REPEAL THE TAX!
During All-Star Weekend, players will fight to end Tennessee’s levy
When they’re on Bourbon St. i n New Orlea n s for A l l-St a r Weekend, NBA players will be thinking of Beale St. in Memphis, and not so fondly.
During the usual informal talks that come during the upcoming weekend, the players intend to ask the league about throwing its weight around to get the so-called “Tennessee Tax’’ repealed.
Every NBA player who visits Memphis for a game against the Grizzlies is subject to the tax, which takes up to $7,500 per season per player. The same tax that has been on the books since 2010 applies to NHL players who visit Nashville to play the Predators. But for some reason NFL players who go to Nashville to play the Titans are exempt.
Here’s the outrageous thing, from the players’ standpoint: The Memphis loot totals about $1.5 million annually and goes to none other than Robert Pera, the Grizzlies’ owner who has a net worth of just under $2 billion, according to Forbes. What’s he need the money for? … Another item on the players’ to-do list: Ask the league to extend the time off for the All-Star break, through at least Thursday of the following week. They’ve raised the issue in the past, getting nowhere, but it’s got the support of more than a few stars who note that they don’t get any real time off during the break with the regular-season schedule resuming on Tuesday. In Carmelo
Anthony’s case, he’ll have almost no time off. Well, of course there will be plenty of time for the party scene in the French Quarter, but there won’t be any real down time for the Knicks’ top player to rest and get ready for the playoff push over the final two months of the season. The Knicks play Wednesday night against the Kings, Thursday is a travel day and he’ll have to be in New Orleans Friday for the mandatory player interview sessions and Saturday for the East’s practice, endorsement appearances and parties. After he plays Sunday night, the Knicks resume Tuesday in Memphis. The players know they’ll have to give something back for the NBA to adjust its season. Let’s just say that their idea of giving the league
LeBron James in a future dunk contest — which would be his first — in exchange for more time off is not going to be nearly enough. Which they know. … Less than a week into his new job, Adam Sil
ver made his first road trip as commissioner, taking in the RaptorsKings game in Sacramento, where he told reporters he wants to raise the minimum age for players entering the NBA from 19 to 20. The union has opposed that in the past, but it’s not even going to be a topic for debate until the Players Association hires an executive director to succeed Billy Hunter, who was fired at last year’s All-Star Game in Houston. High-profile attorney
David Cornwell, who was part of Team A-Rod in the Yankee’s steroid appeal, is among the candidates, but is not considered the
favorite.
NASH NEAR END?
Steve Nash finally made it back to the Lakers and has told a few friends this is going to be it, even though he has one season to go on his contract, at $9.7 million. Nash, who turned 40 Friday, doesn’t expect to help much, but that’s been the story of his injur y-plagued
La ker
career. He really missed the camaraderie with his teammates when he was out for three months with a nerve injury in his back, and says he wants to experience that for at least the last part of this season before he calls it a career. ...
Jim Dolan didn’t always see eyeto-eye with David Stern, including when the former commissioner twisted Dolan’s arm to get him to hire Donnie Walsh to clean up Isiah Thomas’ mess. Turned out, Stern did Dolan a huge favor. Now, the Garden chairman and Stern’s successor, Silver, are off to a good start, with Silver picking Dolan to be part of the new media committee that will negotiate the next TV deal. Dolan will be joined by Washington’s Ted Leonsis;
Boston’s Wyc Grousbeck; San Antonio’s Peter Holt; Chicago’s Michael Reinsdorf, son of owner Jerry Reinsdorf; Utah’s Greg Miller; and Oklahoma City’s Clay
Bennett. The current deal puts almost $1 billion annually in the league coffers. The next one might double that — at least that’s what the league is hoping for. ... Nobody fires his GM in the middle of the NBA season unless things are really bad. As we wrote in this space last Sunday, it’s all bad out in Cleveland and owner Dan Gil
bert finally was forced to can his GM, C Chris Grant, after 3½ seasons as the team’s top basketball exec, and eight-plus seasons with the team. Gilbert hit on the heart of the Cavs’ No. 1 problem, other than their obvious lack of talent, despite having had two No. 1 overall picks and two No. 4 overall picks since LeBron left town in 2010. Under Grant, a losing culture has festered in the Cavs’ locker room, with too many of their top young players interested only in individual accolades and not in the team’s success. “We believe a change in leadership was necessary to establish the best possible culture and environment for our entire team to flourish,” Gilbert said. The culture is so bad, even
Andrew Bynum, a cancer in the locker room r before he was thrown off the team, cited it upon his release. “Just the atmosphere over there wasn’t the one that kind of promoted pr positive energy,” the new Pacer said during his first round of interviews with Indianapolis reporters. Indy coach
Frank Vogel says that Bynum won’t see the court for game action until he completes a week or two of practice after the All-Star break, meaning not until March, at the earliest. ... We understand why Silver picked New Orleans’
Anthony Davis to replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the All-Star Game. It’s always good to have a local in the game, but Silver still needs to find a spot on the West roster for Phoenix’s Goran Dragic. ... One NBA head coach on Ky
rie Irving: “Don’t call him a star. He’s a talent.” Agreed.