William Hunter, new NBPA Exec Dir, was in New York on Monday
to visit the union's Manhattan offices and shared his thoughts on
his goals and the NBPA's needs. Hunter, who played for the
Redskins and was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Northern
District of CA by Jimmy Carter: "I think the players want
someone who can relate to them, but I have no doubt that it's my
legal experience and knowledge as an attorney that persuaded them
I was right for the job." On the NBPA: "There's no question this
union has been outmanned and outgunned for a long time. We
currently have a staff of seven. In comparison, the NFLPA has
about forty employees. We are going to change all of that and
the change starts now" (Dan Wasserman, Newark STAR-LEDGER, 7/23).
NETS COMING DOWN: TIME reported on the $600M total NBA
owners doled out for free agents last week, dubbing the
expenditure, "sticker Shaq." NBA Deputy Commissioner Russ
Granik: "If it was done across the league, I don't think it
would be good for the league" (TIME, 7/29 issue). ESPN's David
Aldridge: "We've really entered the age of deficit spending in
the NBA. ...You have teams and owners who are now willing to lose
money for two, three, four years with these huge financial
commitments they've made to players to win now and while that's a
short-term benefit for those teams and those cities, I think it
can really have a devastating impact on this league." Noting
that Magic did "everything you're supposed to do with the modern
athlete in this day and age" for Shaquille O'Neal -- Aldridge
said the fact he still left for L.A. was a "chilling thought" to
other teams and a sign major market teams enjoy advantages "other
cities just do not have" ("NBA Today," 7/23).
