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Iverson Traded to Nuggets for Joe Smith and Two #1s

Allen Iverson has been traded to the Denver Nuggets, ESPN reports.

The Denver Nuggets have reached an agreement in principle with the Philadelphia 76ers to acquire Allen Iverson, according to NBA front-office sources. The trade, pending league approval, some two weeks after Iverson demanded a trade in Philly, would send Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two 2007 first-round picks to the Sixers for Iverson and perhaps another minimum-salaried player or two. It was expected to be completed later Tuesday barring any snags.

The Sixers had been hoping to take back only expiring contracts in any Iverson deal, unless they were receiving a top-flight young player like Minnesota’s Randy Foye or Shaun Livingston of the Los Angeles Clippers. But with Philly and Denver struggling to find a third team to join in to make the deal more financially enticing for the Sixers, they decided to end an auction that began in earnest when Iverson’s demand to be traded was confirmed by Sixers chairman Ed Snider on Dec. 8.

This deal will bring Philly a former league assist leader in Miller, Smith’s expiring salary of nearly $7 million and those two first-round picks in June — projected to be in the 20s — to go with their own lottery pick. Miller is averaging 13 points and 9.1 assists per game — third-best in the NBA — while Smith, an 11-year veteran, has played little this season, averaging only 13.5 minutes and 5.1 points per game.

The Nuggets’ interest in Iverson dates to last February and has only increased since the Sixers made him available to the whole league earlier this month. Their chief motivation is pairing Iverson with Anthony in coach George Karl’s up-tempo attack, but acquiring Iverson now — just a day after Anthony and J.R. Smith were suspended for 15 and 10 games, respectively, for their roles in Saturday night’s fight with the New York Knicks — gives a much-needed jolt to Denver’s depleted roster.

You’re never going to get equal value for a superstar and the 76ers didn’t. The only consolation is the two 1st round picks, but that seems to matter less in the NBA than any other sport except baseball.

 

MSG Post Mortem

There’s more to the story about what happened late Saturday night at the hallowed Madison Square Garden in New York than meets the eye. Sports fanatics (like myself), tend to take what happened at face value. However, being a resident of the greater New York metropolitan area and also being a lifelong Knickerbockers fan, I must intercede on behalf of all the suffering fans waiting patiently for a glimmer of hope at the end of a long, dark tunnel.

Let’s examine the facts. Less than a minute to go in another boring affair, with the Knicks getting blown out, yet again on their home court, Nuggets coach and Isiah Thomas hater, George Karl, leaves his star players on the court up by over 20 points. A little retribution for his buddy Larry Brown? A bashing of the hated Thomas? Or just a “who cares” attitude by Karl? Whatever the answer, he had no business allowing one of the three best players in the game stay on the court, despite the game being over with a minute to go. Thomas, for his failings, seemed to warn or threaten Carmelo Anthony to stay away from what turned out to be Pistons-Pacers lite.

In the end, suspensions and fines abound, the NBA suffering another perverbial black eye, and both teams attempting to do damage control over something that should have never happened in the first place. Karl is wrong and his team’s owner should take him to the woodshed for allowing Anthony to miss 20% of the season, not to mention the fines and what inevitably will be empty seats in Denver. Thomas, hated amongst most of the league, is not much better. He seemed to incite the fallout Saturday and trumped that “no one pushes us around in our house”. Funny, as a fan, I’m waiting to see this “team” pull together and play solid defense. The Knicks, the once storied franchise, are a mere 5-10 at home — at the squared circle — Madison Square Garden. Play like a team, then act like one.

We are all hopeful, Knicks and NBA fans alike, that this is the last in the theatrics we will see this year and we can get back to the kind of play we all enjoyed when Magic, Bird, Jordan and the like played back when basketball was fun.

 

Carmelo Anthony Suspended 15 Games for Knights – Nuggets Fight

Carmelo Anthony heads the list of NBA players suspended after Saturday night’s melee at Madison Square Garden.

Photo Nuggets Knicks Madison Square Garden Brawl

The Denver Nuggets were the bigger losers Monday after the NBA handed out penalties in the fight that broke out near the end of Saturday night’s game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Denver’s Carmelo Anthony, the NBA’s leading scorer, was suspended 15 games for sucker-punching the Knicks’ Mardy Collins. Denver teammate J.R. Smith and New York’s Nate Robinson also received stiff penalties from the league — 10-game suspensions.

“It is our obligation to take the strongest possible steps to avoid such failures in the future and to make a statement to all who follow the game of basketball that we understand our obligations and take them seriously,” NBA commissioner David Stern said in a statement.

But there was no separate penalty for Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, who had warned Anthony not to go into the lane before the mayhem started Saturday night. There was speculation Thomas would be penalized for his comments to Anthony. Stern acknowledged hearing about it, but said he relied only on “definitive information” when handing out punishments.

The NBA, still trying to repair its image after the brawl between Indiana Pacers players and Detroit Pistons fans two years ago, also fined the Nuggets and Knicks $500,000 apiece. Stern said the fines to the organizations are meant to show he is serious about cleaning up the game. “It’s a more general message that I’m going to start holding our teams accountable,” Stern said.

Collins, whose hard foul of Smith was the flashpoint for the fight, was suspended for six games. Knicks forward Jared Jeffries was suspended for four games, and New York’s Jerome James and Denver’s Nene were hit with one-game penalties for leaving their respective benches during an on-court altercation.

Thomas had a discussion with Anthony about 20 seconds before Collins delivered an arms-around-the-neck foul on Smith on a breakaway basket. Though Thomas acknowledged telling Anthony not to go into the paint, he said he meant it not as a threat but as a lecture on sportsmanship.

“I don’t regret fouling him as hard as I did, I just regret that the whole thing escalated the way it did,” Collins said Monday. “I was out there competing and I didn’t want the guy to get a layup and I was basically trying to stop him from going in the air. That’s why I fouled him that hard, so he wouldn’t get hurt.”

After the game, which Denver won 123-100, Thomas and Knicks players were angry that the Nuggets had four starters on the floor with 1:15 to play. And while Thomas wouldn’t say if Denver coach George Karl was trying to embarrass the Knicks, he again stressed that starters shouldn’t have been in the game. “I can’t speak for him, but he put his players in a tough position,” Thomas said. “I think he put his players in a very bad position.”

All 10 players on the floor were ejected after the brawl.

Frankly, while the $500,000 fines are substantial, the League has fired Mark Cuban more than that for things far less detrimental to the game’s image. And a six game suspension for a cheap shot that could have seriously injured another player is light, indeed.

 

Knicks Trying to Find Way to Not Pay Larry Brown

The New York Knicks’ problem with canning Larry Brown is he still has $40 million left on his contract. The team may have found a loophole:

The Knicks contend Larry Brown broke Madison Square Garden policy with his roadside interviews, a decision the team believes could wind up saving them millions.

The Knicks fired Brown on Thursday after one season as their coach and replaced him with team president and general manager Isiah Thomas. Brown has four years and a reported $40 million left on his contract, but the Knicks say the Hall of Fame coach is not entitled to all of it because of his disregard for team policy.

Since James Dolan became owner of the Knicks and Rangers, Madison Square Garden policy specifies that any interviews must be done with a public relations official present — with no exceptions, according to a person familiar with the policy, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because this matter has not been resolved.

After reports surfaced in May that Dolan was considering buying out Brown’s contract, the Knicks made neither Brown nor Thomas available after they worked out potential draft prospects.

Reporters soon began waiting near the entrance to the Knicks’ training facility in Greenburgh, N.Y. On a few occasions, Brown pulled his car over to speak, saying during one interview he felt like a “dead man walking.”

That Knicks owner is a control freak.

 

New York Knicks fire Larry Brown

From AP

NEW YORK – The New York Knicks put Larry Brown out of his coaching misery Thursday, ending weeks of uncertainty by firing the Hall of Fame coach with four years and a reported $40 million left on his contract. President and general manager Isiah Thomas will replace Brown as coach.

In Brown’s one season in New York, the Knicks stumbled to a 23-59 record — second worst in the NBA and matching the most losses in club history — while Brown publicly feuded with Stephon Marbury and other players.

*****

It’s the second straight ugly ending for Brown, who was bought out by the Pistons last season despite leading Detroit to the NBA finals, winning one title, in both of his seasons there.

The Knicks then gave the Brooklyn native what he called his “dream job” with hopes that he could return his hometown team to the playoffs. But despite a league-high payroll of more than $120 million, the result was perhaps the most embarrassing season in franchise history.

Brown, who missed three games in April because of illness, had only one worse season as a coach, when he went 21-61 with the San Antonio Spurs in 1988-89.

The bickering with Marbury — a favorite of Thomas and Dolan — just added to the chaos. Brown and Marbury clashed when Brown coached the U.S. team in the 2004 Olympics, and the relationship was closely watched from the moment Brown arrived in New York.

In March, Marbury vowed to play more aggressively next season, because playing Brown’s way wasn’t leading to enough wins. Brown fired back that Marbury already had enough freedom and should do what was best for the team, and the back-and-forth continued for four days before Brown pulled Marbury aside to settle it.

Other players said they were confused about their roles with the team, as Brown used more than 40 different starting lineups, easily the most in the league. Thomas acquired Steve Francis and Jalen Rose during the season, but neither made much impact.

*****

Thomas becomes the Knicks’ fifth coach in the last five years. Jeff Van Gundy left early in the 2001-02 season and has been followed by Don Chaney, Lenny Wilkens and Herb Williams before Brown.

Brown coached the Pistons to the NBA title in the 2003-04 season. He missed 17 games the following year with the Pistons because of hip replacement surgery. That led to a bladder problem that required surgery.

Brown is 1,010-800 in 23 seasons as an NBA coach, making previous stops in Denver, New Jersey, San Antonio, the Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana, Philadelphia and Detroit. He also coached four seasons in the ABA and won a national championship with Kansas in 1988.

Larry Brown’s firing doesn’t surprise me. The Knicks aren’t well run and the management has little patience. Last year was a disaster for the team on the court. Off the court looks little better after what the Knicks shelled out for Brown.

Brown on the other hand tends to wear out his welcome where ever he works.(Similiar to the late Billy Martin in baseball without half the drama) but almost always produced results I’m not a big basketball fan, but I had a feeling this wouldn’t be a long-term arrangement.

Some team will land Brown before the next NBA season is half over. You heard it here first.

 

Knicks Might Fire Larry Brown

ESPN reports that the Knicks are considering firing Larry Brown after one miserable season.

Larry Brown’s dream job with the New York Knicks could end after only one season. Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan, who’s upset over Brown’s record and the coach’s public criticism of his players, is considering buying out the final four years of the coach’s contract, the New York Daily News and New York Post reported in Sunday’s editions. The buyout is worth at least $40 million, the newspaper reported. The Knicks declined to comment. One published report indicated Knicks president Isiah Thomas was in line to replace Brown as head coach, the newspaper said, but the team would not confirm nor deny it.

Brown, who led the Knicks to a 23-59 season, has indicated that he will not resign. But the club could avoid having to pay another coach upward of $5 million a year if Thomas takes the job, the Daily News reported. One source told the newspaper that Thomas — who coached the Pacers from 2000-2003 — would be amenable to coaching the Knicks.

In April, one day after the Knicks completed one of the worst seasons in franchise history, Thomas said the Hall of Fame coach would return to coach the team for a second season. The underachieving roster was another story. “I am loyal to winning and I am not loyal to any singular individual,” Thomas said then. “I’m going to do what I need to do to make our team better.

It would be bizarre indeed to spend $40 million to have Larry Brown, widely considered one of the top two coaches in the league, not to coach the team. It takes any new coach a while to turn around a bad team, which is almost always the result of poor player personnel decisions.

 
 


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