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[beav]

Is Brevin Knight a liar, or does Stern have it out for the Blazers?

Stern defends severity of Wallace's penalty

01/21/03

JIM BESEDA

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- NBA commissioner David Stern insisted he has had no second thoughts about the length of Rasheed Wallace's suspension.

Stern, in Memphis on Monday for the Blazers' game against the Grizzlies, emphasized that the seven-game suspension without pay for Wallace's Wednesday night postgame incident with referee Tim Donaghy on the Rose Garden's loading dock was appropriate for an off-court encounter with a referee.

"From our perspective, the suspension is not severe," Stern said before the Blazers' 99-87 victory at The Pyramid.

But Grizzlies guard Brevin Knight, who was with Wallace on the loading dock after that game Wednesday night and said Wallace didn't come close to making physical contact with Donaghy, questioned the severity of the penalty and the reasoning behind it.

"It was heated, but to me it wasn't so heated where he posed a threat," Knight said. "I mean, when it was done and we started talking, I said, 'There is going to be a fine.' And I never want anybody to give money back. But for seven games? Seven games is a lot.

"This has nothing to do with what was said. It has to do with who it was. It was Rasheed Wallace. That's the bottom line."

Stern scoffed at the notion that the league office has made the Blazers a convenient target.

"Nothing about this incident involves any real or perceived animosity to the Trail Blazers franchise or any other issue," Stern said. "This is about the referees reporting to me, and it's my duty to protect them, period."

Stern said he agreed that Wallace had made progress this season in controlling his notorious temper.

"But you can't have somebody menacing an official on the way out of the building and threatening to do violence to him," Stern said. "It's just not going to be acceptable. And anyone who thinks it is had better find another place to ply their trade, because it's not going to go in the NBA."

Stern pointed out that the league suspended Nick Van Exel for seven games for bumping an official.

"In many ways, this was actually worse," Stern said. "It wasn't in the heat of the moment. It wasn't the bump. It was in another place removed where a very specific threat was made. It's not going to happen in any league that I'm running unless the owners decide they want someone else to run the league."

Wallace rejoined the team in Memphis on Monday, although he couldn't play. He worked out with guard Damon Stoudamire.

Although Knight said he was interviewed by representatives of NBA Security and told them he "didn't hear any threats at all, just swearing," details of what happened that night remain sketchy. The NBA has refused to release an official version of what happened, and witnesses other than Knight who have spoken publicly have given varying accounts, particularly in regard to exactly what Wallace did or said that constituted a threat.

Stern was adamant that the evidence against Wallace gathered by the NBA was precise and overwhelming.

Said Stern: "We're very satisfied on the basis of a very extensive investigation, including (talking with) the player himself, that the threats were uttered, without question.

"There's been sort of a very silent campaign here that, 'Oh, it was just mentioned in a referee's report.' It wasn't just mentioned. It was screaming on my desk the morning after it happened, and we decided in light of the seriousness of it, we would not rule until we had conducted more interviews than we've ever conducted in any similar incident. And we're satisfied with the quality and the quantity of the evidence that a menacing occurred. Period."

Wallace, who will forfeit an estimated $1.26 million in salary, has refused to make any statements regarding his suspension or the incident.

"How's his mood? I think it's all right," Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "I can tell he's bothered by what happened, but I think his mood is OK, considering everything. I think being around his teammates helps. It helps his mind-set.

"We want him with the team. We want him running up and down the court and practicing, and just being a part of us and not just being gone for seven games. Your mind can get away from the game, so we need him here as much as possible so he can stay involved."

Because of the length of the suspension, the NBA allowed the Blazers to activate center Ruben Boumtje Boumtje while Wallace is on the suspended list.

"It hurts Rasheed, because he's not contributing to his team," Cheeks said. "He's just sitting and watching. And if the team loses, you figure you could have done something to help your team win. That's not where you'd like to be." Jim Beseda: 503-221-8380; jimbeseda@news.oregonian.com

Ruling has Blazers officials, players circling wagons

01/19/03

JASON QUICK

Don't for a minute believe that people with the Trail Blazers organization are buying into the NBA's account that Rasheed Wallace said something threatening enough to referee Tim Donaghy to warrant a seven-game suspension.

The prevailing theory at One Center Court is that it wasn't necessarily what was said as much as who said it. And more precisely, for which team that person plays.

It's the old conspiracy theory often bandied about by fans, that the Blazers are getting a raw deal from the league because it is in a small market. But after Wallace's seven-game suspension was announced early Saturday, never has the conspiracy theory been so loudly echoed by so many high-ranking Blazers officials and team members.

"It's a shame what they keep doing to us," Derek Anderson said. "They're just blackballing us. And it's a shame to have something like that happen at this time of the season. I think the league understands the magnitude of it, and I don't think it was just. We are all upset and we disagree with them whole-heartedly."

Hang around Blazers headquarters long enough and at least one -- or all -- of these theories can be heard: Commissioner David Stern is mad at Blazers owner Paul Allen for not buying the WNBA's Portland Fire. Stern is mad that Allen doesn't attend the league's owners meetings. Stern is concerned about the league's plummeting television ratings, and having a small-market team such as Portland rising in the standings offers little encouragement for more viewers. The league would like nothing more than to see the Los Angeles Lakers avoid a first round matchup with Sacramento or Dallas -- two of its most popular teams -- so the more games Portland loses, the better chance the Lakers have in making up the six-game deficit on the Blazers. Stern still is miffed that Blazers president Bob Whitsitt beat him in court over a free agent loophole in the collective bargaining agreement that Whitsitt discovered with Chris Dudley years ago. And mostly, the league has grown tired of Wallace's act. As a league that covets media exposure, nothing infuriates the NBA more than Wallace's persistent refusal to do interviews. Coupled with his technical-ridden past, the league -- as the conspiracy goes -- was itching to stick it to Wallace.

"They hit us with a murder charge when we were speeding," one top Blazers official said.

What does Scottie Pippen, who has been around the NBA for 15 seasons think?

"I think you should write what you feel, because you don't know what I think because it's going to cost me some money," Pippen said. "I think you should write what you feel and I'm sure a lot of people will agree with it. All I know is they seem to come down on us pretty stiff." Trade winds: Whitsitt said there is no truth to the rumor that has the Denver Nuggets dangling Marcus Camby to both the Blazers and the Lakers, while telling each that the other team is interested. The rumor had the Blazers sending Damon Stoudamire and Dudley to the Nuggets for Camby.

"First of all, if I really wanted Marcus Camby, I think I could figure out on my own what to do," Whitsitt said. "And if I don't get him, why would I care if he goes to the Lakers, the Kings, or the moon?

"But secondly, I don't talk about rumored deals," Whitsitt said.

Whitsitt did, however, talk about Stoudamire's situation, again insisting that he is not looking to trade the point guard.

"We like our roster, we feel good about it," Whitsitt said. "Now, not everybody is going to be able to play, but that is up to the guys, and hopefully we will have some depth at the right spots so that if we need them, we can hold down the fort. But if somebody doesn't get playing time, do we trade him? No. Players get hurt, and you never know when that chance will come. And lastly, we are in a salary cap world.

"But I think in this specific case, Damon has been a professional," Whitsitt said. Thanks, but no thanks: Pippen said he has no interest in playing in this year's All-Star Game in Atlanta, if the slim chance that he gets chosen comes about.

"It would mean disaster to my weekend," Pippen said. "I have big plans in Florida and I really don't want them to change. Honestly, I do not want to be there. I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I think Rasheed or Bonzi would represent us well."

Jason Quick: 503-221-4372; jasonquick@news.oregonian.com

[DJ_Money]

Wallace is a repeat offender, of course the things he does will be judged much more harshly than if say...Hendu did the same thing.

I'll do think that 7 games is too many. Especially when Mills only got 3 for threatening the entire city of Portland.

[Traceman]

Could you imagine losing $1.26 in roughly 2 weeks? That's more than quite a few NBA players make all season! Sheed was obviously wrong for even cursing the ref off the court after the game but that is a harsh penalty unless he made a specific threat (and he might have). I guess we won't ever know exactly what happened. Wallace is not likely to push the issue if he did make a specific threat because if he did, Stern could make the report public and that could cost Sheed even more money down the line in potential future earnings.