Two different views of what happened at the same NBA All-Star Game press conference on Saturday:
“NBA commissioner David Stern and union chief Billy Hunter sat together at a podium at the All-Star Game in Denver last Saturday, sharing a proverbial peace pipe. Hand in hand, the two claimed they were hopeful they would reach a deal on a new NBA collective-bargaining agreement before the current one expires June 30.”And Bill Simmons:
“At the annual commissioner's press conference, watching David Stern demolish players' union rep Billy Hunter was like seeing Pacino doing the "Heat" diner scene with Nipsy Russell. At one point, Hunter used the phrase "their sponsors" when he was discussing the union's hopes to get a bigger piece of the marketing pie, prompting Stern to interrupt him with a caustic, "OUR sponsors." Every time Hunter said anything, Stern followed with a withering remark or a condescending, "Can you believe this guy?" smile.”I can only imagine what Peter Vecsey saw.
UPDATE: And in a late-breaking trade that was predicted and foreseen by no one- the best kind- the Sixers tonight acquired Chris Webber from Sacramento, for a bunch of spare parts, and didn't touch any of their core nucleus. A win-win for Philly, except they're now devoid of bench depth, and won't have cap space again for years.
Posted by Stephen Silver at February 24, 2005 12:44 AM