"The league was extremely pleased with his progress," the source said. "They thought it was his best year."

Donaghy, 40, allegedly bet on NBA games, including some that he officiated during the past two seasons. He resigned less than two weeks ago.

Despite claims from friends and neighbors yesterday that Donaghy had been the target of a private investigator hired by the NBA to look into his gambling habits, the league continued to increase his workload.

"The playoffs are a reward," said a retired NBA referee, who asked not to be identified. "(Donaghy) made it to the second round (of the playoffs). From everything I heard, he was on track to referee third-round games next season."

The same referee said that the NBA goes to great lengths to monitor and evaluate its officiating crews and that if the league knew of any improprieties involving Donaghy, it would have acted swiftly to remove him.

After Donaghy worked a Spurs-Suns playoff game, he received a phone call from the league to inform him that his season was over, while expressing satisfaction with this work.

"Tim made it to the second round, so what does that tell you?" the former referee said. "The league records every call an official makes. There is an observer at every game. And then you have coaches and executives from teams calling all the time saying, 'Did you see this, or did you see that.' A lot of guys think it is too much, but Stu (Jackson, the NBA's vice president of basketball operations) and Ronnie (Nunn, the NBA's supervisor of officials) want to make sure there is accountability."

In a league where the best players are believed to receive a favorable whistle more often than not, NBA referees are regarded as the most scrutinized officials of all the major pro sports. With players getting bigger, stronger and faster, the game becomes harder to manage each season. The block/charge foul remains one of the most difficult calls to make. After games, referees will review calls that they feel were questionable even before getting a phone call from the league office.

While NBA refs may feel they are being micromanaged, they also are some of the most recognized officials in any sport. In some cases, they are more recognizable than some of the players.

Bob Delaney is a former New Jersey state trooper who once infiltrated the mob underworld. Dick Bavetta, the longtime official from Brooklyn, competed against Charles Barkley in a charity race during All-Star weekend in Las Vegas. Bennett Salvatore owns a well-known restaurant in Stamford, Conn., while Nunn makes regular appearances on NBA TV.

Joey Crawford, the son of former major league umpire Shag Crawford, plays up his image as a curmudgeon to the point where he ejected a heckler from a Nets game last season. In April, he was suspended by the league for ejecting the Spurs' Tim Duncan during a nationally televised game against Dallas.

After 13 years, Donaghy was starting to earn a reputation as a no-nonsense official, who last season called the most technical fouls in the league. In Donaghy's first Knicks game last season, he called two technicals on Chicago head coach Scott Skiles, resulting in an automatic ejection.

In Donaghy's other game in New York, he was part of an officiating crew that awarded the Knicks 39 free throws compared to eight for the Miami Heat. Five of the Knicks' free throws came courtesy of technical fouls called against Pat Riley and assistant coach Ron Rothstein as well as from three defensive three-second violations.

That Donaghy would lead the league in technical fouls is not at all surprising to people who know the ref and have described him as both "hot-tempered" and "always angry."