Since the NBA purchased the New Orleans Hornets, final responsibility for significant management decisions lies with the Commissioner’s Office in consultation with team chairman Jac Sperling. All decisions are made on the basis of what is in the best interests of the Hornets. In the case of the trade proposal that was made to the Hornets for Chris Paul, we decided, free from the influence of other NBA owners, that the team was better served with Chris in a Hornets uniform than by the outcome of the terms of that trade.

Everyone said that the NBA could not possibly make it because it had too many black players.

Smart drafting is a wonderful thing. A smart free-agent signing is a wonderful thing. Smart trades are a wonderful thing, and that's a function of management.

I would say the league is viable as long as you have owners who want to continue funding losses. But it's not on the long term a sustainable business model that we're happy to be supporting. It needs to be reset.

Follow your dreams and make the most of every experience.

We have a broad array of teams. And if somebody asked me whether a team is a good buy, my response is, Youd better hurry up, theyre going like hot cakes, and theyre going to be even more valuable when we get a system that is even more sustainable.

Our officials want nothing more than to be at the top of their professional game and make the correct call. That's what they do; that's their living, that's their pride, that's their joy. They don't achieve that because they happen to be human.