Stern's Affect Already Felt

 

I am not one to brag, but I must say, I told you so! In my last blog post “The Stern Affect”, I addressed the end of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) current end to their lockout and how it may or may not affect the NBA moving forward. All of the rave in the past week in sports industry was that of excitement, fun, and finally, but as I mentioned in my previous post, there are more unknowns than known which brings more issues to question.  So after only one week of coming to an agreement, there is already a problem that has many fans, players, and officials confused, angry, and searching for answers. But in my opinion, this is the tip of the iceberg and the real problems may be in the near future. 

            If you have recently watched any sports newscast, seen any sports related tweet, or visited a sports website, you have seen the new problem I am referring to with the new NBA agreement. For those who may not be aware, the NBA, or shall I say the Stern Affect, has recently vetoed the trade proposal of All-Star Point Guard Chris Paul to the Lakers because it was conflicting with the new CBA’s agreement of superstar players all heading to big markets. The proposed trade was approved by all teams involved but not by the rest of the league so Commissioner David Stern acted swiftly and denied the approval of the trade. This has become a huge problem not only for the players but more importantly for the NBA and its already shaken reputation.

            So after all the excitement has calmed down, we see the Stern affect take place and damage what would have been considered one of the best backcourt tandems in the NBA. The players are now wondering what did they agree to because the last thing they wanted was more control in the hands of the Commissioner. The NBA now has to focus more attention on getting their public relations team on board with correcting the daunting image the NBA has now casted on its fans and players.

            Now the next big question is what are the other changes that can take place since this agreement has been signed. From this standpoint thus far, the only good news is that there will be games played on Christmas day, but in hindsight, was it worth the balance of control? Either way, the ink has dried and the trade has been denied so let the games begin. 

Check out these links below for more on the vetoed trade and other NBA news:

http://www.hoopsworld.com/chris-paul-veto-commisioner-power-or-collusion/

http://espn.go.com/espn/commentary/story/_/page/wilbon-111209/david-stern-nba-owners-look-vindictive-petty-veto-chris-paul-trade

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/09/sports/basketball/paul-set-to-join-lakers-as-part-of-3-team-deal.html