NBA Commissioner David Stern welcomed with boos in Miami Heat – Dallas Mavericks game
During the dreaded NBA lockout, most of the fans perceived the team owners and the NBA officials as the villains, the reason being their hard line stance and apparent greed.
Although, the NBA season was finally salvaged and the Christmas Day was graced as the season opening mark, the fans did express their acrimony by receiving commissioner David Stern with massive boos in the season opener between last year’s finalists Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks.
Stern, who vociferously toed the owner's line in the labour negotiation was seen by many as hurdle in the way to a break through. He was inside the court during the Mavericks banner-raising ceremony that was carried out to honour last year’s champions, and the moment he took over the microphone to address the crowds, the raspberries from the crowd started.
Stern saw it coming and probably came prepared for the hostile welcome, and took no time to turn the jeers into cheers. He quickly changed the situation and turned the crowds on his side by starting praising the Dallas and their coach Mark Cuban.
During his speech, Stern also explained the purpose for not giving the green signal to Los Angeles Lakers and Chris Paul trade and re-iterated that his aim was to help small teams like New Orleans Hornets build. However, he accepted that the confusion on the matter would have been less, if he had asserted himself more effectively.
"I don't think it affected the integrity of the league. I do think I could have done a better communications job. ... It's a job that, as the owners' representative, I was stuck with. But I think that it was better to have me do it than a group of owners do it because I have the singular focus of doing what's best."
Although, Lakers did not get Paul, fans and the team should be thankful to Stern for landing them Lamar Odom. Odom who has been representing Lakers since 2004 was looking forward to extend his career at the Staples Centre, however when the team did not show interest in retaining him, he quickly asked to be traded. A day later, the Mavericks got the big and the Lakers were left with only a trade option.
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