by Fresh8 on Mon Jan 17, 2011 10:19 pm
Chapter 27
David Stern sat opposite Will Sit and Vince Thompson.
“The league takes drug violations very seriously,” Stern stated the obvious, “Criminal behaviour also warrants expulsion from this league. Will, I am sure that you would understand all of this.”
Sit nodded.
Stern looked at Vince, “Agent Thompson, I believe that the player involved deserves to be treated fairly so I will launch an internal investigation into the matter.”
Vince nodded.
Stern continued, “However, please let your superiors know that the NBA is happy to pay a bond to keep him out of prison. We do not want any unwanted media attention in the interim.”
Vince argued, “That’s not our jurisdiction.”
Stern laughed, “I know. I will contact the appropriate people accordingly. Once I have a review into this matter completed, I will deal with it in due course.”
Stern switched his focus to Sit, “I know that you, for one, will appreciate procedural fairness.”
Sit remained silent.
“Once this gets out, the league is going to suffer a lot of backlash. I think it would be best that we make sure all the facts are right and corroborated,” Stern explained, “For the time being, I trust that the feds will not leak any facts to the media.”
Vince asked him, “Is this some sort of cover up or something? I’m sure the public would want to know who this player is!”
“For that confidential information to be released, it not only damages my league’s reputation as well as this player’s welfare and chances of a fair trial,” Stern answered, “Thank you gentlemen for this meeting. I am sure we will be seeing each other again soon.”
Sit and Thompson left Stern’s office in a hurry. The Commissioner was, understandably, not in the best of moods. Stern watched the pair leave and then called an old friend of his from Law School. As he waited for him to pick up, Stern thought to himself I’m too goddamn old for this shit.
“Hey,” Stern said to his friend, “I need you to get onto someone in Seattle so that we can get one of my players out of trouble.”
Sit was enjoying his beer when Nets General Manager Billy King arrived.
“Will Sit?”
Sit got up and shook King’s hand, “Billy. How are you doing?”
They sat down and King ordered a drink.
“It’s nice to meet you in person,” Sit stated.
“You too,” King replied, “What brings you into New York?”
“Business as usual,” Sit was vague.
“Ok then,” King said, “Let’s get down to business. Have you thought about my offer?”
Sit pulled out the printed email, “Yi, Mason and Simmons? That’s not a bad offer but I’m sure you’d part with more.”
King laughed, “You’re getting three for one. These guys would keep you as contenders. Kevin Durant will have two great shooters to spread the floor for him.”
“But Yi doesn’t play defence,” Sit laughed, “And he doesn’t box out.”
“What if I threw in Rudy?”
“Fernandez?”
This piqued Sit’s interest.
King nodded, “You are a fan aren’t you?”
“Are you telling me you are offering me Yi, Mason, Simmons and Rudy as well?”
King nodded again, “As long as you throw in someone to match salaries. We want Tyson a lot. We’re willing to go ahead with this.”
This was by far the most generous offer Sit had heard in all the negotiations he had been through. Sit finished his beer and out the empty glass back on the table. He wiped his top lip with the back of his palm.
“Wow,” Sit was a little flabbergasted, “That’s quite an offer.”
King looked at his watch, “Sleep on it Sit. I need to go now but you know that we are keen.”
George Karl had the team together in the Stealth’s meeting room at the training facility. He looked up and down the table at his players’ faces. The inconsistency during the season was not acceptable for him and he knew that everyone was waiting for him to tell them. However, he wasn’t going to tell them what they were doing wrong or that they were not playing well enough.
“You all know that you aren’t playing any good,” he said, “I’m going to be frank. You’re all playing like crap.”
No one said anything. No one said a word. Karl looked around and couldn’t see where Adam Morrison was.
“Where’s Adam?” he asked.
Everyone looked to their left and right.
“I guess he’s not here,” Kidd spoke up.
Karl pushed on, “I know that there are a lot of things going on right now but we just need to stick together and stay committed to this franchise. We have a special team here. It’s about time we play like one. That’s all I’m going to say today so let’s go out there and practice like a team that actually gives a damn about winning.”
The players got up and, one by one, shuffled out of the room.
Karl called out, “Kevin, I need to have a word with you.”
Durant stopped at the door and turned around.
“Yes Coach?”
Karl pat him on the shoulder, “You ok son? You haven’t been yourself lately?”
Durant complained, “Haven’t you felt that Tyson is playing selfishly? He ain’t passing me the rock coach. This isn’t right.”
Karl said to him, “I will have a word with him.”
Durant smiled, “Good.”
Sit had a few hours before the flight out of New York. He had just finished another beer and quickly glanced at his phone for the time. Isaiah Thomas was late but what else could Sit expect. His secretary had foolishly scheduled this meeting for him when he had no interest whatsoever in talking to the Knicks. Thomas bounced through the restaurant door and spotted Sit. He was panting as he took his seat.
“Will,” Thomas sounded like he was about to pass out, “Thanks for waiting.”
Sit raised wasn’t too impressed, “I’ve got to get to the airport and you’ve made me wait for nearly half an hour.”
Thomas grinned, “Trust me, it will be worth the wait. I’ve got a third team ready to help us out.”
“A third team?” Sit quizzed him.
“Yes,” Thomas replied, “A third team. A Tyson trade should be a lot more enticing.”
“Hit me,” Sit stated.
“How does Lamar Odom, Ron Artest and Zach Randolph sound?”
“We’re doing a deal with the Nuggets?”
“Yes!”
“How are we going to match the salaries?” Sit was baffled.
Thomas was equally confused, “I never thought about that.”
* * *
After a win against the Bulls, Ty was pulled aside by Coach Karl.
“Reshawn,” Karl said to him, “You’ve got to share the basketball.”
Ty couldn’t believe his ears, “What?”
“Kevin is the leader of this team,” Karl reasoned with him, “I know that you might not agree with him all the time but that should not translate onto the court. To be a great player you have to share.”
Ty frowned and protested, “Hold up Coach! I think you got something wrong here.”
Karl exclaimed, “Sorry son but sometimes this is how things go. We need Kevin involved to win games. He commands the defensive attention and we need to allow him to have the ball in his hands. This is how we stay dangerous.”
Ty threw his arms in the air, “Unbelievable!”
Karl pleaded with his young player, “I believe that you will do the right thing for us.”
Ty withheld the anger within, “I can’t wait to get off this team. This is unfair!”
Karl wanted to give him time to chill, “Don’t take it personally. You might not even be here tomorrow so it’s only fair to your teammates and Kevin that you do the right thing.”
Karl left Ty wondering what was happening. Ty was thinking to himself, We just won our fifth game in a row! And it was because of me! Why the hell am I supposed to defer to a wanker like Durant?! Karl entered into one of the rooms further down the corridor where he would be interviewed by a few beat writers. Suddenly, his phone rang. Karl looked at the caller ID and looked around to make sure no one was listening in on him. It was Sit.
“George.”
Karl was trying to keep his voice down, “Yes?”
“A heads up,” Sit replied, “I’ve had someone tell me that the Nets are ready to make a big deal. I think it’s just about done.”
Karl knew that something might have been coming up, “That’s great news.”
“Yes!” Sit was excited, “I’m just waiting for King to call me. I will keep you updated.”
Last edited by
Fresh8 on Mon Jan 17, 2011 10:24 pm, edited 2 times in total.