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NBA players will meet Saturday and likely discuss who could replace Billy Hunter.
HOUSTON ? Billy Hunter is frantically trying to keep his job as head of the NBA players? union, but he could be ousted Saturday when the players meet and discuss their future as well as possible candidates to replace the embattled chief.
Hunter, who has led the NBA Players Association for the last 16 years, has been embroiled in a scandal over his role in the union?s business practices. On Friday, he fired back at allegations that he had used his position to direct business to family members and mismanaged the union. Those charges were contained in major review of the union by the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and released last month.
Hunter charged that the report was ?rife with inaccuracies? and in his rebuttal said he was willing to refute them point by point. But Hunter has angered enough of the league?s major stars, along with influential player agents, to know that this could be a losing battle as the players descend on Houston for All-Star Weekend.
?Billy is in a really bad spot,? one union source said on Friday. ?He?s fighting for his job but it looks like it?s over, even if there isn?t any expectation that he?s done anything criminal. There probably will be talk at the meeting about who will follow Billy.?
The U.S. Attorney?s office is investigating whether Hunter broke any laws in the union?s business dealings with an investment firm that once employed the 70-year-old Hunter?s son, Todd. The contract that called for the union to pay $3 million to Todd Hunter?s firm, Cleveland-based Prim Capital, is being investigated for its legitimacy.
The union is looking at several candidates while longtime union counsel Ron Klempner leads the the organization on an interim basis. Klempner has told associates that he is not pushing for the post.
Hunter has $10.5 million left on a contract that paid him $15 million over five years. The scathing review of his tenure as union chief called into question the legality of the deal, saying it had not gone through the proper sign-offs from players before going into effect.
Source: http://feeds.nydailynews.com/~r/nydnrss/sports/basketball/~3/Wt6sGz-pPcw/story01.htm
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