 General Basketball WiretapNBA Will Set New Security Guidelines, Cites Terrorism As First ConcernThe NBA will set new security guidelines for its arenas, exerting more authority over a matter previously left to individual teams, commissioner David Stern said Tuesday. Stern said the Nov. 19 Pacers-Pistons brawl that spilled into the stands and led to three Indiana players being suspended for 25 or more games, including the season-long penalty for Ron Artest, exposed current league security policies as inadequate. "I would say that's a whole subject that we have historically left to teams, and it's clear that's not going to be good enough anymore, so we're going to take another look at it," Stern said in his first public comments on the brawl since announcing the suspensions. Stern said the new guidelines will be issued in early January. Stern was in Atlanta for Tuesday night's Hawks-Knicks game and to participate in a halftime ceremony honoring former Hawks owner Ted Turner. He offered no specifics on the new security guidelines, but said concerns raised by the brawl had been a secondary issue in recent years. "Actually the area of most concern for us was protecting our building from terrorist threats," he said. Stern also said he did not think the brawl, suspensions or appeal would affect the tone of the upcoming NBA labor negotiations. "I doubt it. I don't think so," he said. ``I think that most players will realize that this action was taken to protect the golden goose and to protect their images, rather than to sully them. I would suggest that dealing harshly with players who breach fundamental tenants of player-fan interaction is designed to protect our players as well as our fans." Stern said he expects talks with the union to rise above the negative publicity generated by the brawl. "We've been at this for too many years," he said. "We can fight and be intelligent. We can fight and fraternize at the same time. "I think it's important for our fans and the entire NBA family to understand that we have 450 players and only four were involved (to) the extent ... there were long-term suspensions," Stern said. "These suspensions are as much to set a fine line between behavior that almost all of the 450 would not engage in and the offensive behavior those four engaged in." Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Garnett and James Lead RealGM's Player RankingsThere was no change in the top 6 places of RealGM.com's Player Rankings. Kevin Garnett is at the top of the board yet again, with his per game averages of 23.6 points, 14.9 rebounds 6.2 assists and 1.9 blocks. Lebron James maintained a firm hold on the second spot. Dwayne Wade and Dirk Nowitzki are creeping up on Tim Duncan and could overtake his standing at anytime. Rounding out the elite 8 are Suns teammates Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire, and Lakers guard Kobe Bryant. The Seattle SuperSonics, with the best record in the NBA, don't have a single player in the top 23, as Ray Allen is ranked 24th. Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers, Oklahoma City, General Basketball Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Players Association Chief Billy Hunter Giving Labor Talk UpdatesNBA Players Association head Billy Hunter met with the Nuggets on Thursday to update them on labor talks. The league's collective bargaining agreement expires next summer. Denver union representative Mark Pope said there were few surprises. "Of course there's going to be posturing," Pope said of the labor situation. "You just hope that posturing is not real, because if it is, it sure doesn't look pretty." It is still unclear whether a strike or lockout is likely to happen. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Nov 2004 Archive
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