David Stern NBA COMMISSIONER

He's the NBA's longtime commissioner.

Every draft day in June he stands next to future millionaires who tower over him.

He sings the praises of his league's stars when they accomplish great things, and lays down the law when they fail to behave in an exemplary manner.

That's the David Stern everyone sees in public. The private David Stern, or as private as he's allowed to be given his position, comes from humble roots.

He worked in his family's delicatessen in Manhattan. He attended NBA games as a kid at the old Madison Square Garden on West 49th Street, where, truth be told, guys would sit behind the basket and bet on anything and everything.

He went to Rutgers when the football team was more bottom 10 than top 10, and he has been a longtime New York Giants football fan. He is a tennis buff, playing regularly to keep in shape and satisfy his competitive urges. He and his wife, Dianne, have been married 43 years and have two sons, Andy and Eric.

He was a lawyer before becoming a sports executive, though his involvement with the NBA spans 40 years, beginning when he graduated from Columbia Law School and worked at a law firm that represented the league.

In 1978, Stern became the NBA's general counsel, and in 1980 he became executive vice president. On Feb. 1, 1984, he succeeded Larry O'Brien as commissioner, and today, at age 64, he shows no signs of slowing down.

"I enjoy what I do," he said. "I'm having a lot of fun."

In two interviews, one in mid-November in a conference room adjacent to his office at the NBA's Fifth Avenue headquarters in New York and one Wednesday by phone, Stern discussed on- and off-the-court issues facing the league.

There was much to discuss. Among the hotter topics:

• The decision to replace the long-standing leather basketball with a new microfiber ball, only to switch back to the old ball Jan. 1.

• Players carrying guns, in light of then-Indiana Pacers forward Stephen Jackson being arrested outside an Indianapolis strip club in September for firing his gun in the air after an altercation.

• A zero-tolerance policy regarding behavior toward officials.

• The league's exposure in Europe.

• And the black eye the NBA suffered Dec. 16 when players from the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks fought on the Madison Square Garden court, resulting in 10 players being suspended and record fines for the clubs.

Stern can come across as a grandfatherly type who can reminisce over a glass of wine. But he also can be gritty and no-nonsense. If a reporter comes unprepared for an interview, Stern will make him look foolish.

He doesn't like to be interrupted, either. He'll give a reporter his turn. But cut him short while he's speaking and it's game over.

So, without interruption, the commissioner speaks:

Review-Journal: Let's get right to the Las Vegas issue. You were asked on the radio about Las Vegas having an NBA franchise, and you said if the Board of Governors wanted to put a franchise there, it would be addressed. You never had said that before.

DAVID STERN: "That's always true. The people who make policy for the NBA are the Board of Governors. Every action I take, I take with their authority and approval."

R-J: Obviously, your input is critical with any decision.

STERN: "From time to time."

R-J: Have you softened your stance, given the education you have received from talking to people in the sports book industry? Or do you just don't want the books taking bets on NBA games?

STERN: "What I've tried to say, and I think I'm going to stop addressing it because you've had enough of me saying it in public, is that it is our policy over a period of time that we haven't located teams where there is basketball betting, period.

"That's the policy, and it was a policy in place when we expanded to British Columbia and Ontario. It was a policy in place when Carnival Cruise Lines had a casino. It was a policy in place when Sheraton-ITT bought the Knicks, and it's a policy in place in respect of an absence of basketball betting at the Palms.

"That's been the consistent application. What it hasn't been is the anti-Las Vegas policy. It was to people who weren't listening, who weren't observing. But it has never been an anti-Las Vegas policy. We don't prohibit Las Vegas ads at our games. We don't think Las Vegas is anything but an entertainment capital, a restaurant capital, a show capital, a shopping capital, a family entertainment center and, oh yes, a gambling destination.

"I was in Las Vegas for the All-Star Game announcement myself. I was with Mayor (Oscar) Goodman in Europe and his enthusiastic representation of the people of Las Vegas with respect to NBA Europe Live.

"That's where we are. So I think it's best for us to explain our actions. Those are the ones that speak."

R-J: How would you categorize your relationship with Oscar Goodman?

STERN: "Excellent. The two of us know if we have anything we have to say to each other or ask each other, we just pick up the phone and call."

R-J: How closely are you following the arena project being discussed in Las Vegas?

STERN: "I'm not, although I read the clips and I have had communication with groups, direct or indirect, four different groups that claim to have the perfect piece of land."

R-J: Speaking of arenas, how disappointed were you with the vote in Sacramento that rejected a proposal to help the Kings get a new building?

STERN: "I'm not disappointed. I knew that was going to happen."

R-J: How does the NBA address getting a new arena for the Kings?

STERN: "We'll have something to say about that in the next day or so."

(On Nov. 15, Stern announced that he would take the forefront in trying to help secure a new facility for the Kings. He has hired John Moag, who helped the Ravens settle in Baltimore, as his point man to work with the Maloof family, which owns the Kings, in negotiating with Sacramento city and county officials on a viable plan to replace Arco Arena.)

R-J: It's hard to believe the NBA would leave Sacramento. It has been a model franchise since it moved there in 1985.

STERN: "The Maloof family has done a spectacular job there. I know they'd like very much to continue to do a great job in Sacramento."

R-J: Are you convinced they want to keep the team in Sacramento?

STERN: "If at all possible. Absolutely. There's unanimity in the fact that the Kings are important to Sacramento, and both sides want to do whatever they can to keep the team there."

R-J: How about New Orleans, where the NBA is monitoring post-Katrina life on an everyday basis. How patient will the NBA be in letting the city show it can support the league?

STERN: "We're planning to go back. I'm not on top of it every day, but we've got people who are. But we certainly want to be as helpful as we can."

R-J: But is there a point where you have to look at it from a business perspective and say, 'This isn't working?'

STERN: "My view is we're out there working hard to sell suites, tickets and investment, and I think we're going to have some success with all three."

R-J: It had been nearly two years since the brawl at The Palace between the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers. You were obviously disappointed in the Nuggets-Knicks incident Dec. 16. Now that you've had time to reflect on what happened that night, what are your thoughts?

STERN: "I don't know that we've seen the end of it (fighting). But we've had so few major incidents, I think we've got it down to a trickle. Hopefully we won't have any others. But my hope is we're showing more control."

R-J: You'll be giving your annual "State of the Union" address Saturday. What will your message be as to the current state of the NBA?

STERN: "I would say that we are entering a new golden era, that the basketball you're seeing and the athletes playing it are the best there's ever been. We have some great young stars that are exciting to watch, and we have a group of great international players.

"From what people tell me, we are going to have one of the deepest drafts in years. It's an exciting time for the NBA."

R-J: Your thoughts on how the Development League is doing?

STERN: "It has more than met our expectations. We have 40 players in the NBA that have some sort of D-League experience. This year, I think we've had nine or 10 players already called up, including your guy (former UNLV player Louis) Amundson. He's a prime example of what we're trying to do. He gets an opportunity to play at a high level and get recognized.

"It's a real opportunity to develop talent, and I'm not talking only players. Coaches, trainers, referees all have opportunities to move up to the NBA. It's truly a developmental league."

R-J: Did you ever think that something so simple as changing the basketball would cause so much rancor among the players?

STERN: "I think that it's a fair subject. It's the one central tool of our game together with the backboard, so I'm not going to sit here and say that the process that was followed in the indoctrination in selling the ball. I don't know it was done as best we could as the next time we do something like that. But here we are. We've played 100 some games, the republic is still standing and shooting percentages are actually up."

(In early December, the NBA reversed its policy on the new ball and went back to the previous ball Jan. 1 after players complained that the new one was cutting their hands.)

R-J: Was it hard to admit you made a mistake when you decided to go back to the old ball?

STERN: "Not really. We were wrong. Two things: One, our players didn't like the ball. Two, they felt they weren't involved enough in the process. And they were right.

"So we called a do-over, and we've moved on."

R-J: You also cracked down on the dissent toward referees.

STERN: "As it relates to technical fouls and everything, I don't have the numbers, but compared to last year at this time and the year before, it's about the same."

R-J: What took you so long?

STERN: "I'll tell you. Actually, although we get pictured as Draconian, the truth is that, if anything, we should be pictured as a little bit laissez-fairish in that when we finally decide to make the correction, it seems more of a correction than if we had done it along the way.

"Our referees sort of adopted that. But it just came home to me in the last couple of seasons that there were so many things we had allowed to slide too much and it was time to show our respect for the game."

R-J: You had a policy regarding firearms long before Stephen Jackson did what he did in Indianapolis, correct?

STERN: "Yes."

R-J: "It took something like what he did to bring it to the forefront with the media?

STERN: "Right, right. We had focused on this and made our usual accommodation to the players that it's legal to own firearms. Just don't carry them when you're involved in any way, shape or form in being part of the operation of the league."

R-J: Allen Iverson said you didn't understand why the players need to carry weapons. Do you?

STERN: "I think I do. Maybe I don't go to dangerous places that they do with the same regularity. I respect that. But I'm not sure that having a gun makes it safer to go to those places. I think that right to bare arms as is provided in the Constitution is not damaged by a crackdown on illegal sales and carrying of firearms. I think that's a very fair place to focus our attention, so people who walk into tough neighborhoods don't have to fear being the target of violent crimes."

R-J: The Sports Illustrated piece in late October was the first time anyone looked deep inside David Stern. How was the story received by you?

STERN: "People close to me said they thought there were aspects of it that captured parts of me.

"But they refused to say what parts. I always feel people writing about me and trying to get close to me is like nails on a blackboard."

R-J: You've been commissioner of the NBA since 1984. What's the secret to your longevity?

STERN: "I have a high tolerance for pain. My secret is that I enjoy it. I enjoy the owners. I enjoy the players. I enjoy most of the media and I particularly enjoy the fans. They are, almost to a person, extraordinarily good-natured and feel a sense of community brought together by basketball."

R-J: How do you think Las Vegas will do with the All-Star Game? You were confident two years ago when the announcement was made. Has your optimism changed since then?

STERN: "My only concern is whether we'll be able to get people to go into the building because they're going to be distracted by all the wonderful options Las Vegas is going to provide. It's going to be a fun weekend. I think that it puts an exclamation point on the statement that we think Las Vegas is a great place to watch a basketball game. You can put in parentheses 'as long as there's no betting on it.' "