Stern: NBA needs tweaking

Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY

Commissioner David Stern believes the NBA is in need of some tweaking even after following the black eye of the lockout with a better-than-expected regular season.

The first forum for change will come next Monday, when the competition committee will discuss ways to try and eliminate flopping for the sake of drawing a foul and to consider whether to expand instant replay.

“Flopping almost doesn’t do it justice,” Stern said Tuesday just prior to the start of the NBA Finals. “Trickery. Deceit designed to cause the game to be decided other than on its merits. We’ll be looking at that.

“We’ll be looking at a number of things that make it easier for us to say to our fans what we all know to be true: our referees want to get everything right.”

Stern celebrated success that was “better than we could have hoped for” out of a season that was in jeopardy of even happening and said fans showed their admiration for the league in record numbers.

It concludes with a marquee matchup in the finals, pitting three-time MVP LeBron James and Miami against three-time scoring champion Kevin Durant and Oklahoma City.

“It’s really very exciting, and it’s going to be, we think, a great matchup, and America is very interested in getting to it,” Stern said.

So, what more could Stern hope for?

Well, there are still some remnants of the labor dispute — so-called “B-list” items that still must be taken up. Deputy commissioner Adam Silver said that won’t take place until after the finals.