Arbitrator Kenneth Dam ruled yesterday that NBA
Commissioner David Stern has the "power to void" T'Wolves F
Joe Smith's one-year, $2.5M contract for this year,
according to Steve Aschburner of the Minneapolis STAR
TRIBUNE, who notes that in January '99, Smith and the team
agreed to an "illicit deal," which would have guaranteed
Smith $40-86M over seven years for signing three consecutive
one-year contracts. Aschburner added that though Dam's
ruling "would seem to deal a blow to the Wolves' chances of
keeping Smith this season and beyond, it might have so
narrowly defined Stern's authority to penalize the player
that Smith would be free to sign a new contract with the
Wolves almost immediately." Smith's agent, Dan Fegan: "It's
a clear victory for Joe. The ruling makes it clear that Joe
Smith could sign a new deal with the Timberwolves. That was
the only real issue here." But Aschburner writes that
penalties could be "levied" against the T'Wolves for
"attempting to circumvent" the salary cap. Attorneys for
the T'Wolves, Smith and the NBPA had argued that Stern's
options "were limited to penalties specified" in the CBA,
including fines, suspensions of team personnel, the
forfeiture of draft picks and the voiding of current player
contracts (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 10/24).
