Stern addresses hot topics before Lakers-Rockets Game 6

HOUSTON -- NBA commissioner David Stern wants to keep the focus on basketball this postseason, but he's well aware of the off-the-court issues that have come into focus over the last several weeks.

In particular, Stern wasn't proud of Mark Cuban's behavior during the end of the just-completed Nuggets-Mavericks series. Stern also said that he's in favor of an expansion of instant replay and plans to study arena security issues.

Cuban, Dallas' outspoken owner, was engaged in a war of words with Denver's Kenyon Martin stemming from a brief-but-heated postgame incident Cuban had with Martin's mother after Game 3. Martin threatened Cuban, and the volatile forward also was involved in several profane exchanges with fans in Dallas.

Despite the public nature of the incidents, Stern and the league decided that no punishments were needed.

"They were serious and I take full responsibility for the non-league action," said Stern, who discussed the incident with players' association president Billy Hunter. Stern addressed the media Thursday before Game 6 of the Lakers-Rockets series.

Cuban eventually apologized to Martin and his family through his blog. Martin and several of his Denver teammates felt the apology was insincere. The Nuggets won the series in five games to advance to the Western Conference finals.

"What went on there was not anything that I was proud of," Stern said, "but I thought there was an attempt at an apology in the blog, which is the way that Mark communicates. But Billy and I agreed that something more was called for."

Stern also may decide that more security is needed inside arenas, especially around family members of the opposing team. There were a number of highly publicized run-ins between Denver family members and fans in Dallas.

Instant replay and postgame reviews are also on Stern's offseason agenda. He admitted the difficulty and confusion many feel in interpreting flagrant fouls. What he doesn't want is a rollback of the rules.

"We have the world's best athletes, going at huge speeds, very strong in a confined space," he said. "There's not going to be a lessening of the rules so we can go back to the good old days where a man's man could ring somebody bell or go clock somebody. There's another sport that you should go watch or two. Not basketball."

Stern said he's disappointed that the competition committee, which is made up of coaches, hasn't been bolder on instant replay. The league admitted a missed call at the end of Game 3 in the Dallas-Denver series that helped lead to a Nuggets' win.

The Mavericks questioned why the league so readily admitted the mistake. "You can't have it both ways," Stern said. "You want us to do the reviews ... have the transparency and [then] that becomes a subject of conversation."

The commissioner also talked about the possibility of an NFL-like system where coaches can challenge plays, though he wasn't sure that would pass muster with the league's owners.

"I expect to be voted down 30-nothing," he said.

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