Face it, there is little-to-no activity whatsoever in the NBA in the month of August.   So, with that said, I will look back upon some moves that I did not get to comment on, including some free agent signings and such.

First, I wanted to comment on the recent developments involving former NBA official Tim Donaghy, who is being sought by federal investigators for possible connections to illegal gambling and, more disturbingly, possible point shaving during NBA games.   Now, I know there might be a couple of people reading this right now thinking, “What exactly is point shaving?”   I know this because ten years ago, I was wondering the same thing.   Point shaving is when a player or coach intentionally does something to either give the opposition points or cost his own team points, or when an official (referee) makes calls to give a team points for the sake of either making sure that team wins or the other team doesn’t cover the point spread.   This was a particularly hot topic in the mid-80s with Pete Rose, who was believed to be betting on baseball games that involved the team he was managing at the time, the Cincinnati Reds.   The result of this revelation was a lifetime ban, which is still in effect, for Pete Rose from the game of baseball, which prohibits him from either getting a manager’s job or a front office position, and bans him from eligibility for the Hall of Fame.

Now, you might think to yourself, “Okay, so a referee fixed games.   What’s the big deal?   We already knew that referees fix games in the NBA.   Just go ask Michael Jordan.”

You can’t get me to disagree with you on that, but the reason it’s such a big deal is because it tears into the very fabric of sport.   Sports are supposedly competitive events, to see which team is the best or who is the best athlete.   When referees, coaches, or players start to intentionally cost a team points and – inevitably – games because they’re connected with illegal gambling or the mob, then the integrity of the competitive nature of the game is null and void and the public trust is violated.   Without the integrity of the competitive nature of the game, you have nothing more than professional wrestling (nothing against pro wrestling).   Because without that competitive integrity, the outcome of games is pretty much pre-determined.   And trust me when I say this, the NBA has enough problems with people thinking certain games are already pre-determined without referees getting dirty with the mob.

Now, you’re probably thinking, “Okay, so what does this have to do with the feds?”

Two words: illegal gambling.   The feds usually don’t look favorably upon the mob or illegal gambling.   If you don’t believe me, go ask Michael Franzese, who used to be in the mob but is now helping major organizations such as the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, and even the NCAA talk to their athletes about the pros and cons of illegal gambling.   If it wasn’t such a big deal, why would the feds hire a former mob boss to talk to athletes to get them to stay away from illegal gambling?

With all of this said, for commissioner David Stern to come out and say that it was one “rogue, isolated criminal” is both insulting and naïve.   If there was one official that was in on fixing games so he can pay off a gambling debt, there has to be more.   They may not be as in deep as Donaghy, but trust me, they too are connected somehow with the mob.

Which means, as sad as it is to think this, let alone type this or read this, this problem in the NBA is not going away anytime soon.

Other news and notes from around the NBA:

Glad to see Kevin O’Connor seems to know what he’s doing.   He goes after Morris Peterson, with no avail, only to have to settle for NBA journeyman Jason Hart.   Then, he signs Morris Almond, the Jazz’s first-round pick (as expected).   However, he then signs free agent point guard Ronnie Price.   The good news about that is Price (standing at 6’2”) played relatively well last year for the Sacramento Kings, and that he played his college ball at Utah Valley State College.   The bad news is the Jazz already have Deron Williams and Jason Hart, both standing at 6’3”, under contract and have Dee Brown, standing at 6’0”, under an offer sheet, which means should there not be a team that can match the Jazz’s offer for Brown, the Jazz will have four guards this season that are 6’3” or shorter.   Not to mention they also have Almond (6’6”), Gordon Giricek (6’6”), Matt Harpring (6’7”), Ronnie Brewer (last year’s first-round pick, 6’7”), and free agent C.J. Miles (6’7”).   Can we say “logjam”?   I certainly hope O’Connor knows what it is he’s doing, because right now, it certainly doesn’t look that way.   I can understand possibly wanting three point guards on the roster, because the Jazz have operated that way for years, even during the height of the Stockton-to-Malone Era, but four?

While I’m on that topic, props to New Orleans for snatching Mo-Pete.   Hopefully, he does better for the Hornets as a long-range shooter than Peja Stojakovic did (remember him?) last year.

Congratulations to the Orlando Magic for grabbing the biggest free agent on this year’s market, Rashard Lewis.   This may actually turn out to be a good get for the Magic.   The only question that remains is how well he’ll coexist with Dwight Howard.   Orlando is Howard’s town right now much like it was Shaq’s town in 1995.

RaulCBK@comcast.net

Finally, I only have one suggestion for the town of Oklahoma City: you might want to get used to the chant of “Let’s Go Sonics!”   Well, to be fair, they may just rename the Sonics after they move to OKC.