David Stern left a great, but complicated, legacy that is part of the fabric of the NBA

Was the fix actually in?

In 2007, the NBA was rocked by scandal when referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting betting information through interstate commerce.

At the time, NBA commissioner David Stern strongly asserted Donaghy had not participated in fixing games, a position that was challenged last February by Scott Eden in a controversial ESPN story detailing just how Donaghy conspired to fix NBA games. The NBA once again denied the allegations in a lengthy statement released three days after Eden’s piece was published.

But beyond the damage done by having one of its game officials sent to prison over gambling involvement, there were always whispers about the NBA playing an active role in the assignment of officials in order to get outcomes that were the most beneficial to the league from a financial and public relations point of view.

Dick Bavetta, now retired as an NBA official, was long rumored to be Stern’s guy and if Bavetta showed up to work your important late-season or playoff game, there was a reason he was there.

There was never anything substantiated, but Bavetta was one of the officials investigated in 2008 after Donaghy alleged in court that the NBA had officials working the controversial Game 6 between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings in the 2002 Western Conference Finals that were there to ensure a Laker victory.

A 40-25 advantage for Los Angeles in free throw attempts did not do a lot to allay concerns there was an agenda at work in the Lakers’ 106-102 victory. After Donaghy’s allegations came out, the NBA still allowed Bavetta to work Game 5 of the 2008 NBA Finals between the Lakers and Boston Celtics.

Of course, if ever there was a no-win scenario for Stern, that was it. Pull Bavetta and the conclusion is that the fix really was in. Let Bavetta work the game and the whispers about the fix become mumbles, which become roars at some point.

That’s not even getting into Stern’s decision to void a trade between the Lakers and the NBA-owned New Orleans Hornets shortly after the lockout ended in 2011 that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers. Stern was acting on behalf of the Hornets as their de facto owner and not as commissioner, a distinction that has almost been entirely lost on a skeptical public.

At the end of the day, Stern’s 30-year tenure is not without significant blemishes, at least some of which could have been avoided with a less confrontational approach to management.

That does not, however, deter from the inarguable fact that the NBA is not what it is today without the leadership and vision of David Stern and that is the part of his legacy that will matter in the long run.