FILE - This Aug. 8, 1995 file photo shows NBA Players Association union executive director Simon Gourdine, center, announcing an agreement between the NBA and the players union, at a news conference in New York. From left are: New York Knicks' Charles Smith, Knicks' Buck Williams, Gourdine, NBA Commissioner David Stern and Deputy NBA Commissioner Russ Granik. Gourdine, who became deputy commissioner of the NBA in 1974 and went on to work for and lead the players' association in the 1990s, has died. He was 72. The NBA confirmed Gourdine died on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012, though the cause of death was not released. He was living in the Bronx.(AP Photo/Todd Plitt, File) NO SALES