NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter and some players are
"worried" that the NBA and NBC are "walking a fine line
between access and intrusion" with the network putting mics
on players and coaches during broadcasts, according to Mike
Wise of the N.Y. TIMES, who wrote that Hunter plans to speak
to NBA Commissioner David Stern this week about the issue.
Hunter: "There's a couple things that bother me about it,
the first being that they seem to be altering work
conditions without any approval from the players. These are
across-the-board changes no one even asked us about. ...
They've got microphones all over the court now, so that
someone, somewhere can hear everything that's going on.
It's like Big Brother watching over you" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/27).
ECONOMICS 101: Many NBA writers noted the lack of
action around the league's trading deadline on Thursday.
ESPN.com's David Aldridge wrote that no teams would "accept
long contracts. ... If your team stinks, it will stink for a
while. Which, I submit, is precisely" what NBA Commissioner
David Stern "wants." Aldridge: "I'm not suggesting that
Stern wants particular teams to succeed; I am saying that to
ensure that somebody gets good and stays good, Stern needs
to keep people where they are. The league needs rivalries,
dynasties. It's not likely that will occur when there's
player roulette every other year." Aldridge: "The economics
of the game have never been better for owners. Or worse for
fans" (ESPN.com, 2/27). Celtics President/coach Rick
Pitino: "With the cap and the rules, you have fewer people
changing uniforms. That's what [Stern] wanted, and that's
what he's getting" (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/27).
