Official NBA 2012-2013 Season Thread

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Did David Stern Put the Kibosh on Stan Van Gundy Joining ESPN’s NBA Countdown?

Stan Van Gundy, the former coach of the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic, was all set to join ESPN’s NBA Countdown last month. According to sources, Van Gundy and ESPN allegedly had a handshake deal, and the hope was that SVG, along with Bill Simmons, would perhaps inject some life into the struggling NBA show.

And then, according to sources, NBA commissioner David Stern allegedly stepped in and prevented ESPN from hiring Van Gundy, who he has been at odds with for over a year.

I called ESPN and asked about Stern blocking the Van Gundy hire, and the network confirmed Van Gundy was a candidate. A spokesman said, “We had discussions with Stan Van Gundy and were interested in a role for him at ESPN. Ultimately, we differed on potential assignments and we moved in another direction.”

But remember – ESPN is partners with the NBA. Their last broadcast extension (which includes TNT) in 2007 was for $930 million. So any significant hires are discussed – ESPN stopped short of using the word “cleared” – with the NBA. A spokesman said, “As you would expect, there is a constant two-way communication between media and league partners throughout our industry on various issues.”

Why does Stern not get along with Van Gundy? The two have always had a rocky relationship, mostly stemming from the fact that Stan Van Gundy speaks his mind. As recently as last month, Van Gundy joined his brother, Jeff (ESPN’s lead NBA analyst) on a podcast with Dan LeBatard and Jon Sciambi. Stern was discussed. Did these comments (62-minute mark) put the commish over the edge? When asked about dealing with the media, here’s what SVG said about Stern:

“You’re going to make me see the media every single day, at least once? … You’re going to go through this all year, but if you at any time you step out of line on any of this, then we’re going to slap $35,000 on you. Meanwhile, David Stern, who is a very smart, very calculating guy, has said some things he’s been criticized for that have been totally out of line, and he speaks to the media like 3-4 times a season! [Laughter from LeBatard] It’s absurd what the expectations are – that we’re going to see the media every day and answer questions and never step out of line.

Every year [during offseason meetings] one guy will be brave enough to question that … maybe we don’t have to give the media total accessibility? And David Stern will beat them down in front of everybody. It’s totally unfair, but that’s the way it is in our league.

The podcast went live on September 10th – which was right around the time that Stan Van Gundy was linked to NBA Countdown.

And who could forget Stan Van Gundy’s memorable sparring with Stern in 2011? While defending Dwight Howard and criticizing officials, Van Gundy said this:

“This is the system David Stern and his minions like. So that’s the system you have. … I certainly can’t have an opinion because David Stern, like a lot of leaders we’ve seen in this world lately, don’t really tolerate other people’s opinion or free speech or anything. So I’m not really allowed to have an opinion. So it’s up to him.

“He decides and he likes the system he has.”

Stern went on Colin Cowherd’s show and fired back:

“I would render a guess … that we won’t be hearing from him for the rest of the season.”

Since Monday, I’ve been trying to reach Stern. NBA reps said he’s traveling internationally – he’s always on a plane, it seems – and the only response about Van Gundy came from NBA spokesman Mike Bass: “It was ESPN and ESPN alone that made any decisions about Stan Van Gundy.”

I couldn’t reach Stan Van Gundy for comment.

[UPDATE: Here's audio from Van Gundy on Dan LeBatard's radio show in late September. LeBatard debuted a new segment, "Who is the biggest **** in sports?" and Stan Van Gundy's answer was, "I'd say David Stern" followed by a huge pause "well, just because he's David Stern," before settling on the owner of the Marlins.
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:smh::smh::smh:

Another body buried by Stern.
 
ChampCruThik said:
worldbeefreeg said:
DMC is better than Brook right now
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Thank you. Felt that way, just didn't wanna be the first guy to say it. In case someone calls me biased.
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DMC is a top 5 center.... our homer announcer says he's 3rd behind Howard and Bynum..... and duke doesn't even want to play center 
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Think I might like those jerseys better than the actual Thunder away jerseys. The simpler the better.
 
grandtheftbike said:
I wish okc had a black alternate
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I wish we did something with orange or yellow. The navy alternates already leaked, and are so plain. Ever since the NBA gave jersey design and production over to Adidas (Reebok), they have gone downhill. They even admitted they do it to save money, have basically 2 or 3 templates and just fugde the fonts and team names.

I got an idea, navy blue body, lighter blue sidepanels, navy/lighter royal/white colorway, now write "Oklahoma City Thunder" on them, save as OKC.png, now undo the "Oklahoma City Thunder" text, write Charlotte Bobcats, save as Charlotte.png, undo the "Charlotte Bobcats," write Dallas Mavericks on it, save as Dallas.png, take Dallas Mavericks off, put "Memphis Grizzlies" on it, save as memphis.png, remove "Memphis Grizzlies" from it, put Utah Jazz, save as utah.png.

By the way, these are the alternates that also leaked via 2K13

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"THUDNER" :lol:

Deron Williams: the clowning around is over

Deron Williams was frustrated last season, very frustrated. Most of it had to do with the losing, of course, but there was also the situation surrounding his contract and Dwightmare.

Perhaps most agonizing to Williams, though, was a blasé attitude from his teammates. The Nets locker room could turn into a comedy club after a 20-point loss, and Williams sometimes joined the party, or he sometimes sat in front of his locker for 30 minutes without saying a word. There were also two ejections, No.'s 1 and 2 of his career.

I asked him whether he learned anything from last season about being a leader, a role he already assumed with this revamped Nets squad:

“It was hard. I’ve never been in that position before. So at times I’ve showed frustration, but I think anybody would have. I think no matter who it is, if you were there every day and you saw what was going on in the locker room, you’d be pissed off sometimes,” Williams said. “You’re getting your ***** kicked and then you’re in the locker room laughing about the game afterwards. I don’t think that stuff is funny. That’s what we had to deal with last year. But I don’t think we’re going to deal with it this year, because just talking to the guys that’s not what we’re about. We’re talking about not losing two games in a row. We were just trying to fight to win two games in a row last year. …It’s night and day, last year to this year, what we have in training camp.”
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I really hope the Cavs pay dearly for this Dion Waiters drafting, stupidity must be punished and drafting fat undersized 2 guards with top 5 picks qualifies as stupid.
 
So I guess James White has a real shot at starting if Woodson really brings JR off the bench 
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NTers around the world rejoice 
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