The playoffs are near, and questions abound. So we went to Manhattan to barge into commissioner David Stern's conference room and ask a few in advance of this week's Board of Governors meetings.

Here's the resulting Q&A from a discussion that touched on the West's hold over the East, re-seeding in the playoffs, referees, the lottery, LeBron James, the much-rumored age limit, labor negotiations with the union and Ron Artest:

	A competitive West playoffs will help out the East champ, believes the Commish.

ESPN.com: The West has dominated the East again in the regular season. How worried are you about another lopsided NBA Finals?

STERN: I think it's going to be great. The march in the West is going to be interesting to say the least. And suddenly our Eastern teams have awakened. I have a feeling that the Finals are going to wind up being more competitive. One suggested possibility is whoever gets through the West is going to have been sufficiently distressed that they'll be softened up a bit for the East.

ESPN.com: If you're wrong, there will be loud calls -- again -- for seeding teams in the playoffs from one to 16 based on overall record, regardless of conference. Or maybe re-seeding the teams after every round. How strongly have you considered such proposals?

STERN: Not seriously. But we look at everything. We don't say we do, but we do. Why not? But I think one of the things sports has going for it is a certain tradition. You make changes slowly, although you consider them all the time.

ESPN.com: I know you've said in the past that you think it's cyclical, that there have been periods where the East has dominated.

STERN: How do you spell Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons?

ESPN.com: But let's say Jason Kidd leaves New Jersey for San Antonio. That would be another blow for the East that would make it harder to bridge the gap.

STERN: I recognize that you look at the trend and see it, but the big thing we've had is a very dominant team in the Lakers, and they're just very good. I think (the trend raises) the question that the world is near the end, but I think we're doing great. I love the discussion of who the MVP is going to be and who's going to get to the Finals. Those are the kinds of things that sports leagues exist to exhibit.

ESPN.com: This season we've seen referees criticized by name and referees accused of being confrontational. That's after last season's playoffs, when officiating seemed to attract unprecedented scrutiny and criticism.

STERN: It always does and will continue to do so. So much is at stake. The job is so difficult. The spotlight is so intense. There will be questionable calls, there will be blown calls, there will be a lot riding on it. And depending on the particular incident, there will be all the usual (controversy). But we will keep working on it. We will keep mentoring our officials, evaluating them, working with them on tapes, ranking them, reviewing them. I urge you to watch the NCAAs, and I think it will confirm that NBA officials are certainly the best in our sport.

ESPN.com: So you're happy with the standard of NBA refereeing?

STERN: Actually, I'm never happy. That's the beauty of this job. Of course not. We're going to make it better, no question. ... We are trying to go back and look at refereeing from scratch.

ESPN.com: Like officiating, the draft lottery is another element of the league that is viewed with some skepticism by the public. How bothersome is it to know that, no matter who wins the lottery, there are bound to be accusations that the results were somehow pre-determined?

STERN: Well, at this point, it's actually humorous. We'll have representatives of the media present, as we have in the past, but I suppose there's a certain element to it that makes for good drama. It's reality programming. Reporters will write whatever they write. I think somebody might be expecting Elvis to be at the lottery. I can't wait to see.

	LeBron James is a great player ... for a high school kid.

ESPN.com: The ability to draft LeBron James arguably makes this the most anticipated lottery since the inaugural Patrick Ewing lottery in 1985. LeBron is coming into the league with more hype than anyone we've ever seen …

STERN: I don't think that that's actually so. I think he's coming in with more hype than any high school kid, because of the unusual circumstances of how money was made from him, on him, the suspension and non-suspension. But I've got to tell you, we've had some pretty important first picks in the draft. I'm sure he's a great player, but he's still a very young player.

ESPN.com: We are always hearing that an age limit of 20 is something that's very important to you. Is it?

STERN: I think it would be a good idea. It isn't an article of intense faith. I think it's an intelligent business discussion that leads you to conclude that from a societal perspective and from a business perspective, it would be better if the kids came to us older, better rounded, more mature and more marketable. But I recognize that those societal and business imperatives could be viewed as deprivation to a particular individual.

By placing the age limit that we currently have, at 18 or high school graduation, we have set a line. You could argue that you should be better off having no age limit, or place it at 14. There's a 13-year-old young woman who's playing golf this week. There have been 14-year-old tennis players and there are 12-year-old skaters and 11-year-old gymnasts. Who are we to draw the line at high school? But we do (in the NBA) because we're allowed to. And once you're in that line-drawing business, I think it would make more sense to draw it at age 20. But we'll see.

ESPN.com: You have said that reports suggesting the league and Players Association have already agreed to an age limit of 20 in the next collective-bargaining agreement are premature.

STERN: It's worse than premature. We've had no substantive discussions about it.

ESPN.com: If you did have an age limit, would the NBA's developmental league accommodate 18- and 19-year-olds who don't want to go to college or aren't eligible academically?

STERN: That's a good subject of discussion, and that's one of the reasons I think it's a good idea for us to have a minor league.

ESPN.com: Is the goal to negotiate an extension to the labor agreement with the union before next season? How realistic is that?

STERN: I think it's laudable, if not possible, and certainly something that we're going to try to get as much on the table as possible. Our goal is to pick a few dates and go off-site and have some discussions, and we expect that we'll be doing that in the next couple weeks.

ESPN.com: It's probably safe to assume the union would like to see the abolition of the luxury tax. Is the luxury tax working the way you intended it?

STERN: Not exactly. I think the luxury tax together with all the other elements (of the 1999 labor agreement) are tending to get us to the place that we want to get to. The greatest sense in which the deal is working is A) the economic situation is better than it was, although it's not great; and B) the system that we've designed together with the Players Association makes our teams competitive regardless of market size. So to see a San Antonio and a Sacramento vying with the Lakers is interesting. To see an Orlando and an Indianapolis vying with a Philadelphia and Detroit is also interesting. It has worked to make us into a more competitive league.

	Owners of winning teams would spend, even Donald Sterling.

ESPN.com: But the luxury tax appears to have given teams like the Clippers and Cleveland and many others the incentive not to spend, because of the millions owners can make in rebates for staying under the tax threshold.

STERN: I disagree completely. If those teams were in a position to win, you would see them spending wildly. It's just not so. They'd rather be winning because they would take in more money from the extra attendance than they would spend on the tax. It makes good copy, but it's not true. If a team is close to being ready to challenge, you will find them more than willing at the margins to go the final amount.

But Detroit (recently had) the best record in the East and they're not a taxpayer. San Antonio has the second-best record in the West and they're not a taxpayer. Most of our fans like the idea that our teams have to manage their rosters and their draft choices and their cap. That's just what has to be done. Anyone can go out and spend. You can take the same players and double their salaries, but that doesn't do anything for you.

ESPN.com: Back to the playoffs. New Jersey's Kenyon Martin hasn't had a problem with flagrant fouls since he was called into the league office about it last season. A recent summons to the office didn't have the same effect on Indiana's Ron Artest. Have you spoken to Artest about his troubles this season?

STERN: Not personally, no, but people representing me have.

ESPN.com: Has it reached the point with Artest that you will take a more active role in trying to help him avoid further suspensions?

STERN: I think he's going to be OK, I really do. I think he's a nice young man who will understand what it takes to be a great player in the NBA.

ESPN.com: On a personal note, is this job still fun for you? Have you thought (at age 60) about how long you want to do this?

STERN: I'm having a great time. It's challenging, but still fun.

Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here. Also, send Stein a question for possible use on ESPNEWS.