The Pistons were fined $200,000 last week for what amounts to little more than a miscommunication. The Pistons thought their two new players ? Rasheed Wallace and Mike James ? were eligible to play because they hadn?t heard otherwise from the league. The league said the onus was on the Pistons to call and find out whether the deal was complete. Is that really a $200,000 offense? It?s absurd. It presupposes that the Pistons were trying to pull a fast one, trying, in essence, to cheat.

McCoskey calls the fine "Garbage"

If the league wants to fine someone, why not fine New Jersey president Rod Thorn? Tell me this isn?t tampering:

Thorn, when he heard that the Hawks were about to send Wallace to the Pistons, made two phone calls to Atlanta General Manager Billy Knight, trying to talk him out of doing the deal. He told Knight that it was a horrible mistake for the Hawks and that they would be better served using Wallace in a sign-and-trade deal over the summer. Fortunately for the Pistons, Knight and Dumars have an excellent working relationship and Knight rejected Thorn?s self-serving advice. But isn?t that tampering? Isn?t that a finable offense?