As much as I wanted to talk about how much I love Derrick Rose and the Bulls right now, I’m sure you’re all aware already of how Chicago fared against Miami last night. What you may not have seen in your usual news outlets is a letter written to Sacramento from NBA Commissioner David Stern. I usually will take the first opportunity I can to jump all over Stern, but this letter impressed me…. the first time I read it, at least. He talks about how support from everyone from Mayor Kevin Johnson, to other state politicians, to local businesses, to of course the fans, was “a phenomenon unlike any other (he) has seen in almost three decades as NBA commissioner.” Just when Sacramento seemed all but certainly to be the next Seattle, too many people stepped up to say, NOT SO FAST. Even Seattle fans, who are forced to endure the Oklahoma City franchise’s run deep into the NBA playoffs, lent their support to the cause. Anyone with any knowledge whatsoever of the situation who didn’t think a month ago that the team was moving for sure is lying. I sure did.
Though as nice as the concept of the letter is, a second read opened my eyes to how – well, “Stern” this letter really is. No matter how much the commissioner tries to sugar-coat it, the message, I believe, is simple. “You better pony up for a new arena. You need it. It’s in your best interests.”
TO READ THE LETTER, CLICK HERE
By
cali4dre
chappy81
dyslecix
mceezy
Doin Work 
May 17th, 2011 at 7:09 am
This matter has always been about money and the fact that the Kings’ ownership and front office doesn’t want to pony up anything at all ! It never ceases to amaze me as to the idiocy of the US populace as they continue to bitch and whine about their taxes being so high ! But they simply do fu_k all when their local government uses their funds to build edifices for a bunch of rich millionaires and billionaires when the infrastructure of their cities are almost in ruins .
The NBA hierarchy much like the three other major sports simply enables this bullsh_t and the local governmental agencies who are too damn stupid for their own good simply play along with them .
tophatal ………………..
May 17th, 2011 at 8:38 am
Mac…
I didn’t think Stern would allow the Maloofs to move the team last year, but as you mention, Sacramento has had their one warning.
May 19th, 2011 at 7:37 am
There’s a bit of a “chicken or egg” component in this in the sense of who is to blame for this situation from a high-level perspective. Do you blame owners/leagues for holding a gun to the heads of taxpayers/cities for new facilities or the taxpayers/cities who knuckled under? Let’s face it, Sacramento isn’t the first city to be extorted like this…