How Donaghy Betting Scandal affects the NBA

SI.com caught up with Sports Illustrated senior writer Jon Wertheim on Wednesday to discuss the latest developments with former referee Tim Donaghy, who has pleaded guilty to two felony charges in an NBA betting scandal. Wertheim has covered the NBA, among other sports, since joining the magazine in 1997.

SI.com: How fortunate is the NBA that Donaghy appears to have concealed the scheme from the NBA and other referees?

Wertheim: If there's any silver lining, this notion of the 'isolated, rogue criminal' -- commissioner David Stern's term for Donaghy -- does seem accurate. The fact that Donaghy has already pled out indicates that they had the goods on him. But it's not good for the NBA in the sense that there doesn't seem to be much doubt that you did have a referee not only betting on games but also communicating his picks with these gamblers.

SI.com: The judge described Donaghy as having "unique access," including the interaction of different referees and players. How troubling is this for the NBA?

Wertheim: It's always been an open secret that certain refs have certain temperaments and that you can get away with 'X' with ref 'A' and you can't get away with it with ref 'B.' But here is concrete evidence that you basically have subjective rules. It's pretty striking for a referee to basically admit that different refs officiate differently.

SI.com: Donaghy faces a maximum of 25 years in prison for conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting betting information through interstate commerce. What kind of sentence can he expect?

Wertheim: There are some parallels to this and the Michael Vick case, that at some level the prosecutors are building a bigger case. This is about more than one referee for the prosecutors. His sentence is probably going to depend to some degree on how much he cooperates and how fruitful some of his information is. This is obviously a wide net being cast. A lot can happen between now and sentencing [which is scheduled for Nov. 9].

SI.com: What are the chances we'll find out the exact games he might have compromised?

Wertheim: I think it depends on how relevant that information is to the investigation. Something I find interesting is that prosecutors are saying Donaghy bet on games, but that really didn't figure into the charges he pled guilty to. That leads me to think that the NBA can do its own investigation, but in terms of the FBI, what basketball games may or may not have been tainted isn't really on its radar.

SI.com: What impact do you think this will have on fans for next season?