Dank Nuggets?
THE FIGHT
First off, I’m not sure it’s really that big a deal. I mean, what were there, like two and a half punches thrown, maybe? This whole situation reeks of the New York media hating Isiah Thomas and blowing this entire situation completely out of proportion.
Anyway…
Nene Hilario & Jerome James – 1 game each.
They left the bench, and that rule is well known by any player that gives a damn.
Jared Jeffries – 4 games.
I didn’t see him actually do anything. I guess he gets that many games because it looked like he wanted a piece of Carmelo Anthony? Whatever. This one is far too steep if you ask me.
Mardy Collins – 6 games.
I flat out don’t get this one. Was the foul that triggered this mess silly? Yes, but if your name isn’t Doug Morgan or John Miller, and you actually watch the NBA, you’ve seen many fouls that were much more egregious then this one. All he did was take a slightly excessive foul, and he really wasn’t involved in the initial fracas.
J.R. Smith & Nate Robinson – 10 games each.
These two career knuckle heads deserve what they got, and maybe even a few more games at that. Look, if Smith wants to push and shove with Collins in disagreement, that’s fine, boys will be boys. But for punk ass “Gary Coleman” to then jump in like he’s some type of old school gangster, that’s what really set it off. Then, instead of just letting it go, J.R. tackles “Gary” into the stands and here we go again…almost.
Carmelo Anthony – 15 games.
First things first, the so called “sucker punch” was just an open handed slap to the face of a guy who was being held back. That being said, this one was pretty darn steep, but there’s no doubt that Melo was being made an example of (more on that below). The brouhaha was dying down when Anthony inexplicably took it upon himself to make it worse. In that regard, he got what he deserved.
George Karl & Isiah Thomas – no suspensions.
Isiah is not the first coach to instruct his players to take a hard foul or two, nor will he be the last. Likewise, Karl is not the first coach to purposely run up the score, nor will he be the last. I really can’t find one more culpable then the other, but they are both surely a few pancakes short of a stack. I honestly have no clue how or why Zeke NEEDED to be suspended, and find the supposed “outrage” that he wasn’t a little more then ridiculous. New York media in full effect, yo!
Denver Nuggets & New York Knicks - $500,000 fine each.
I love this part of it. Not like it matters that much to Stan Kroenke or James Dolan, but ramp that up a touch (to about a mil per), and suddenly franchises are going to have rules against fighting and want no part of loose cannon type players.
Start fining GM’s too (as le commish hinted at), and personnel decisions are going to be that much more interesting.
I know Commissioner David Stern and Executive Vice President Stu Jackson are taking hits for going over board here, but I can’t really say that I blame them.
For some reason white-bread-politically-correct-America (you know who you are) has a problem with the *insert derogatory term about young black men here* in the NBA. No matter that it’s probably superficial and not truth, because perception (along with Staff Sergeant Barnes in ‘Platoon’) is reality.
This is what Dictator Dave sees, and nothing else. He’s not in the losing money business. So when he says, "We have set up the goal of eliminating fighting from our game. We haven't eliminated it completely.” I take him at his word and know that he means business.
Sucks for Melo, but not nearly as bad as it’ll suck for the next participants in a basket-brawl.
THE TRADE
Philadelphia gets: Andre Miller, Joe Smith & two first round pick in the 2007 draft (Denver’s & Dallas’).
Denver gets: Allen Iverson & Ivan McFarlin.
I *like* this deal for the Sixers. I stress like because I don’t love it. All things considered though, with Billy King running the show, this trade could have turned out much, much worse.
What I don’t like is that Philly got Andre Miller, and this is two fold.
First, his contract lasts until after the 2008-09 season, or one year post Chris Webber. That in itself is not a deal breaker, but it would have been nice to have mega salary cap space after the ’07-08 season.
Second, A Mil can actually play. He gives the Sixers a legit PG who’s not a complete offensive liability (my apologies to Eric Snow & Kevin Ollie).
Why is this a bad thing you say? Well the goal is to rebuild, not retool on the fly, and the addition of Andre means Philly is bound to win a few too many games to have the most ping pong balls for the lottery. A side effect of this may also be that BK fools himself into thinking that the Sixers are just a “piece or two away” from contending. (Stop me if you’ve heard that one before Philadelphia.)
According to Nuggets VP Rex Chapman, A Mil was never on the table until after the fight. That’s when BK swooped in and said we don’t need a third team to take Nene or Reggie Evans’ salary if you give us Miller. So King was being opportunistic in a way, but I’m just not sure getting Andre was in the best interest of the franchise long term.
Joe Smith is the expiring contract part of the equation. He fits in perfectly with C-Web and Alan Henderson giving the Sixers the best rotation of well past their prime big men in the league. Seriously, Smith has nothing left in his tank at all.
What clinched this trade was Denver including two first round picks in the upcoming draft. The 2007 draft is supposed to be one of the deepest in recent memory, and even though the picks Philly received don’t figure to be very high, BK’s replacement (I know, wishful thinking) can always package them to move up on draft day.
I hate this deal for the Nugs, and even though I heard him say otherwise, I highly doubt Kiki Vandeweghe makes this move.
Before I get deep into my rant, let’s be realistic here for a second.
Yes, Denver just got Allen Iverson for Andre Miller more or less. (I’ll refrain from mentioning that there was a reason AI came so cheap…whoops.) So kudos to them.
Next, big picture wise, the Nugs just set themselves up for at least six weeks of transition/training camp that will happen in two phases…..in the middle of the season…..in the much tougher Western Conference.
Phase one will run from 12/20-1/19. In this phase AI will be getting acquainted with his new teammates, system, etc.
Then, just when that is starting to feel comfortable, phase two will start. In this phase Carmelo Anthony returns and he, AI, George Karl and the rest of the players all get on the same page. I’m probably being kind in saying that phase 2 will last only two weeks, and if we extend this phase to three weeks (not unrealistic at all), that’s a full third of Denver’s season (27 games).
I think those are some pretty solid facts.
Now for the opinion…
Where to start? Ok, how about another reference to my boy John Hollinger.
Usage Rate = {[FGA + (FT Att. x 0.44) + (Ast x 0.33) + TO] x 40 x League Pace} divided by (Minutes x Team Pace)
Usage Rate is the number of possessions a player uses per 40 minutes. For players on pace to play 500 or more minutes the top two are…
#1 AI at 34.4
#2 Melo at 32.7
You want some normal stats? Ok, how about these.
Scoring
#1 Melo at 31.6 ppg
#2 AI at 31.2 ppg
Field goal’s attempted per game
#1 AI at 24.4
#2 Melo at 24
You get my drift I’m sure. How these two are going to co-exist in the same offense, I have no idea.
I love how all the analysts are lauding this trade as a coup and whatnot. I say to these people, have you seen Allen Iverson play? Have you followed his career at all?
Unfortunately I have. I’ve seen way, way, way too many of AI’s games in my day.
I use this phrase a lot, but at a certain point, players are what they are in the NBA.
And yes, AI reached that point long ago.
It’s amazing to me what a free pass this guys gets. I know the people of Philly are knowledgeable and passionate sports fans, but for some reason they never saw this guy for what he was.
He took the Sixers to the Finals once. I repeat ONCE. What else did he do? I mean really. The dude is a bona fide coach killer (no one can argue that). How many players did he ever make better beside Kyle Korver?
Crickets.
Tumbleweeds.
Yet he had everyone eating out of his hand why….because he always played hard?
What a crock of poop that is.
He had a myriad of second options that I’m not going to run down (some of which have proven to be legit NBA players), but yet, somehow, they were always the problem, not him.
I repeat, at a certain point in the NBA, you are what you are. No more. No less. No excuses. And no one else’s fault.
Now AI is on a team where he is unquestionably the second best player. How do you think he’s going to like that?
Remember, we're talking about Allen forking Iverson here. The same guy who has *proudly* never changed the way he's played for the betterment of the team in ELEVEN YEARS. Yet, all of a sudden, he's going to fit in somewhere and be a team player? Uh-huh, sure.
Oh yeah, and his new coach, “Furious” George, has a screw loose and a quick temper taboot.
In other words, it’s a match made in heaven.
I already predicted Denver would make the playoffs before the season, so I can’t back off that now, but let’s just say it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if they didn’t make it post trade.
I’ll end with a few bold predictions:
- AI goes completely nuts (scoring wise) in at least his first four games in uniform.
- The Nuggets offense will resemble the Sixers boring one man dominating the ball show by the time Melo gets back.
- Upon his return, Melo is not happy about his team suddenly being AI’s. Nor is he happy that he has to try and fit into an offense that once revolved around him.
- There is some type of semi-blow up by the All-Star break.
- The honeymoon is officially over with one month to play in the regular season.
- A full scale battle for supremacy between the AI-Melo-Karl triumvirate is on with a vengeance by the first month of next season.
- Karl is fired mid-way through said season.
- AI is dealt the next summer (as he enters the final year of his contract) after Melo says, “Him or me.”
- Melo wonders where the last two years of his career went and never forgives the franchise, eventually asking to be traded himself.
First off, I’m not sure it’s really that big a deal. I mean, what were there, like two and a half punches thrown, maybe? This whole situation reeks of the New York media hating Isiah Thomas and blowing this entire situation completely out of proportion.
Anyway…
Nene Hilario & Jerome James – 1 game each.
They left the bench, and that rule is well known by any player that gives a damn.
Jared Jeffries – 4 games.
I didn’t see him actually do anything. I guess he gets that many games because it looked like he wanted a piece of Carmelo Anthony? Whatever. This one is far too steep if you ask me.
Mardy Collins – 6 games.
I flat out don’t get this one. Was the foul that triggered this mess silly? Yes, but if your name isn’t Doug Morgan or John Miller, and you actually watch the NBA, you’ve seen many fouls that were much more egregious then this one. All he did was take a slightly excessive foul, and he really wasn’t involved in the initial fracas.
J.R. Smith & Nate Robinson – 10 games each.
These two career knuckle heads deserve what they got, and maybe even a few more games at that. Look, if Smith wants to push and shove with Collins in disagreement, that’s fine, boys will be boys. But for punk ass “Gary Coleman” to then jump in like he’s some type of old school gangster, that’s what really set it off. Then, instead of just letting it go, J.R. tackles “Gary” into the stands and here we go again…almost.
Carmelo Anthony – 15 games.
First things first, the so called “sucker punch” was just an open handed slap to the face of a guy who was being held back. That being said, this one was pretty darn steep, but there’s no doubt that Melo was being made an example of (more on that below). The brouhaha was dying down when Anthony inexplicably took it upon himself to make it worse. In that regard, he got what he deserved.
George Karl & Isiah Thomas – no suspensions.
Isiah is not the first coach to instruct his players to take a hard foul or two, nor will he be the last. Likewise, Karl is not the first coach to purposely run up the score, nor will he be the last. I really can’t find one more culpable then the other, but they are both surely a few pancakes short of a stack. I honestly have no clue how or why Zeke NEEDED to be suspended, and find the supposed “outrage” that he wasn’t a little more then ridiculous. New York media in full effect, yo!
Denver Nuggets & New York Knicks - $500,000 fine each.
I love this part of it. Not like it matters that much to Stan Kroenke or James Dolan, but ramp that up a touch (to about a mil per), and suddenly franchises are going to have rules against fighting and want no part of loose cannon type players.
Start fining GM’s too (as le commish hinted at), and personnel decisions are going to be that much more interesting.
I know Commissioner David Stern and Executive Vice President Stu Jackson are taking hits for going over board here, but I can’t really say that I blame them.
For some reason white-bread-politically-correct-America (you know who you are) has a problem with the *insert derogatory term about young black men here* in the NBA. No matter that it’s probably superficial and not truth, because perception (along with Staff Sergeant Barnes in ‘Platoon’) is reality.
This is what Dictator Dave sees, and nothing else. He’s not in the losing money business. So when he says, "We have set up the goal of eliminating fighting from our game. We haven't eliminated it completely.” I take him at his word and know that he means business.
Sucks for Melo, but not nearly as bad as it’ll suck for the next participants in a basket-brawl.
THE TRADE
Philadelphia gets: Andre Miller, Joe Smith & two first round pick in the 2007 draft (Denver’s & Dallas’).
Denver gets: Allen Iverson & Ivan McFarlin.
I *like* this deal for the Sixers. I stress like because I don’t love it. All things considered though, with Billy King running the show, this trade could have turned out much, much worse.
What I don’t like is that Philly got Andre Miller, and this is two fold.
First, his contract lasts until after the 2008-09 season, or one year post Chris Webber. That in itself is not a deal breaker, but it would have been nice to have mega salary cap space after the ’07-08 season.
Second, A Mil can actually play. He gives the Sixers a legit PG who’s not a complete offensive liability (my apologies to Eric Snow & Kevin Ollie).
Why is this a bad thing you say? Well the goal is to rebuild, not retool on the fly, and the addition of Andre means Philly is bound to win a few too many games to have the most ping pong balls for the lottery. A side effect of this may also be that BK fools himself into thinking that the Sixers are just a “piece or two away” from contending. (Stop me if you’ve heard that one before Philadelphia.)
According to Nuggets VP Rex Chapman, A Mil was never on the table until after the fight. That’s when BK swooped in and said we don’t need a third team to take Nene or Reggie Evans’ salary if you give us Miller. So King was being opportunistic in a way, but I’m just not sure getting Andre was in the best interest of the franchise long term.
Joe Smith is the expiring contract part of the equation. He fits in perfectly with C-Web and Alan Henderson giving the Sixers the best rotation of well past their prime big men in the league. Seriously, Smith has nothing left in his tank at all.
What clinched this trade was Denver including two first round picks in the upcoming draft. The 2007 draft is supposed to be one of the deepest in recent memory, and even though the picks Philly received don’t figure to be very high, BK’s replacement (I know, wishful thinking) can always package them to move up on draft day.
I hate this deal for the Nugs, and even though I heard him say otherwise, I highly doubt Kiki Vandeweghe makes this move.
Before I get deep into my rant, let’s be realistic here for a second.
Yes, Denver just got Allen Iverson for Andre Miller more or less. (I’ll refrain from mentioning that there was a reason AI came so cheap…whoops.) So kudos to them.
Next, big picture wise, the Nugs just set themselves up for at least six weeks of transition/training camp that will happen in two phases…..in the middle of the season…..in the much tougher Western Conference.
Phase one will run from 12/20-1/19. In this phase AI will be getting acquainted with his new teammates, system, etc.
Then, just when that is starting to feel comfortable, phase two will start. In this phase Carmelo Anthony returns and he, AI, George Karl and the rest of the players all get on the same page. I’m probably being kind in saying that phase 2 will last only two weeks, and if we extend this phase to three weeks (not unrealistic at all), that’s a full third of Denver’s season (27 games).
I think those are some pretty solid facts.
Now for the opinion…
Where to start? Ok, how about another reference to my boy John Hollinger.
Usage Rate = {[FGA + (FT Att. x 0.44) + (Ast x 0.33) + TO] x 40 x League Pace} divided by (Minutes x Team Pace)
Usage Rate is the number of possessions a player uses per 40 minutes. For players on pace to play 500 or more minutes the top two are…
#1 AI at 34.4
#2 Melo at 32.7
You want some normal stats? Ok, how about these.
Scoring
#1 Melo at 31.6 ppg
#2 AI at 31.2 ppg
Field goal’s attempted per game
#1 AI at 24.4
#2 Melo at 24
You get my drift I’m sure. How these two are going to co-exist in the same offense, I have no idea.
I love how all the analysts are lauding this trade as a coup and whatnot. I say to these people, have you seen Allen Iverson play? Have you followed his career at all?
Unfortunately I have. I’ve seen way, way, way too many of AI’s games in my day.
I use this phrase a lot, but at a certain point, players are what they are in the NBA.
And yes, AI reached that point long ago.
It’s amazing to me what a free pass this guys gets. I know the people of Philly are knowledgeable and passionate sports fans, but for some reason they never saw this guy for what he was.
He took the Sixers to the Finals once. I repeat ONCE. What else did he do? I mean really. The dude is a bona fide coach killer (no one can argue that). How many players did he ever make better beside Kyle Korver?
Crickets.
Tumbleweeds.
Yet he had everyone eating out of his hand why….because he always played hard?
What a crock of poop that is.
He had a myriad of second options that I’m not going to run down (some of which have proven to be legit NBA players), but yet, somehow, they were always the problem, not him.
I repeat, at a certain point in the NBA, you are what you are. No more. No less. No excuses. And no one else’s fault.
Now AI is on a team where he is unquestionably the second best player. How do you think he’s going to like that?
Remember, we're talking about Allen forking Iverson here. The same guy who has *proudly* never changed the way he's played for the betterment of the team in ELEVEN YEARS. Yet, all of a sudden, he's going to fit in somewhere and be a team player? Uh-huh, sure.
Oh yeah, and his new coach, “Furious” George, has a screw loose and a quick temper taboot.
In other words, it’s a match made in heaven.
I already predicted Denver would make the playoffs before the season, so I can’t back off that now, but let’s just say it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if they didn’t make it post trade.
I’ll end with a few bold predictions:
- AI goes completely nuts (scoring wise) in at least his first four games in uniform.
- The Nuggets offense will resemble the Sixers boring one man dominating the ball show by the time Melo gets back.
- Upon his return, Melo is not happy about his team suddenly being AI’s. Nor is he happy that he has to try and fit into an offense that once revolved around him.
- There is some type of semi-blow up by the All-Star break.
- The honeymoon is officially over with one month to play in the regular season.
- A full scale battle for supremacy between the AI-Melo-Karl triumvirate is on with a vengeance by the first month of next season.
- Karl is fired mid-way through said season.
- AI is dealt the next summer (as he enters the final year of his contract) after Melo says, “Him or me.”
- Melo wonders where the last two years of his career went and never forgives the franchise, eventually asking to be traded himself.
posted by D$ at 7:40 PM
1 Comments:
Nate "Gary Coleman" Robinson.
Spread the word! I want ESPN and Foxsports to start referring to him as Gary Coleman.
Doug Morgan
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