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Aldridge On Pierce, Kings, Seattle, Hunter

March 11th, 2013 at 5:29pm CST by Zachary Links

In today's column, David Aldridge of NBA.com writes that the strong backcourts of the Eastern Conference's up-and-down teams are giving them hope for the future. Who's the best of the bunch? Evan Turner, who might be slightly biased, says it's him and Sixers teammate Jrue Holiday. "It's not an arrogant thing or anything like that," Turner said. "We're the best. It's not even — no disrespect to anybody else — it's not even close…Obviously, John [Wall] is a next-level-fast point guard. Bradley Beal has been great. But I just feel like we match up better. Kyrie Irving's a great player, and also Dion [Waiters] can definitely play. But the stuff that Jrue and I have been through, you can't really speed down that rock." Here's more from Aldridge..

Paul Pierce told Aldridge that he has never gone to Celtics GM Danny Ainge and asked him not to break up the team's core. At the same time, the star guard says that he hopes to retire as a Celtic. He believes that Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Dirk Nowitzki have a 100% chance of going out with their respective clubs but he's not quite as confident about his own odds, given the amount of trade talk surrounding him over the last two years.
There have been mixed interpretations of Commissioner David Stern's recent disclosed that the Sacramento group's bid for the Kings is well behind Seattle's. One NBA exec says that he is taking it at face value and believes that Stern sees it as a win-win since either outcome will result in a new arena.
Meanwhile, Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson still has to sell the city council on the arena plan and how to pay for it. At least two council members are strongly against it but there are three swing votes that the mayor is working hard to win. Sources believe that he will ultimately be successful in picking those votes up.
Aldridge wonders if the NBPA could be working on a settlement with Billy Hunter. Sources indicate such talks could be picking up steam, though neither side would comment. One source with knowledge of the situation said the two sides had been talking throughout the process and didn't believe there was any new momentum toward a potential deal. A settlement would be the smart way to go for both Hunter and the union in order to avoid the continued airing of dirty laundry.

Billy Hunter Releases Statement On Firing

February 16th, 2013 at 6:48pm CST by Sean Highkin

Following the unanimous decision on the part of the NBPA to terminate his contract, former executive director Billy Hunter has released a statement (link via Ken Berger of CBSSports.com):

"My legal team and I will begin carefully reviewing the actions taken and statements made against me in the meeting room in my absence," Hunter said. "I look forward to gathering the evidence showing how certain individuals made sure the outcome was pre-ordained."

Hunter characterized the manner in which he was terminated as an "extremely troubling process" that has "set a terrible precedent for the union. It violates every tenet of fairness upon which the union was founded." He said he will "examine all of my options," including whether his side could be heard "in a different forum."

"I do not consider today's vote the end, only a different beginning," Hunter said.

Following an investigation into the business practices during Hunter's tenure as NBPA executive vice president, prominent union voices have expressed displeasure with his leadership in recent weeks, which led to his ouster following a meeting on Saturday afternoon.

Billy Hunter

Billy Hunter Out As Executive Director Of Union

February 16th, 2013 at 5:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

5:21pm: Wojnarowski writes that the NBPA's decision to fire Hunter could lead to a legal dispute over the $10.5MM remaining on his contract.

4:38pm: Fisher and Matt Bonner will remain union president and vice president, respectively, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). James Jones will serve as secretary/treasurer, TNT's David Aldridge adds via Twitter. They'll join Stackhouse, Roger Mason, Chris Paul, Andre Iguodala, Stephen Curry and Willie Green on the new executive committee, tweets USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt. In brief remarks, Fisher hinted that he expects Hunter will take legal action following his dismissal, Washburn notes (Twitter link).

4:29pm: The vote to oust Hunter was 24-0, Wojnarowski tweets, with six player representatives apparently absent from the meeting.

3:50pm: The players union has voted to remove longtime executive director Billy Hunter from his position, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The move has appeared likely over the last couple of days, as Hunter had been placed on an indefinite leave of absence following the release of an independent investigation critical of his practices. In a meeting today that Hunter did not attend, player representatives voted in a "decisive manner" to fire Hunter, and LeBron James spoke of the need for an overhaul, Wojnarowski tweets.

James and Nets reserve Jerry Stackhouse were two of the most vocal players at the meeting, and Stackhouse excoriated union president Derek Fisher, who has been cast as one of Hunter's opponents in a yearlong power struggle atop the union, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter link). It's unclear whether the players voted to fire him with or without cause, though it appeared two days ago that firing Hunter with cause was the favored route. According to Hunter's contract, a firing with cause would entail "embezzlement, theft, larceny, material fraud or other acts of dishonesty" on Hunter's part, and the "acts of dishonesty" clause looked to be the players' best chance to pursue the action. A firing with cause would allow Hunter to collect his salary for the remainder of the year and for any accrued and unused vacation, rather than the full value of his contract as would be necessary in a firing without cause, as Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today detailed.

Hunter, who's been in charge of the NBPA for 17 years, created a blog to present his response to the report by the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison that laid out Hunter's abuses of power while in office. There were conflicting reports from Hunter's lawyers and the NBPA over whether Hunter was allowed to attend today's meeting.

Several influential agents have been privately discussing Don Fehr, former baseball union chief and current head of the NHL players union, as a successor to Hunter. A couple of weeks ago, Wojnarowski reported that the union may look for a replacement in B. Todd Jones, the current Minnesota attorney general and acting director of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Agent Arn Tellem, speaking with Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal, advised the players to take their time in selecting a new executive director.

Latest On Billy Hunter, NBPA

February 16th, 2013 at 12:39pm CST by Sean Highkin

12:39pm: Berger tweets that the agents' meeting has wrapped, and the feeling among those who participated is that Hunter will be fired.

11:16am: Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reports (via Twitter) that lawyers are presenting a summary of the findings of an investigation into NBPA executive director Billy Hunter to a group of player agents in Houston. Berger also tweets that players are planning to meet Saturday afternoon to discuss whether to take action against Hunter. Hunter will not be in attendance at this meeting.

On Friday, Hunter issued a response to claims made by members of the NBPA, maintaining his innocence against any accusations of wrongdoing and highlighting progress made by the union under his leadership. It was reported on Friday evening that the NBPA is leaning towards firing Hunter.

Billy Hunter

Union Likely To Fire Billy Hunter

February 15th, 2013 at 9:26pm CST by Chuck Myron

The widespread belief among players, agents and other stakeholders is that NBPA player representatives will vote to oust executive director Billy Hunter in tommorrow's meeting, reports Howard Beck of the New York Times. A representative from each team will cast a vote, and members of the interim executive committee might also be permitted to vote, according to Beck. As many as 50 players are expected to attend the meeting, during which a new executive committee will also be elected.

Union representatives say no decision has been made about whether to invite Hunter, but Hunter's lawyers insist their client has been made unwelcome. Hunter, placed on indefinite leave of absence after the release of an independent audit critical of his practices while in charge of the union, released a presentation that he claimed was in lieu of the ability to address the players in person at the meeting.

"On every call, I have raised this issue of attending with their lawyers, and they have said consistently: you can continue assuming you are not coming," said Michael Carlinsky, an attorney for Hunter.

Agent Arn Tellem, who represents more than 50 players, is advising his clients to fire Hunter. Speaking with Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal, he laid out recommendations for the players as they meet to decide Hunter's fate, and gave his thoughts on how they should go about replacing the executive director should they choose to let him go.

Billy Hunter Issues Response To Report On NBPA

February 15th, 2013 at 8:45am CST by Luke Adams

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.

Latest On Billy Hunter, NBPA

February 14th, 2013 at 9:29pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Recently placed on indefinite leave, NBPA executive director Billy Hunter is prepared to actively pursue efforts to keep his job in the next coming days as the annual player's meeting is set to take place this weekend in Houston (Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today). Facing accusations of nepotism and questions about the approval of his contract, Hunter and his lawyers are prepared to refute the independent report conducted by the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, which says that he failed to properly put the interests of the Union above his personal interests.

"There's no there there…This is an effort to make zero plus zero plus zero equal one," said Corey Worcestor, one of Hunter's lawyers who asserts that his client had done nothing wrong and acted in accordance with union bylaws.

This article from NBA.com indicates that while Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison originally planned to release a supplement to their original report, the New York law firm will hold off for now being that the government is now conducting its own investigation.

Zillgitt writes that the players will need a majority vote from the executive committee in order to fire Hunter, with or without cause. According to his contract, firing with cause would involve finding him guilty of "embezzlement, theft, larceny, material fraud or other acts of dishonesty." In this case, Hunter would be paid for the remainder of the year. Should he be fired without cause, Hunter would accrue all of what he is owed under his current contract, which isn't thought to be a consideration among the players union at this point. Zillgitt also adds the opinion of Geoffrey Rapp, a sports law expert and professor at the Toledo College of Law, who says that the players would likely only focus on the "acts of dishonesty" phrase being that Hunter hasn't been accused of committing embezzlement, theft, or larceny.

According to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, J.J. Redick, who serves as the Magic's acting representative to the Union, along with the rest of his teammates in Orlando believe that Hunter's time as executive director is up:"I think most everyone in the NBA has reached the same conclusion, and that’s that we need some change.”

Kyle Korver, who is the Hawks' representative, also weighed in: "I think one of the weaknesses so far at this point has been a lack of communication. I think a lot of us were taken by surprise by a lot of things that supposedly have been found."

While Hunter is expected to release a statement to defend himself, the New York law firm plans to present information directly to union membership this weekend in Houston.

Berger’s Latest: Warriors, Mavericks, Kings, NBPA

February 14th, 2013 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

In addition to publishing a new installment of his Postups column, Ken Berger of CBSports.com joined Kevin Corke (video link) to discuss a few trade rumors. Here are a few items of note from both Berger links:

The Warriors don't necessarily have to get under the tax threshold this year, but at some point they're interested in getting out from under Andris Biedrins' and/or Richard Jefferson's contracts. Golden State may be willing to include a first-round pick to move one of those two players.
Berger feels like the Mavericks could be a darkhorse for Josh Smith, despite reports indicating that Dallas isn't interested. The Mavs have at least internally discussed the possibility of making a run at Smith, says Berger.
While Sacramento isn't expected to officially present its bid to keep the Kings to the NBA's Board of Governors until April, mayor Kevin Johnson will be in Houston this weekend to update David Stern on his progress and to lobby team owners to not give up on Sacramento.
The player's union is also expected to meet during All-Star weekend to decide on Billy Hunter's future. However, even if the player reps vote to oust the executive director, Hunter may challenge the authority and composition of the union's new interim executive committee. Such a decision could also open the door for a civil lawsuit.

Odds & Ends: Noel, Celtics, Barbosa, NBPA

February 13th, 2013 at 1:44pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2013 draft class took a bit of a hit today, when the University of Kentucky announced today that freshman Nerlens Noel has torn his ACL, and will undergo surgery in the coming weeks — he's expected to be out at least six to eight months (Twitter links). Nonetheless, while there's a possibility Noel will return to the Wildcats for his sophomore year, Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com hears that NBA people still expect the big man to be a top-five pick if he declares for the draft this summer (Twitter link).

Here are a few more Wednesday odds and ends from around the league:

Danny Ainge shares a couple of Celtics injury updates with Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, noting that Dr. James Andrew performed ACL surgery on Rajon Rondo yesterday. Additionally, Leandro Barbosa suffered MCL damage, and will have to wait until March to undergo surgery on his knee (Twitter links).
According to Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com (via Twitter), the Celtics would like to bring back Barbosa next season if they can.
Iman Shumpert has been the subject of a few trades rumors recently, but George Willis of the New York Post believes it would be a mistake for the Knicks to move him.
The Jazz should be in no rush to trade Al Jefferson, writes Kurt Kragthorpe of the Salt Lake Tribune.
As All-Star weekend approaches, so too do the NBPA's annual meetings, which will include plenty of discussion about executive director Billy Hunter. Tom Ziller of SBNation.com writes that the union owes it to itself to replace Hunter with a director that's more aggressive about challenging issues like the NBA's age minimum.
The latest piece of bad news for Hunter comes from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who reports that the U.S. Attorney's office is investigating a contract that authorized future payment of more than $3MM to a firm that employed Hunter's son. The NBPA's executive committee is required to authorize any expenditures more than $25K, but were reportedly never shown a deal that would have paid Prim Capital $600K+ annually for five years.
An ESPN.com 5-on-5 panel that includes Marc Stein, Chris Broussard, and Chad Ford predict the odds that some of the big-name trade candidates will be dealt within the next eight days.

Odds & Ends: Marion, Knicks, NBPA, CBA

February 10th, 2013 at 3:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Shawn Marion made headlines on Friday when he told reporters that he wouldn't show up if the Mavericks traded him to a bad team. However, as Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News observes, Marion's recent play on the court, which includes four double-doubles in his last five games, certainly should attract interest.

"I’m just playing ball," Marion said after scoring 26 points last night. "When (trade) situations arise, I’m going to let it take care of itself. But right now, I’m a Dallas Maverick and that’s what it’s about."

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:

Asked after today's game about trade rumors involving Iman Shumpert, Carmelo Anthony told reporters, including Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (via Twitter), that the Knicks "shouldn't even be in trade talks right now."
Members of the players union's executive committee who are allies of embattled executive director Billy Hunter weren't involved in the decision to put him on leave, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
In a Sulia post, Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game wonders why Hunter's ill-advised decisions as executive director aren't receiving more attention.
A pair of 2012 Rockets draft picks, Jeremy Lamb and Terrence Jones, top Joe Kaiser's list of young prospects who could be moved at this year's trade deadline, in an Insider-only piece at ESPN.com.
Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News assesses the returns thus far from the offseason's two most significant trades: the Dwight Howard/Andrew Bynum mega-deal and the James Harden swap.
Discussing the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement, commissioner David Stern argues that management, not market-size, is the most important factor for teams to be competitive and profitable. Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune has the details.