Thursday, June 7 Stern takes blame for allowing conspiracy talk By Wayne Drehs ESPN.com LOS ANGELES -- In the eyes of NBA commissioner David Stern, there couldn't have been a more attractive matchup in the 2001 NBA Finals than the Lakers and 76ers. But that doesn't mean there was any conspiracy to bring the two together. The topic of league-wide conspiracies was one of many subjects Stern addressed in his annual "State of the League" address before Wednesday's Game 1 of the NBA Finals. One day after levying hefty fines to Milwaukee Bucks coach George Karl and forward Ray Allen for hinting at such illegal activities, Stern partially blamed himself for allowing such talk to exist. "If anything, I'm the one to blame for letting it go on too long," Stern said. "We, as a league, have to step up and be more diligent to address these concerns. We just can't take it as a joke that the league is involved in some sort of illegal criminal conspiracy." Stern said the league would not bend its rules for Michael Jordan, and that if he were to return to the NBA as an active player, he would first have to sell his interest in the Wizards. Stern said Jordan would not have to sell his interest in the Washington Capitals. Lincoln Holdings owns the Caps and a share of some 44 percent of the operating rights for the Wizards, MCI Center and Washington Mystics. Jordan is just one partner in Lincoln Holdings -- others include: Ted Leonsis, Dick Patrick, Jonathan Ledecky and Raul Fernandez. It has been speculated that Jordan owns about a six percent stake in Lincoln Holdings. In regards to the potential relocations of the Charlotte and Vancouver franchises, Stern is taking sort of a wait-and-see approach. On Tuesday, voters in Charlotte rejected a referendum that would have aided the Hornets in building a new stadium. But Stern said he is holding out hope that voters may support a second referendum down the road. Such were the circumstances that kept the Rockets in Houston. "Everyone knows what's at stake," Stern said. "Without issuing any threats, I'd like to hope that because these two enterprises mean something to each other, there will be a way to do what has to be done." As for the Grizzlies' potential move to Memphis, Stern said that officials in Tennessee's Shelby County will vote next week on whether or not to approve the move. Stern said he expects the move to be approved. Also of interest Wednesday was a question about an ongoing trial in Atlanta, where a strip club owner is being accused of paying strippers to have sex with several NBA players to attract high-profile clientele to his club. When asked about the trial Wednesday, Stern joked back, "Wouldn't you rather talk about declining ratings and attendance being off?" When the laughter subsided, Stern said that the league needs to do a better job of identifying situations like this and warning players against them. "On this one, we just didn't see or understand what was going on behind the scenes," he said. "In fact, the notion of telling adults what kind of establishments they should drink at or socialize at, we're somewhat past that. But still, we have to do a better job of gathering information and stepping up our efforts to educate our players." One bright note for Stern was the recent success of the league's young talent, which had been maligned for being immature and self-centered. The maturation of Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson was seen as a big positive for the commissioner. "Sports is the original reality-based programming and each of these individuals has matured before the eyes of our sports-loving nation," Stern said. "The reality is that Kobe and Shaq decided they wanted to be on the island together. Allen decided he, too, wanted to be on the island. And what we saw was real maturation and development. And now they are here." Wayne Drehs is a staff writer at ESPN.com. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

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