday's press conference that Dan Gilbert's post-LeBron James tirade "ill advised" and "imprudent" and that he has fined the Cavaliers $100,000.
Stern also said that NBA players and free agents are allowed to talk to each other as free agents and that LeBron and company are not guilty of tampering or collusion.

via rotoworld

[motherscratcher]

I guess he had to do and say something and I wouldn't have expected anything different.

However, this whole debacle happened on Stern's watch so it's partly on his head as well.

[Bayou Tribe]

Yeah, it's one of those things I guess. I don't disagree with it, but I also don't have to like it. Wasn't expecting any different outcome.

[tired]

It's all about the players. Fuck the fans Fuck the owners. Lock it like hockey did. It made the world of difference with that league.

[Ziner]

100K to a billionaire. Yawn. If they existed he would wipe his ass with 100K bills.

[CP]

The 100K shows you how much the NBA cares about it. Sheed gets bigger fines in his sleep for abusing officials.

[Dellucci TailGator]

Dan Gilbert (strapped to gurney): "Stern, my wallet's in my right front pocket. Oh, and I'll take that statue of justice too."

David Stern: "Sold!"

[YahooFanChicago]

Wow, I didn't expect for Stern to rule that there was colusion since it would just be too huge of a problem and since he probably likes what Miami did and thinks it is good for ratings. But it really seems bad to me that he dismissed the collusion charges out of hand with so much clear public evidence that it did exist to some extent. I would have expected at least some window-dressing in the form of a league investigation followed by a later public statement about being insufficient evidence but some private, closed door hand slapping. Doesn't seem like there will be any of that. Makes Stern look even more crooked or ignorant and I don't know which is worse.

[YahooFanChicago]

Wow, I didn't expect for Stern to rule that there was colusion since it would just be too huge of a problem and since he probably likes what Miami did and thinks it is good for ratings. But it really seems bad to me that he dismissed the collusion charges out of hand with so much clear public evidence that it did exist to some extent. I would have expected at least some window-dressing in the form of a league investigation followed by a later public statement about being insufficient evidence but some private, closed door hand slapping. Doesn't seem like there will be any of that. Makes Stern look even more crooked or ignorant and I don't know which is worse.

[CP]

Interesting take by Ken Berger of CBS:

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/1363 ... dlines;nba

Don't send a nasty letter, Dan. Sue the bastards!

As a lawyer, I approve of this message. That said, no one can tell me it would have done less damage to Cavs ability to sign FAs in the future than the Comic Sans from Hell.

[waborat]

Only in professional sports can an employer be fined by his employee

[Fire Marshall Bill]

Only in professional sports can an employer be fined by his employee

I have a good friend who works for the railroad.

He once lost a grievance with the company thru his union.

So...he sued his union... and won

[Larvell Blanks]

Stern also said that NBA players and free agents are allowed to talk to each other as free agents and that LeBron and company are not guilty of tampering or collusion.

But if they met the last weekend in June, technicaly all three were still under contract with their respective teams, thus not being free agents. Is that still legal in Stern's eye? I know that they can't prove they were discussing their FA plan but still.

[rbm0183]

Stern also said that NBA players and free agents are allowed to talk to each other as free agents and that LeBron and company are not guilty of tampering or collusion.

But if they met the last weekend in June, technicaly all three were still under contract with their respective teams, thus not being free agents. Is that still legal in Stern's eye? I know that they can't prove they were discussing their FA plan but still.

From everything that has come out it seems abundantly obvious that there was collusion, but why would anyone think David Stern would drag this thing out? He wants this to go away and for people just to get excited about this power shift in the NBA. So he makes one statement to tie everything up and put a bow on it, leaving this mess behind. In the long run, this thing Riley's building in Miami is probably good for the league, so Stern is going to spin it as positively as possible as soon as possible, and why should he really care about how it all went down? Heck, he probably helped those 3 set up their free agency charades and get their stories straight.

[Madre Hill, Superstar]

Stern also said that NBA players and free agents are allowed to talk to each other as free agents and that LeBron and company are not guilty of tampering or collusion.

But if they met the last weekend in June, technicaly all three were still under contract with their respective teams, thus not being free agents. Is that still legal in Stern's eye? I know that they can't prove they were discussing their FA plan but still.

"I saw nothink! I know nothink!" -- NBA Commissioner Sgt. Schultz

Stern and his cocktail weeners are going to run laughing all the way to the bank and their labor negotiators.