That house was where Welts was on Wednesday when the text message came to say that Stern - his mentor, a second father in many respects -- had died. Stern's death hit the entire NBA hard, even though the league had been bracing for it in the days since the former commissioner was struck by a brain hemorrhage last month. But for Welts, one of the people fortunate enough to have had an intimately close working relationship with Stern, the loss goes even beyond the level of profound.