The NBA players' union will meet this weekend in Houston to discuss the future of executive director Billy Hunter, along with a handful of other topics. In the wake of a report on the NBPA by the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, Hunter has been placed on indefinite leave in advance of this weekend's meetings.
However, it appears Hunter may not be permitted to attend the Houston meetings to rebut the findings in the Paul Weiss report. Instead, Hunter and his representatives have created a blog, on which they've published a 21-page preliminary response to the report, calling it "disturbing" that Hunter hasn't been invited to Houston to address the players. The blog also includes a PowerPoint presentation that Hunter had hoped to deliver to the union at this weekend's meetings.
Among the points Hunter makes in his response: No criminal acts were found by the Paul Weiss report, Delaware law was observed for the signing of his contract and for hiring decisions, and no cross-examination of the witnesses used in the Paul Weiss report was permitted to assess their credibility. Hunter also points to the progress he's made during his 17-year stint as the union's executive director, including his success in "turning the union's finances around."
Whether or not Hunter ultimately gets the opportunity to address the NBPA in Houston, we heard yesterday that his lawyers plan to present this information directly to union members this weekend.