Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
As part of a ruling in a trade disclosure dispute between the Boston Celtics and the Oklahoma City Thunder, NBA Commissioner David Stern today awarded the Celtics a 2013 second-round draft pick held by the Thunder. Stern found that there was no evidence of bad faith or any intent to withhold information on the part of Thunder management or its physicians, but that Oklahoma City’s cardiologists were in possession of information about Jeff Green that was not shared with Thunder management and that should have been disclosed to the Celtics in connection with the trade of Green in February 2011.
Under NBA rules, teams are required to disclose to each other in connection with trades any information in their possession or control about a player’s prior injuries, illnesses, or other health conditions that could affect the player’s ability to play NBA basketball at any point in the future. Green had surgery on his heart in January 2012 and did not play during the 2011-12 season.
Official NBA statement via newsOK.com
Immediately upon hearing the news, both Chuck and I took to Twitter for our own rants, which I will continue here for a moment.
In my mind, there are really only two plausible scenarios:
1) The statement is a bunch of spin… Oklahoma City’s cardiologists DID tell management about a heart condition but said it was nothing imminent and it would just have to be monitored. OKC kept quiet when it came time to move Green.
2) The statement is accurate… Oklahoma City’s cardiologists DIDN’T tell management about any heart condition, leading to a lack of disclosure when it came time to make the trade with the Boston Celtics.
The Thunder were punished, so clearly there’s some wrong-doing going on. Now we get to the point of how far do you actually believe this goes.
I have a hard time believing any good cardiologist wouldn’t tell management about a professional athlete’s heart condition. The man’s job inherently stresses his heart, forcing it to pump harder and fuel more body mass and movement than your average heart. It’s like looking at a potential weak spot on an NASCAR racer’s tire and thinking it’s nothing. Sure, it’s nothing when you’re driving to-and-from the grocery store in suburbia, but it’s something when you’re doing 200 mph for 500 miles.
So either OKC management knew something, knew it would be undetectable for a while, and knew it would be someone else’s problem… or the statement is accurate and the cardiologists had information that they didn’t pass along. And that’s unfathomable to me.
If that is indeed true, then I think that cardiologist needs to have his license reexamined. Like I said, this is a professional athlete. This person’s heart is under an inordinate amount of stress on a daily basis. To have information on that and not pass it along to his employers is almost criminal.
There is plenty that just doesn’t add up here. I’m not buying this explanation at all.
Thanks for the second round pick, but this goes way beyond that. I just wonder if we’ll ever get the answers we’re looking for.
The rest of the links:
WEEI: Mock Draft version 2 | Free agent options at SG | ESPN Boston: Draft profile: 2nd rounders | Grantland: The music in Royce White’s head | Herald: Short on Bigs | Locals hope to get call | Doc thinks positive on KG’s return | Best of the bunch: Centers | Globe: In like a lamb | Team of Huskies | Bird stepping down | Pistons deal Gordon to Bobcats for Maggette | NBA fines Stoudemire $50k for gay slur in tweet | Enterprise: With 2 first round picks, Celtics have options
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