In a "devastating blow" to the T'Wolves, NBA
Commissioner David Stern yesterday "revoked" the team's next
five first-round draft picks, fined the team $3.5M and
voided the current and past contracts of F Joe Smith because
the team violated league salary cap rules, according to
Robbi Pickeral in a front-page report in the ST. PAUL
PIONEER PRESS. The penalty "is the harshest in NBA history
and perhaps with any professional league." Pickeral writes
that Stern could also suspend T'Wolves Owner Glen Taylor and
perhaps other team officials, but the sanctions issued
"already appear crippling" to the franchise (ST. PAUL
PIONEER PRESS, 10/26). In a statement, the NBA said that
possible suspensions for Taylor and VP/Basketball Operations
Kevin McHale "have not yet been decided." The AP's Chris
Sheridan writes that the NBA also asked the NBPA to "impose
appropriate discipline" against Eric Fleisher, Smith's
former agent (AP, 10/26). NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter calls
the punishment "egregious. This will have a devastating
effect on the franchise and the fans. If the franchise
suffers, if they are unable to build, the fans won't come
out" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 10/26). An anonymous NBA official, on
the sanctions: "We have to take this stuff extremely
seriously to make sure there is a competitive playing
field." Meanwhile, an NBPA official said of Stern's ruling:
"He's looking to have his owners make more money by forcing
them to comply with the collective bargaining agreement"
(N.Y. TIMES, 10/26). However, in St. Paul, Charley Walters
writes, "Don't be surprised if the Timberwolves fire back
legally at ... Stern's ruling" (PIONEER PRESS, 10/26).
WHO'S RESPONSIBLE? In N.Y., Mitch Lawrence: "If you're
gonna cheat, don't put it in writing." One Eastern
Conference exec said, "There's never been a smoking gun like
this one. So what else could Stern do? When it's in
writing, you don't have to worry about proving your case
with circumstantial evidence." Meanwhile, Lawrence writes
that who "forked over" the contract to the league "is a
matter of debate." Smith's former agent Fleisher "suspects
it was someone in the [Andy] Miller camp, if not Smith's
current agent, Dan Fegan" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 10/26).
