-Courtesy of World Wrestling Entertainment®
World Wrestling Entertainment® announced today that due to the debacle caused by Kroenke Sports Enterprises regarding Game 4 of the NBA Playoffs, WWE is moving the May 25, 2009 edition of Monday Night RAW® from the Pepsi Center in Denver, CO to the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The event will begin at 5:30 PM PT.
In addition, due to the overwhelming support shown by the Staples Center, Los Angeles Lakers and the California WWE Fans, WWE will hold back-to-back nights of action at the Staples Center, with a second event on Tuesday, May 26 at 6:30 PM PT. Both shows go on sale tonight at 11 PM EST/8 PM PT through Ticketmaster.
WWE will be returning to Denver for an event at the Denver Coliseum on Friday, August 7. Refunds for the Pepsi Center event can be obtained by returning tickets to the place of purchase.
“WWE is extremely grateful to the Lakers and the Staples Center for the hospitality and professionalism shown to WWE during this whole situation,” said Vince McMahon, Chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment. “We apologize to all of the WWE fans in the Denver area who have been inconvenienced by Kroenke Sports Enterprises. We look forward to bringing two consecutive nights of WWE excitement to Staples Center this Monday and Tuesday night.”
Showing posts with label Nuggets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nuggets. Show all posts
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Nuggets lack the look of a champion
By John McMullen, NBA Editor
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Leave it to Vince McMahon to clear things up.
Until the World Wrestling Entertainment chairman's little dust-up with Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke, I couldn't explain why I picked the Los Angeles Lakers to beat the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals.
In case you missed it, Kroenke Sports Enterprises, the parent company of the Nuggets, leased the Pepsi Center to McMahon's WWE for a live airing of the company's flagship television show, Monday Night Raw, on May 25, the same night as Game 4 of the NBA's Western Conference Finals.
The arena booking was made way back in August of 2008 by WWE, and it will likely cost KSE in the high six-figures to make McMahon take his traveling circus down the road to Colorado Springs.
The double-booking can only be interpreted in two ways, incompetence or expectation of failure. Since Kroenke and his staff have been doing this kind of thing for years and the Pepsi Center is a regular stop for WWE, I'm betting on the latter.
The only way there would have been a conflict with Monday Night Raw taking place in the Pepsi Center next Monday is if the Nuggets advanced to the conference finals, thought to be a daunting task since they have been annually bounced in the first round. So, by booking the date, Kroenke seems to have been saying his team wasn't good enough.
To be honest, when the contract was signed, they weren't.
But the minute Chauncey Billups was acquired in the Allen Iverson deal, Kroenke should have been on the phone, rescheduling WWE.
"Even though the Denver Nuggets had a strong team this year and were projected to make the playoffs, obviously Nuggets and Pepsi Center owner Stan Kroenke did not have enough faith in his own team to hold the May 25th date for a potential playoff game," the always shy McMahon said. "Stan Kroenke is just a bad businessman."
McMahon's feigned outrage was all shtick. A phenomenal promoter, McMahon saw an opportunity to garner some free publicity and put the squeeze on Kroenke for a bigger settlement check. Monday Night Raw will draw a 3.5 cable rating whether it emanates from Denver or Colorado Springs.
In reality, Kroenke was being a good businessman. The guaranteed revenue of Monday Night Raw back in August of '08 certainly looked like the far better bet than a Nuggets home game.
However, it also points to the Nuggets' fatal flaw.
With the notable exception of Billups, I get the feeling Denver doesn't believe it belongs on this level.
The Nuggets have looked like a far better team than the Lakers since the playoffs began, and sure enough they outplayed Phil Jackson's club in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday night.
But, after 48 minutes of basketball, those staring up at the Staples Center scoreboard saw...Lakers - 105, Nuggets - 103.
Missed free throws, Kenyon Martin's rookie-like reach-in fouls in the waning moments, along with Anthony Carter's ridiculously lazy inbounds pass to Billups in the final minute enabled LA to take back a game Denver should have had in its back pocket.
"We lost out on a great opportunity to steal this game," said Billups. "We played probably good enough, but I think we lost the game on poor free throw shooting. We missed 12 free throws and it comes back we lost by two points."
The Nuggets just don't have the look or feel of a champion.
It took the bombastic Vince McMahon to point that out.
 |
Until the World Wrestling Entertainment chairman's little dust-up with Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke, I couldn't explain why I picked the Los Angeles Lakers to beat the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals.
In case you missed it, Kroenke Sports Enterprises, the parent company of the Nuggets, leased the Pepsi Center to McMahon's WWE for a live airing of the company's flagship television show, Monday Night Raw, on May 25, the same night as Game 4 of the NBA's Western Conference Finals.
The arena booking was made way back in August of 2008 by WWE, and it will likely cost KSE in the high six-figures to make McMahon take his traveling circus down the road to Colorado Springs.
The double-booking can only be interpreted in two ways, incompetence or expectation of failure. Since Kroenke and his staff have been doing this kind of thing for years and the Pepsi Center is a regular stop for WWE, I'm betting on the latter.
The only way there would have been a conflict with Monday Night Raw taking place in the Pepsi Center next Monday is if the Nuggets advanced to the conference finals, thought to be a daunting task since they have been annually bounced in the first round. So, by booking the date, Kroenke seems to have been saying his team wasn't good enough.
To be honest, when the contract was signed, they weren't.
But the minute Chauncey Billups was acquired in the Allen Iverson deal, Kroenke should have been on the phone, rescheduling WWE.
"Even though the Denver Nuggets had a strong team this year and were projected to make the playoffs, obviously Nuggets and Pepsi Center owner Stan Kroenke did not have enough faith in his own team to hold the May 25th date for a potential playoff game," the always shy McMahon said. "Stan Kroenke is just a bad businessman."
McMahon's feigned outrage was all shtick. A phenomenal promoter, McMahon saw an opportunity to garner some free publicity and put the squeeze on Kroenke for a bigger settlement check. Monday Night Raw will draw a 3.5 cable rating whether it emanates from Denver or Colorado Springs.
In reality, Kroenke was being a good businessman. The guaranteed revenue of Monday Night Raw back in August of '08 certainly looked like the far better bet than a Nuggets home game.
However, it also points to the Nuggets' fatal flaw.
With the notable exception of Billups, I get the feeling Denver doesn't believe it belongs on this level.
The Nuggets have looked like a far better team than the Lakers since the playoffs began, and sure enough they outplayed Phil Jackson's club in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday night.
But, after 48 minutes of basketball, those staring up at the Staples Center scoreboard saw...Lakers - 105, Nuggets - 103.
Missed free throws, Kenyon Martin's rookie-like reach-in fouls in the waning moments, along with Anthony Carter's ridiculously lazy inbounds pass to Billups in the final minute enabled LA to take back a game Denver should have had in its back pocket.
"We lost out on a great opportunity to steal this game," said Billups. "We played probably good enough, but I think we lost the game on poor free throw shooting. We missed 12 free throws and it comes back we lost by two points."
The Nuggets just don't have the look or feel of a champion.
It took the bombastic Vince McMahon to point that out.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Cuban and K-Mart's mom is just another playoff rivalry
By John McMullen, NBA Editor
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Familiarity makes playoff basketball so much fun.
When a postseason series goes six or seven games, it's only natural that players and coaches alike get a little chippy with each other.
After all, I can't spend two hours with the better-half before she starts chirping at me. So, things are bound to bubble over when a basketball team sees the same faces over and over again for two weeks, and when the stakes are so high.
Cramped quarters breed rivalries, so you should expect certain things. Things like Dwight Howard losing his cool and throwing elbows or Shane Battier juicing more than Abdullah the Butcher.
But, Mark Cuban vs. Kenyon Martin's mother?
Now that's a rivalry no one saw coming.
The billionaire team owner became the villain in this scenario after the Mavs' controversial Game 3 loss in Dallas. The Nuggets took advantage of an NBA- acknowledged officiating mistake to beat the Mavericks 106-105 and take a commanding 3-0 series lead.
Frustrated, the immature Cuban stormed off the court like a bull in a china shop, banging into a cameraman and trying to intimidate everything in his path.
As he was finally leaving the floor, Cuban spotted Martin's mother, Lydia Moore, wearing a Nuggets jersey. According to Cuban, a fan called the Nuggets "thugs" and he looked at Moore and said, "That includes your son."
Martin's agent told the Denver Post a far different story, claiming Cuban said, "Your son is a punk."
Martin responded with a cryptic threat at Monday's shootaround, vowing to handle things himself.
"It's a little personal, and I'm going to take care of it," Martin said. "I'm not going to do the whole media thing, back and forth. That's his thing. I'm more of a face-to-face type of dude."
Not exactly a great way to counter Cuban's original thesis.
Nonetheless, Cuban, likely feeling the pressure mounting, not to mention fearing the 6-foot-9, 230-pound man he antagonized and may or may not think is a thug, took to his blog early Tuesday morning to apologize for his indiscretion.
Coincidentally, the mea culpa only came after the Mavs finally found the win column in the series with a 119-117 triumph in Game 4 on Monday night.
"It started as a smart ass comment that I know that no one heard," Cuban wrote. "How do I know, because there was a reporter right there next to me, as well as other people who saw the whole thing and didn't hear a word of it.
"But at this point, that has become irrelevant. It doesn't matter why I said it. I shouldn't have said anything. Now, the reality is that this has gotten out of hand.
"When tempers and such start impacting the fan experience both in Dallas and Denver, and it requires special security, that's not what I want for Mavs or Nuggets fans. No one takes more abuse and gets more threats on the road than I do. So I know exactly how it feels. I've also had my family and friends spit on at games in this series. So I know how unpleasant that is as well. It's a dirty secret that all arenas need to do a better job of protection for visiting team fans, particularly during the playoffs.
"So at this point I would like to apologize to you and your mom KMart for my comment. I should have not said anything and I was wrong. Hopefully you will accept the apology and we can move on."
Cuban continued with the age-old technique of the bribe.
"When the series comes back to Dallas, your family, and the family of other Nuggets players are welcome to stay in my suite, with my family," Cuban continued. "It's amazing how tempers mellow when real people talk to each other and realize that its still just a game.
"If that isn't acceptable, I'm happy to provide a suite, free of charge to them as well and place whatever security is needed to make them feel comfortable.
"We tried to have enough additional security for them tonight as well, but I know your family and friends didn't feel as comfortable as they should. I apologize for that as well. This arena is my responsibility, we could and should do a better job.
"So if we can put this behind us, I will make sure when the series comes back to Dallas, your family and friends, and that of your teammates are very comfortable at our Arena.
"Then I hope we both take the advice of your coach and can get together this summer. Dinner for you and your family is on me."
Notice how Cuban wrote "when the series comes back to Dallas," even though Denver will be a heavy favorite to end the set in the Rocky Mountains on Wednesday night.
Cuban is a fan first and one of the best owners in sports. Sure he's a bit nutty and hasn't brought a championship to Dallas just yet, but he will. The Mavs owner just doesn't accept losing and he lives and dies with his team. He is the Y2K version of George Steinbrenner and will bring a championship to "Big D" sooner rather than later.
Cuban lost his cool, but calls for a courtside ban or a Steinbrenner-like suspension for a year are ludicrous. This is playoff basketball and tempers flared.
Winning cures everything and the Martin family will likely get the last laugh on Wednesday.
If that's not enough revenge, perhaps we can set up a Martin-Cuban mixed martial arts match. Cuban, a noted MMA fan, has built his fledgling television network, HDNet, around the sport.
Of course, that would be quite the mismatch so I envision bringing back Wilmer Valderrama's atrocious MTV show "Yo Momma," where people "battled" each other by belittling each other's mother.
I can see it now...
Cuban: "Yo momma so fat when her beeper goes off, people thought she was backing up."
Martin: "Yo momma so stupid it took her two hours to watch 60 minutes."
Cuban: "Yo momma so poor she can't afford to pay attention."
Martin: "Yo momma so ugly she made an onion cry."
I would watch that.
| |
When a postseason series goes six or seven games, it's only natural that players and coaches alike get a little chippy with each other.
After all, I can't spend two hours with the better-half before she starts chirping at me. So, things are bound to bubble over when a basketball team sees the same faces over and over again for two weeks, and when the stakes are so high.
Cramped quarters breed rivalries, so you should expect certain things. Things like Dwight Howard losing his cool and throwing elbows or Shane Battier juicing more than Abdullah the Butcher.
But, Mark Cuban vs. Kenyon Martin's mother?
Now that's a rivalry no one saw coming.
The billionaire team owner became the villain in this scenario after the Mavs' controversial Game 3 loss in Dallas. The Nuggets took advantage of an NBA- acknowledged officiating mistake to beat the Mavericks 106-105 and take a commanding 3-0 series lead.
 |
As he was finally leaving the floor, Cuban spotted Martin's mother, Lydia Moore, wearing a Nuggets jersey. According to Cuban, a fan called the Nuggets "thugs" and he looked at Moore and said, "That includes your son."
Martin's agent told the Denver Post a far different story, claiming Cuban said, "Your son is a punk."
Martin responded with a cryptic threat at Monday's shootaround, vowing to handle things himself.
"It's a little personal, and I'm going to take care of it," Martin said. "I'm not going to do the whole media thing, back and forth. That's his thing. I'm more of a face-to-face type of dude."
Not exactly a great way to counter Cuban's original thesis.
Nonetheless, Cuban, likely feeling the pressure mounting, not to mention fearing the 6-foot-9, 230-pound man he antagonized and may or may not think is a thug, took to his blog early Tuesday morning to apologize for his indiscretion.
Coincidentally, the mea culpa only came after the Mavs finally found the win column in the series with a 119-117 triumph in Game 4 on Monday night.
"It started as a smart ass comment that I know that no one heard," Cuban wrote. "How do I know, because there was a reporter right there next to me, as well as other people who saw the whole thing and didn't hear a word of it.
"But at this point, that has become irrelevant. It doesn't matter why I said it. I shouldn't have said anything. Now, the reality is that this has gotten out of hand.
"When tempers and such start impacting the fan experience both in Dallas and Denver, and it requires special security, that's not what I want for Mavs or Nuggets fans. No one takes more abuse and gets more threats on the road than I do. So I know exactly how it feels. I've also had my family and friends spit on at games in this series. So I know how unpleasant that is as well. It's a dirty secret that all arenas need to do a better job of protection for visiting team fans, particularly during the playoffs.
"So at this point I would like to apologize to you and your mom KMart for my comment. I should have not said anything and I was wrong. Hopefully you will accept the apology and we can move on."
Cuban continued with the age-old technique of the bribe.
"When the series comes back to Dallas, your family, and the family of other Nuggets players are welcome to stay in my suite, with my family," Cuban continued. "It's amazing how tempers mellow when real people talk to each other and realize that its still just a game.
"If that isn't acceptable, I'm happy to provide a suite, free of charge to them as well and place whatever security is needed to make them feel comfortable.
"We tried to have enough additional security for them tonight as well, but I know your family and friends didn't feel as comfortable as they should. I apologize for that as well. This arena is my responsibility, we could and should do a better job.
"So if we can put this behind us, I will make sure when the series comes back to Dallas, your family and friends, and that of your teammates are very comfortable at our Arena.
"Then I hope we both take the advice of your coach and can get together this summer. Dinner for you and your family is on me."
Notice how Cuban wrote "when the series comes back to Dallas," even though Denver will be a heavy favorite to end the set in the Rocky Mountains on Wednesday night.
Cuban is a fan first and one of the best owners in sports. Sure he's a bit nutty and hasn't brought a championship to Dallas just yet, but he will. The Mavs owner just doesn't accept losing and he lives and dies with his team. He is the Y2K version of George Steinbrenner and will bring a championship to "Big D" sooner rather than later.
Cuban lost his cool, but calls for a courtside ban or a Steinbrenner-like suspension for a year are ludicrous. This is playoff basketball and tempers flared.
Winning cures everything and the Martin family will likely get the last laugh on Wednesday.
If that's not enough revenge, perhaps we can set up a Martin-Cuban mixed martial arts match. Cuban, a noted MMA fan, has built his fledgling television network, HDNet, around the sport.
Of course, that would be quite the mismatch so I envision bringing back Wilmer Valderrama's atrocious MTV show "Yo Momma," where people "battled" each other by belittling each other's mother.
I can see it now...
Cuban: "Yo momma so fat when her beeper goes off, people thought she was backing up."
Martin: "Yo momma so stupid it took her two hours to watch 60 minutes."
Cuban: "Yo momma so poor she can't afford to pay attention."
Martin: "Yo momma so ugly she made an onion cry."
I would watch that.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Billups wins Sportsmanship Award
NEW YORK, April 28, 2009 – Chauncey Billups of the Denver Nuggets is the recipient of the Joe Dumars Trophy presented to the 2008-09 NBA Sportsmanship Award winner, the NBA announced today.
A 12-year veteran, Billups was one of six divisional winners, which included Boston’s Ray Allen, Detroit’s Antonio McDyess, Golden State’s Ronny Turiaf, San Antonio’s Michael Finley and Washington’s Antawn Jamison.
Billups received 82 first-place votes (2,478 total points) of a possible 336.
For the fifth consecutive year, NBA players voted on this award, with eleven points given for each first-place vote, nine points for each second-place vote, seven points for third, five points for fourth, three points for fifth and one point for each sixth-place vote received. Each team nominated one of its players for the award. Former NBA players Mike Bantom, John Crotty, Eddie Johnson, Jalen Rose, Tom "Satch" Sanders, Kenny Smith and Chris Webber then selected the six divisional winners.
The NBA will make a donation on behalf of Chauncey Billups to Porter-Billups Leadership Academy at Regis University, a program that provides academic and leadership training to at-risk inner city students from Denver, with a goal of helping students attend college.
The NBA will also make a donation to each of the divisional winner’s charities of choice: Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation & Ray of Hope Foundation on behalf of Allen; American Cancer Society on behalf of McDyess and Turiaf; the Michael Finley Foundation on behalf of Finley; and Kaboom & Wizards Care on Jamison’s behalf.
The annual award reflects the ideals of sportsmanship -- ethical behavior, fair play and integrity -- in amateur and professional basketball, a key focus of the league’s NBA Cares program efforts. The trophy is named for former Detroit Pistons guard and Hall of Famer Joe Dumars, the award’s first recipient.
Following is a list of this year’s voting totals and all-time winners of the NBA Sportsmanship Award:
2008-09 NBA SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD VOTING TOTALS
Player, Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th Points
Chauncey Billups, Denver 82 69 73 64 38 10 2478
Ray Allen, Boston 76 60 50 35 38 77 2092
Antonio McDyess, Detroit 40 82 51 43 74 46 2018
Antawn Jamison, Washington 42 46 77 74 65 32 2012
Michael Finley, San Antonio 32 49 57 73 77 48 1836
Ronny Turiaf, Golden State 64 30 28 47 44 123 1660
ALL-TIME NBA SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD WINNERS
Inaugural: Joe Dumars (1995-96) 2002-03: Ray Allen, Seattle
1996-97: Terrell Brandon, Cleveland 2003-04: P.J. Brown, New Orleans
1997-98: Avery Johnson, San Antonio 2004-05: Grant Hill, Orlando
1998-99: Hersey Hawkins, Seattle 2005-06: Elton Brand, L.A. Clippers
1999-00: Eric Snow, Philadelphia 2006-07: Luol Deng, Chicago
2000-01: David Robinson, San Antonio 2007-08: Grant Hill, Phoenix
2001-02: Steve Smith, San Antonio 2008-09: Chauncey Billups, Denver
A 12-year veteran, Billups was one of six divisional winners, which included Boston’s Ray Allen, Detroit’s Antonio McDyess, Golden State’s Ronny Turiaf, San Antonio’s Michael Finley and Washington’s Antawn Jamison.
Billups received 82 first-place votes (2,478 total points) of a possible 336.
For the fifth consecutive year, NBA players voted on this award, with eleven points given for each first-place vote, nine points for each second-place vote, seven points for third, five points for fourth, three points for fifth and one point for each sixth-place vote received. Each team nominated one of its players for the award. Former NBA players Mike Bantom, John Crotty, Eddie Johnson, Jalen Rose, Tom "Satch" Sanders, Kenny Smith and Chris Webber then selected the six divisional winners.
The NBA will make a donation on behalf of Chauncey Billups to Porter-Billups Leadership Academy at Regis University, a program that provides academic and leadership training to at-risk inner city students from Denver, with a goal of helping students attend college.
The NBA will also make a donation to each of the divisional winner’s charities of choice: Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation & Ray of Hope Foundation on behalf of Allen; American Cancer Society on behalf of McDyess and Turiaf; the Michael Finley Foundation on behalf of Finley; and Kaboom & Wizards Care on Jamison’s behalf.
The annual award reflects the ideals of sportsmanship -- ethical behavior, fair play and integrity -- in amateur and professional basketball, a key focus of the league’s NBA Cares program efforts. The trophy is named for former Detroit Pistons guard and Hall of Famer Joe Dumars, the award’s first recipient.
Following is a list of this year’s voting totals and all-time winners of the NBA Sportsmanship Award:
2008-09 NBA SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD VOTING TOTALS
Player, Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th Points
Chauncey Billups, Denver 82 69 73 64 38 10 2478
Ray Allen, Boston 76 60 50 35 38 77 2092
Antonio McDyess, Detroit 40 82 51 43 74 46 2018
Antawn Jamison, Washington 42 46 77 74 65 32 2012
Michael Finley, San Antonio 32 49 57 73 77 48 1836
Ronny Turiaf, Golden State 64 30 28 47 44 123 1660
ALL-TIME NBA SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD WINNERS
Inaugural: Joe Dumars (1995-96) 2002-03: Ray Allen, Seattle
1996-97: Terrell Brandon, Cleveland 2003-04: P.J. Brown, New Orleans
1997-98: Avery Johnson, San Antonio 2004-05: Grant Hill, Orlando
1998-99: Hersey Hawkins, Seattle 2005-06: Elton Brand, L.A. Clippers
1999-00: Eric Snow, Philadelphia 2006-07: Luol Deng, Chicago
2000-01: David Robinson, San Antonio 2007-08: Grant Hill, Phoenix
2001-02: Steve Smith, San Antonio 2008-09: Chauncey Billups, Denver
Monday, November 3, 2008
Iverson to Pistons is official
Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the club has acquired guard Allen Iverson from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for guard Chauncey Billups, forward Antonio McDyess and center Cheikh Samb.
“We are pleased to welcome Allen Iverson to the Pistons organization,” said Dumars. “Allen has proven he is one of the elite players in the league and we like what he adds to our roster at the guard position. We appreciate everything that Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb brought to the organization during their time here in Detroit and we certainly wish them all the best.”
Iverson, the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2001, ranks 20th among NBA all-time scoring leaders with 23,031 points. His long list of NBA achievements include NBA Rookie of the Year (1997), All-NBA First Team (1999, 2001, 2005), All-NBA Second Team (2000, 2002, 2003), All-NBA Third Team (2006), NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (2001, 2005) and NBA Rookie Game Most Valuable Player (1997). Iverson has been named an NBA All-Star nine times (2000-08), Player of the Week 23 times during his career and Player of the Month three times. He shares the NBA record for most seasons leading the league in steals per game (2000-03) and ranks 13th among all-time NBA leaders in steals (1,902).
Iverson spent his first 11 ½ seasons in Philadelphia where he helped the 76ers to the Eastern Conference Championship and an NBA Finals berth in 2001. He spent the last one-and-a-half seasons in Denver where he averaged 25.8 points, 7.2 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game and helped the Nuggets reach the playoffs each season. The 6-0, 165-pound guard holds the second-highest career playoff-scoring average in history (29.7 ppg), trailing only Michael Jordan (33.4 ppg). In 831 career NBA games, the former Georgetown product has compiled averages of 22.7 points, 6.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game. Iverson has posted 132 career double-doubles, 12 games scoring 40-plus points and dishing 10-plus assists, 79 career 40-plus scoring efforts (fourth most in NBA history) and 11 career 50-plus scoring efforts. He has led the NBA in scoring four times (1998-99, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2004-05).
Billups six-year career in Detroit is highlighted by back-to-back Eastern Conference Championships and two NBA Finals appearances in 2004 and 2005. He was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player during the Pistons NBA Championship season in 2003-04 when he averaged 21.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists in five games vs. the Los Angeles Lakers. The Denver, CO native was named an NBA All-Star three times with Detroit, All-NBA Second Team (2006), All-NBA Third Team (2007) and All-NBA Defensive Second Team (2005, 2006). In 760 career NBA games, Billups has averaged 14.8 points, 5.5 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 31.8 minutes per game. He ranks 18th among NBA all-time leaders in three-point field goals made (1,272 - 10th among active players).
McDyess helped lead the Pistons to the Eastern Conference Championship and an NBA Finals appearance in 2005. In four seasons with Detroit, he averaged 8.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in 321 games. McDyess has career averages of 13.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 805 NBA games, compiling three 40-plus scoring efforts, seven 20-plus rebound games and four 20-point/20-rebound efforts. He has scored in double figures in 526 of his 805 career games. McDyess was named an NBA All-Star in 2001, All-NBA Third Team (1999), NBA All-Rookie First Team (1996) and was a member of the gold medal winning Team USA squad at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Samb was acquired by Detroit during a draft night trade on June 28, 2006 from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Maurice Evans. Drafted 51st overall by the Lakers, Samb played in four games last season for the Pistons, averaging 1.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per game. The 7-foot-1 center made two assignments to the NBA Development League last season and averaged 10.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and a league-leading 4.0 blocks in 19 games for the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants.
Nuggets waive Howard
The Denver Nuggets have waived F Juwan Howard, likely in a cap move for the pending Allen Iverson deal. Howard appeared in all three games for the Nuggets this season, averaging 0.7 ppg and 1.3 rpg in 7.3 minutes.
Dumars rolls the dice with Iverson
For some reason Detroit Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars has been intent on breaking up his team since his club succumbed to the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics in six games during the Eastern Conference Finals last year.
And I don't understand why.
I mean, the Pistons did win 59 games under Flip Saunders and still had a championship-tested nucleus led by "Mr. Big Shot" himself, Chauncey Billups.
In fact, considering the way Boston dominated the Los Angeles Lakers on the boards and abused them with the pick-and-roll on the offensive end in the NBA Finals, it wasn't all that hard to argue that Detroit was the second-best team in the NBA last season.
Dumars wasn't the one making that argument, however.
First, the Louisiana native jettisoned Saunders and went with the unproven Michael Curry as head coach, and then he put virtually all his key pieces on the trade market.
Rumors dogged Billups, enigmatic big men Rasheed Wallace and the unselfish Tayshaun Prince all summer.
Dumars was unable to pull the trigger on anything significant until Monday when he agreed to ship Billups, veteran power forward Antonio McDyess and center Cheikh Samb to the Rocky Mountains for mercurial scoring machine Allen Iverson.
A former league MVP with Philadelphia in 2000-01 and nine-time All-Star, Iverson is without peer as an offensive player but off-the-court problems and maturity issues have plagued the diminutive one since he arrived in the City of Brotherly Love from Georgetown in 1996.
For a while, Larry Brown was able to rein in Iverson and take advantage of his incredible talents by moving him from the point to the off guard, and surrounding him with defensive-minded role players like Eric Snow, Aaron McKie, George Lynch and Tyrone Hill.
The result was a trip to the NBA Finals in 2001, before injuries - along with Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant - ended a spectacular run.
Iverson, who will become a free agent in the offseason, will arrive in the Motor City with plenty of defensive-minded players. In fact, Prince and Wallace can be torturous at that end of the floor. But, unlike Snow, Lynch and Hill, the Pistons' big time defenders aren't offensively challenged. Prince and Wallace, especially, need their touches.
Meanwhile, the Pistons already have Richard Hamilton, the game's best player at moving without the ball, at the two spot, meaning Iverson will be forced to take over Billups' role as the quarterback of the team.
A shoot-first guy, Iverson isn't likely to care about getting the ball to his new teammates in spots where they can succeed, something Billups excelled at.
Clearly, Dumars was itching for change, and now he finally has it.
No one deserves a longer rope. Dumars was a two-time NBA champion as a player in Detroit. He was the NBA's executive of the year for the 2002-03 season, the architect of the 2004 NBA Championship club and the pilot of a team that has been to the Eastern Conference Finals six straight years.
So it's not hard to understand why William Davidson, the Pistons' owner, defers to Dumars and gave him the rope.
That said, change for the sake of change rarely works, and Dumars is about to find that out the hard way.
And I don't understand why.
I mean, the Pistons did win 59 games under Flip Saunders and still had a championship-tested nucleus led by "Mr. Big Shot" himself, Chauncey Billups.
In fact, considering the way Boston dominated the Los Angeles Lakers on the boards and abused them with the pick-and-roll on the offensive end in the NBA Finals, it wasn't all that hard to argue that Detroit was the second-best team in the NBA last season.
Dumars wasn't the one making that argument, however.
First, the Louisiana native jettisoned Saunders and went with the unproven Michael Curry as head coach, and then he put virtually all his key pieces on the trade market.
Rumors dogged Billups, enigmatic big men Rasheed Wallace and the unselfish Tayshaun Prince all summer.
Dumars was unable to pull the trigger on anything significant until Monday when he agreed to ship Billups, veteran power forward Antonio McDyess and center Cheikh Samb to the Rocky Mountains for mercurial scoring machine Allen Iverson.
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For a while, Larry Brown was able to rein in Iverson and take advantage of his incredible talents by moving him from the point to the off guard, and surrounding him with defensive-minded role players like Eric Snow, Aaron McKie, George Lynch and Tyrone Hill.
The result was a trip to the NBA Finals in 2001, before injuries - along with Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant - ended a spectacular run.
Iverson, who will become a free agent in the offseason, will arrive in the Motor City with plenty of defensive-minded players. In fact, Prince and Wallace can be torturous at that end of the floor. But, unlike Snow, Lynch and Hill, the Pistons' big time defenders aren't offensively challenged. Prince and Wallace, especially, need their touches.
Meanwhile, the Pistons already have Richard Hamilton, the game's best player at moving without the ball, at the two spot, meaning Iverson will be forced to take over Billups' role as the quarterback of the team.
A shoot-first guy, Iverson isn't likely to care about getting the ball to his new teammates in spots where they can succeed, something Billups excelled at.
Clearly, Dumars was itching for change, and now he finally has it.
No one deserves a longer rope. Dumars was a two-time NBA champion as a player in Detroit. He was the NBA's executive of the year for the 2002-03 season, the architect of the 2004 NBA Championship club and the pilot of a team that has been to the Eastern Conference Finals six straight years.
So it's not hard to understand why William Davidson, the Pistons' owner, defers to Dumars and gave him the rope.
That said, change for the sake of change rarely works, and Dumars is about to find that out the hard way.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Nuggets cut five, including Parker, Patterson
The Denver Nuggets have waived G Mateen Cleaves, F Nick Fazekas, F James Mays, G Smush Parker and F Ruben Patterson, team Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today.
Cleaves, 6-2, 188, averaged 3.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg and 2.0 apg in five preseason games (one start).
Fazekas, 6-11, 253, appeared in four preseason games posting averages of 2.0 ppg and 2.5 rpg.
Mays, 6-9, 230, tallied averages of 4.5 ppg and 3.5 rpg in two preseason games.
Parker, 6-4, 190, averaged 5.3 ppg, 3.3 apg and 1.3 rpg in four preseason contests.
Patterson, 6-5, 223, appeared in six preseason games posting averages of 7.3 ppg, 1.8 rpg and 1.2 apg.
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