Pat Williams
With the current 82-game schedule, NBA coaches with veteran teams have always strategically plotted pinpoints of rest for their star players during the regular season.
Last week, though, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich may have taken that idea to a new level, when he sent home four players — three of them starters — well in advance of the game in Miami.
Commissioner David Stern acted swiftly, sending out a press release apologizing to fans just after the game tipped off. The next day, he fined the franchise $250,000.
“I think the league handled it the right way,” Pat Williams, the Orlando Magic senior vice president, told the 110 Sports Podcast about the situation. “You just can’t do that, where you have a nationally televised game and you suddenly take your four or five best players and send them home.”
Most fans, media and folks in the league have taken the stance that Stern was a little overzealous in his decision-making, feeling that the coach and the organization should determine what is best for the team. But Williams, a longtime executive in the NBA, believes that is not best for the game.
“I know the argument is, ‘I’ve got to do what is best for my team,’ but I think overseeing all of this is best for the league,” he said. “That was certainly not the case, a big nationally televised game — which is our bread and butter.
“Having said that, the Spurs played awfully well and almost pulled off an upset with their second team, but, no, you can’t have that.”
The NBA has heavily promoted their stars, and in return, it is clearly a star-driven league. What Popovich did may have been best for his team, but this is an entertainment league as well, with fans helping pay the bill, so sending all of your stars and nearly all of your starters home may have been a very short-sided view.
“It’s too important to have your stars out there; just play them less minutes or juggle their time or do whatever you have to,” Williams said. “But to make a big dramatic push and send them all home — that’s not good for the NBA.”
Arizona native Matt Minkus is the host of the 110 Sports Podcast, a show that pays homage to one of the most repeated cliches in sports: “Giving 110 percent.” Excerpts of new shows will be available at LindysSports.com every week.