COLOGNE, Germany -- NBA commissioner David Stern suspects complaints about
his league's new ball will go away -- just as they did in soccer.
Some of the NBA's biggest stars, including Shaquille O'Neal, Dwyane Wade and
Steve Nash, have said the ball is sticky when dry and slippery when wet.
"To make me feel better, I went back and looked at reactions when Adidas
introduced its new soccer ball," Stern said Wednesday. "There was virtually
identical commentary."
The Adidas ball, introduced before this year's World Cup, was met with heavy
criticism from many players, especially goalkeepers. But few complaints were
heard during the tournament.
O'Neal said the new basketball "feels like one of those cheap balls that you
buy at the toy store, indoor-outdoor balls."
Stern, in Cologne to attend the final day of a four-team tournament that
includes the Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers, said he would keep monitoring
the situation.
"But as the players get more used to it, it will become less and less of an
issue for us," Stern said.
Stern also said NBA teams will continue to tour Europe for preseason games.
He called the current trip a "complete success" -- apart from seeing a fan in
Cologne wearing a counterfeit Allen Iverson jersey in Seattle SuperSonics
colors.
"Then I knew there was some hanky-panky," Stern said with a chuckle. "It was
over the top."
The Los Angeles Clippers and the San Antonio Spurs also have been playing in
Europe, and Stern said there was a long list of cities eager to host NBA teams,
including London.
"We'd like to make this an annual affair," he said. "Players have been very
happy, they have been enriched by the experience."
