David Stern Must Go

Mark December 8, 2011 as the date that the NBA officially lost it’s relevance in the professional sports world.

Not only did wanna-be mafia boss David Stern block a trade that he authorized the general manager of a team that is owned by the league to make, but he also has permitted a group of whining, petulant owners who have the forethought and reasoning skills of toddlers to determine league policy. The worst part in all of this is that the Hornets actually got the best end of the trade. Now, despite claiming that Chris Paul can still be traded, he has managed to emasculate his general manager on any and all future moves.

Yes, Chris Paul is the biggest name, but he is also the biggest risk. With the Lakers acquiring Paul, they would have based their foundation on Paul and his bad knee, Andrew Bynum’s immaturity, and Kobe Bryant’s two bad knees. Any front court depth would be eliminated. Any consistency from the low post in scoring would be eliminated. And what if Kobe did not want to share the spotlight with Chris Paul? This could have either been a great move for the Lakers, or a move that they would be regretting for years.

The Rockets, meanwhile, managed to get a player that is a top three center in Pau Gasol, and were closing in on signing Nene. Oh, and that three year plan they had where they acquired enough solid pieces to be able to make a move like this one? Well, that just got blown up. Now what are the Rockets to do? They specifically planned for this year, and when players of that caliber would become available. Now they’re destined to mediocrity for the foreseeable future.

The Hornets, meanwhile, managed to turn one petulant superstar into one of the better scoring shooting guards in the game with Kevin Martin, a good big man in Luis Scola, a proven forward who can play either the two or the three in Lamar Odom, a talented young point guard in Goran Dragic, and a first round draft pick. Not a bad haul considering that Paul was trying to dictate where he would end up.

Meanwhile, Dan Gilbert comes across as being a teenage girl. His affinity for the Comic Sans font aside, the e-mail he sent out read like a post ona  fantasy league chat board complaining about the trade. His whining and overuse of punctuation made it feel like he posted his complaints on David Stern’s FaceBook wall. The only things that were missing were a couple of OMGs and a LMFAO. Seriously, who writes his e-mails, some emo teenaged brat? Pathetic.

Try to defend your decision all you want, David Stern. The truth is, the game has passed you by. Any authority and credibility you had is now irrevocably lost. Leave the game while you still have some dignity intact. What’s left of the NBA will be better for it.