Sam Mitchell for Commissioner

[Peter Delevett <pdelevett@sjbj.com>]

This was reported on OnHoops:

'Sam Mitchell states, "My fear is that I don't want to see us price ourselves out of the true fans. You look at the  All-Star Game, there's no fans at the All star Game. It's all corporate America... I understand people who make  $30,000 and they're coming to basketball games and they see us fighting over millions of dollars. It makes me sick to my stomach."'

At least one NBA player gets it. Mitchell is a man of moderate talents and moderate earnings in the NBA scheme of things, but he's stuck around because he's the proverbial "good locker room presence" who works his butt off and is an example for young players. Meanwhile, Kenny Anderson bitches about maybe having to sell off one of his Porsches or else "tighten up" on his $125,000 a year "walking around money."

I don't mean to arouse the wrath of our pro-union list members, either. As Rick Reilly brilliantly put it in this week's S.I., trying to choose sides between the NBA owners and the NBAPA is like trying to choose sides in a death match between Michael Bolton & Julio Iglesias.