David Stern Collect Quotations

We need a system where all of our teams have the opportunity to compete and to make a few dollars. That's not a bad desire for collective bargaining for a sports league, and it's great for our fans.

Russ discussed with me his desire to step down as deputy commissioner once our collective bargaining negotiations were concluded, but I persuaded him to stay on for an additional season. He will be functioning as usual for the next eight months, but we agreed that it was appropriate to let the Board of Governors know his plans as far in advance as possible.

There's nothing that we have accomplished in the last 30 years that Russ hasn't been at the center of, from expansion, to collective bargaining, to international activities, ... It's quite an N.B.A. career that will be coming, I don't want to say to a close, but slowing down at the end of the season. It's a big loss, but we're also cheered that it's something Russ wanted to do.