Stu Jackson Quotations

We're not going to suspend him immediately. We will make him aware of the violation and tell him to clean up his act. If he doesn't, we'll take further action.

There is a standard, as to how a player is to wear his uniform. There is a standard in all sports as to how a uniform is to be worn and our standard is that the shorts, in particular, are to be worn above the knee.

We tried to as best we could to maintain affiliations in close proximity, ... We certainly are not going to get every necessary tie between an NBA D-League team and an NBA team.

The process relies heavily on general managers and player personnel directors whose daily responsibility is to handicap the draft and evaluate players. As we get closer to the draft, they have a pretty accurate idea as to team needs. And certainly they're pretty accurate in most cases.

We're looking at the severity of the conduct, whether a player wound up and followed through. It was a hard foul, but I did not feel it was flagrant -- and I've reviewed hundreds of these.

I wouldn't call it a controversy. I'd call it some questions being asked: 'Do we have the best rules?

He explained his position and we differed, but it was very cordial and I think at the end of the conversation we both understood each other.

I think it had come to a point where there were several viable candidates and it was just time to do it,

It brings to light the danger when a player enters the spectator stands. At that point, we lose control of the situation and anything could have happened.

Last year certainly there was a great deal of emphasis on the forearm check, just as there is this year. But that has stayed about the same this year.

My sense was players resonated with the idea after their initial skepticism.

I was happy working for the N.B.A., but to be honest, I decided that I'd probably get back into coaching. I missed the teaching, I missed the games, I missed the competition.

The 3 has become a real focal point of offenses, and we would like to turn the clock back and see what the game is like without it,

We are saying you can't go in the stands under any circumstances. But we recognize in this case Antonio, when he looked up into the crowd, felt his family needed some assistance. And we did take that into consideration, as we do circumstances around every incident we review.

Year in and year out, Dick is always one of our top-rated officials. A big factor in his ratings is his accuracy, his overall experience, his ability to manage a game and communicate with players and coaches, all of which have made him one of the top-rated officials.

We have made it plain to our players and our fans that players may not enter the spectator stands, no matter the provocation, and that violations of this policy will be treated with the utmost seriousness.

When the foul is to the head, it's considered much more serious.

The original idea behind the clear path foul was we didn't want them to occur. But now, when they do occur, the offended team is not getting the yield point-wise that they should be.

This was another perfect storm of sorts in that the timing was such that he wasn't available.

We felt since neither team played (Thursday), we had some extra time to review the situation. There is no black mark for Ray. It is one incident and you move on and hope it doesn't happen again. We had not received anything on our desk from either player before, so we wanted to make sure we talked to everybody.

At the end of the day, what we had to decide on was the issue of Antonio breaking the barrier from the court into the stands.

These affiliations and the assignment system are really going to benefit both the players and the teams,

These affiliations and assignment systems will, for the players, provide them with the opportunity to get playing time.

The teams are responsible for holding the players to compliance. Our teams placed the orders with Reebok. Our teams are responsible for putting the players out on the court with a uniform that is in compliance. To say that Reebok is the issue, I think, is a bit misguided.

Ron has been exemplary this season in terms of his behavior on the court. My hope is that it is an isolated incident and that he'll continue to play the high level of basketball that he's been playing at.

A flagrant foul is unnecessary and excessive. And in my mind, that's what that was. It was an unnecessary play, and it was excessive in how hard he hit him. The referee did the right thing in calling a Flagrant 2.

This is another step in the right direction to assist the continuing development of players,

This is another step in the right direction to assist in the continuing development of players.

This is really going to benefit the players and teams in our league,

They're really going to benefit both players and teams, ... For players, it will allow them to get playing time that they might not have gotten under the old system. For teams, it gives them another option and flexibility in player development.

There's a situation that could arise where multiple teams affiliated with the same D-League team have players at the same position, ... It may not make sense from a playing-time standpoint to have them on the same D-League team. In those cases, we will make a determination as to where those players go.

It was straightforward. Our rule says the players can't leave the vicinity of the bench area. In this case Ron clearly came onto the floor.

Everybody always has a different view on different issues, and this was no different. This was an issue where we looked at all the factors and a 13-man roster was in the best interest of everyone.

In general, fans do not want to see a rumble. They want to see the most graceful game on the planet. Contact occurs, and our objective is to make sure the game is played safely.

I'll still look at the tape, but it's always better to be in the arena when something happens. The tape doesn't always get everything.

His conduct in the stands, I thought, was very reasonable. He was calm, and the result was a good one, in that he got back down onto the floor without an incident erupting. But it brings to light really the danger that you have when a player enters the spectators' stands, in that at that point, we lose control of the situation and anything could have happened. Fortunately, in this situation, it didn't.

Certainly the message was very clear after the Nov. 19 incident in that it was clear to our players that they were not to enter the stands under any circumstances. Certainly this suspension is evident to the fact that we're very serious about that declaration. We realize there were some mitigating circumstances and we did in fact take that into account.

I'd have to say it's been a major factor. It's giving teams incentive to attack the basket, which has led to higher percentage shots and better quality shots.

For the players, it will allow them to get an opportunity for playing time that didn't exist under the older system. For the teams, it provides them additional flexibility. It allows them to monitor and evaluate players in a competitive situation, whereas before those players were relegated to a practice situation.

This has been received very positively by the clubs. As our league is continuing to get younger and younger, and our draft is one of drafting potential, this gives them an avenue to develop the player quicker and under game conditions.

The hand check has always been a part of pro basketball.

Once you begin reviewing judgment calls, which in basketball there are many, you put yourself on a very slippery slope in terms of what could be reviewed, and ultimately the number of reviews that could take place that would make it unwieldy.

I was happy working for the N.B.A., but to be honest, I decided that I'd probably get back into coaching. I missed the teaching, I missed the games, I missed the competition.

I don't know concretely if it's due to superstition, but any time a new rule is implemented into the NBA or a new piece of equipment or a new technology, there is always a transition and adjustment period by players and coaches and anyone involved with the game.

The message here is you cannot, under any circumstances, throw an object at an official. You just cannot do it.