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History sides with Iverson in Philly reunion
By Adrian Wojnarowski
December 1, 2009
Thirteen months ago, Allen Iverson made a compelling case for change at the dining room table of Joe Dumars. He made something of a stump speech to the Pistons president, understanding what a champion wanted to hear, what would play to this audience.
Over dinner, Iverson suggested that the public had such bad ideas about him, and he wanted to change it all with Detroit. He wanted the structure, the responsibility, the culture of the Pistons’ winning program. His children were older, and he wanted to reshape the legacy he left for them. Iverson has been the showman of his time, forever playing to the circumstance and crowd.
“They’re dedicated to winning,” Iverson told me a few days later. “Me being at the end of my career, that’s what I’m all about. All I care about is winning.”
Iverson has turned into the worst kind of basketball con man now. He knows what people want to hear, and he delivers it on cue. He couldn’t last the full season in Detroit, and he couldn’t last a full week in Memphis. Now, Philadelphia meets with him, hears it and coach Eddie Jordan marveled of Iverson, “He’s a charming individual.”
Always. And yet, when it comes to Iverson, there’s long been no use judging him on word. Just deed. This is a different Sixers’ front office and coaching regime, but they ought to know: Allen Iverson has been the most relentlessly consistent player in the NBA for a decade. He’s about A.I., and that will always be true.
Here’s how this is going to with the Sixers: Once they let him back into the gym, this will be different than Detroit, different than Memphis. After all, Iverson has history in Philadelphia. He was a forever athlete in Philly, and always will be. He transcended basketball there, and become a cultural phenomenon.
Perhaps he can be the starter over Jrue Holiday until Louis Williams returns from a broken jaw, but what then? Think A.I. willingly gives back that job? What happens when this barren arena starts to replenish with fans wanting to see Iverson again, when the No. 3 jerseys rush through the turnstiles? What happens when Iverson doesn’t want to run the coach’s Princeton offense? What happens when he starts to humiliate assistant coach Randy Ayers on the team bus, like he did when Ayers was his head coach there?
What happens?
This happens: Iverson will test his popularity with that of a general manager, Ed Stefanski, that the public only knows for overpaying a broken down Elton Brand. What happens when Iverson takes on his coach, Eddie Jordan? He wins, because what does the public know about Jordan except that he’s lost a lot of games in Philly so far?
“He will be the only one there with a love affair history with that city,” one Western Conference executive said. “He’s the one person who can stand up and speak to the fans of Philly, and he will do that. He will talk about how much he needs them, and they will give him the benefit of the doubt before anyone else there.”
The case for signing Iverson is purely business – selling seats and jerseys – because he becomes a full-time job for the coaching staff. There will always be an issue to iron out, an attitude to placate, a crisis coming and going. People will call for it to happen, because it gives an irrelevant franchise an immediate identity.
Everywhere else in the NBA, they’re having throwback jersey nights. The Sixers want a throwback star. Only, they’ll go back into time and find that for all the angst that Iverson brings, it comes without the dominance. It comes without the game-changer.
Iverson comes back to Philly believing he’s the player who left there still a franchise star. He can’t see himself the way the rest of basketball does, because fading legends seldom do. They’re always the last to know, and that’s Allen Iverson now. Nevertheless, he’s smart enough to play along with the process, to tell Stefanski and Jordan that he gets it now, that he had his epiphany, and he just wants to come home, just wants to fit in, just wants to win.
“Charming,” Eddie Jordan said, and deep down, he knows the truth, too. This is a con game, and no one plays it like Allen Iverson. The blame doesn’t go to him now, but the Sixers. They’re bringing in the most relentlessly consistent player in the NBA – all about A.I., all the time – and they need to understand something:
Once they let Allen Iverson back into the gym, back into the waiting arms of a desperate Sixers fandom, well, good luck getting him out.
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Bucks hope to hold winning pair
By Marc J. Spears
December 1, 2009
Michael Redd’s recent knee injury gave him a good view from the sideline to watch Brandon Jennings’ 55-point game and all his other stirring performances. Like just about everyone else, Redd was impressed. The Milwaukee Bucks veteran, however, has a few words of warning.
“People have been impressed with him, but I don’t want things to crash down on him or people to be negative on him,” Redd said. “He’s still a rookie. He’s still learning. There’s been a lot of hype so far. Ultimately, he has been big in helping us win with what he has done for us early this season.”
Redd has served as the face of the Bucks’ franchise for much of the past decade, a sometimes anonymous job considering Milwaukee has made just one quick first-round appearance in the playoffs the past five years. The Bucks have shuttled players in and out. Mo Williams. Richard Jefferson. Charlie Villanueva. Ramon Sessions. Redd, when healthy, has been one of the few constants.
But when Redd missed nine of the Bucks’ first 11 games because of a strained left patella tendon, Jennings captured the imagination of Milwaukee fans – and the NBA – with his electrifying performances. Suddenly, the franchise had a young cornerstone to build around. The Bucks quickly began using Jennings in TV and online marketing campaigns. National media profiled the 20-year-old rookie. Jennings’ jersey started appearing on fans’ Christmas wish lists, provided they could find one. There’s even been talk of a possible All-Star appearance.
Most important, Jennings helped the Bucks win, leading them to an 8-3 record during those first 11 games.
Now that Redd has returned, the question facing him is obvious: Can he and Jennings blend their games to make the Bucks even better?
Redd thinks so. With Jennings’ driving ability, life on the perimeter could get easier for the 3-point specialist.
“We will learn from each other,” Redd said. “We talk a lot, which is great. It’s all about winning at the end of the day. I’ve always loved to have support to help carry the load.
Brandon is having a solid season so far. The more help that we can get to try to win, I’m all for it.”
Redd is still trying to shake off the rust since his return. He’s missed 15 of 19 shots in his first two games back, coming off the bench in both. The Bucks also lost both games (in San Antonio and New Orleans), but that was more a product of the team missing center Andrew Bogut than it was Redd’s struggles.
Bucks general manager John Hammond also hasn’t seen much reason to think Jennings and Redd can’t coexist.
“I truly believe that Brandon is committed to winning,” Hammond said. “Michael is committed to winning. We are a franchise that hasn’t done much in recent years. We are not talking about a lot of success.
“With a new team and a new focus, how can we not accept change? Michael would be the first to accept change, especially if it involves winning.”
Before the national spotlight found Jennings, Redd was already serving as a mentor, taking the rookie out to several dinners. Redd has also had some advice to deal with the hype: Stay humble.
“I’m happy, but he can’t allow it to hurt him,” Redd said. “He has to control it. I enjoy watching him play. I enjoy the energy he has brought to our team and what it’s done.
“I know what [the spotlight] is and what it feels like. But at this point in my career, I just want to win.”
Redd admittedly is a little surprised he’s still with Milwaukee. The franchise has worked to shed payroll, and Redd’s contract runs through the end of the season.
Hammond said the Bucks have no plans to trade Redd, but some rival league executives think that could become an option depending on how the team plays.
“You never know what can happen in this league,” Redd said. “When I saw Ray [Allen] get traded from Milwaukee a few years ago, I said, ‘OK, this is a business. This is for real.’ ”
Now 30, Redd is in a select group of players who have stayed with the same team for at least 10 seasons. He said he also hopes to stay with the Bucks.
“I’m a little shocked because it’s very rare that you see guys with an organization for so long,” Redd said. “I am very fortunate in that respect. They’ve been committed to me, and I’ve been committed to them. If you would have told me as a rookie that I would be here for 10 years straight, I would have never believed that at all.”
Around the NBA
Nelson sticking around? Golden State Warriors coach Don Nelson is expected to miss at least a few more games while he recovers from pneumonia. Nelson didn’t accompany the Warriors on their recent trip to Texas and might not return until the team’s Dec. 3 game against Houston.
But despite some speculation that Nelson might soon move into the Warriors’ front office and leave the coaching to assistant Keith Smart, team officials continue to insist Nelson is still committed to staying on the sideline.
“Things are good,” one source said. “The team is playing ‘Nellie’ ball right now.
“I’m sure after the season he will evaluate his situation just like he does every summer.”
Nelson is making $6 million this season and is slated to make $6 million during the 2010-11 season. When the 69-year-old was asked why he’s still coaching last season, he replied: “Cold hard cash, baby.”
Nelson also has another reason: He’s nearing the NBA’s all-time coaching record.
Warriors spokesman Raymond Ridder said all of Smart’s wins and losses count toward Nelson’s record. Nelson is 19 wins away from passing Lenny Wilkens’ record of 1,332.
Warriors guard Raja Bell will have wrist surgery in Charlotte early next week. If the damage isn’t as severe as initially thought, he could return in three to four weeks. Otherwise, he might be sidelined as long as four months.
Lewis could try to recoup suspension money: Orlando Magic forward Rashard Lewis and his representatives have taken an interest in the court cases involving Minnesota Vikings defensive tackles Pat Williams and Kevin Williams. If the players successfully fight the NFL’s attempts to suspend them for violating that league’s anti-doping policy, then Lewis may seek to recover some of the $1.8 million he lost in salary resulting from his 10-game suspension.
The NBA suspended Lewis for violating its anti-drug agreement after he tested positive for an over-the-counter supplement commonly known as DHEA. The NFL attempted to suspend the two Vikings players four games after they both tested positive for a banned substance during training camp in 2008. They admitted to taking an over-the-counter weight loss supplement called StarCaps, which did not state on the label that it contained a banned diuretic. The players have so far successfully won an injunction prohibiting their suspension. A Minnesota trial to decide the issue is expected to take place after the season. Lewis said his representation agency and lawyers have been following the Williamses’ case closely and hoping the outcome can help him.
Lewis hopes to argue that DHEA, which elevates testosterone levels, is legally available for purchase, and therefore he shouldn’t have received such a harsh penalty. While most professional sports leagues prohibit DHEA, the MLB players union has successfully kept it off baseball’s list of banned substances.
“It’s a lot of money they took from me,” Lewis said. “I told [the NBA] my mistake was an honest mistake. They supported me and was behind me 100 percent. But just the fact that it was in the rule book, they had to suspend me.”
Lewis was surprised about the suspension, but said when he was playing for the Seattle SuperSonics the team told him he had high testosterone levels, but it wasn’t an issue. His test with the Magic, however, came back even higher than normal.
“I don’t want to make it a real big deal because it was my fault,” Lewis said. “I didn’t make the trainer look at it to make sure it wasn’t a banned substance. But it wasn’t nothing crazy. It wasn’t HGH. It’s just my testosterone level was high.
“That’s why we are looking forward to what the doctors say to see what is really going on, to see why my levels are always high.”
Another rookie worth watching: After every big game by Brandon Jennings, Sacramento Kings assistant coach Mario Elie makes a point to let Kings rookie guard Tyreke Evans know about it. Evans is quietly having a stellar first season, averaging 19 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists for the Kings, but has been overshadowed by Jennings.
Evans has played the biggest role in sparking the Kings since they lost guard Kevin Martin to wrist surgery. The Kings have gone 5-3 since Martin’s absence with Evans averaging 23.8 points and 5.7 assists.
“I just think it was my confidence,” Evans said. “I just stopped thinking. When I first got here, I was thinking about what I needed to do, what I was trying to do. Now I just go out there and play. Coach lets me go out there and play. If I’m open, shoot the shot. If I see somebody, pass the ball. That’s how I go out there and look at it.
“I just thought when [Martin] went out that it was time for me to step up. That’s why they brought me here.”
Life improves without A.I.: The Memphis Grizzlies don’t yet have the look of a playoff contender, but they are playing better since parting ways with Allen Iverson. The Grizzlies were just 2-8 before Iverson was waived on Nov. 17 and have won three of their five games since.
So what has been the key to winning without Iverson?
Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo said Iverson’s waiving “was good for the team.”
“Of course, A.I. had his wants and needs as a person and as a player,” Mayo said. “I think our team tried to accommodate that and it didn’t work out.”
Mayo said the Grizzlies have begun to show a greater willingness to trust each other. “Communication has been big for all of us,” he said.
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Recaps of the NBA Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Allen heats up, Celtics rout Bobcats 108-90: The AP reports: Ray Allen broke out of his shooting slump with 27 points, Kendrick Perkins added 21 points and 12 rebounds and the Boston cruised past Charlotte 108-90 on Tuesday night for their fifth straight victory... Kendrick Perkins took advantage, hitting 9 of 10 shots. Kevin Garnett shot 5 for 8 and added 16 points and seven rebounds. About the only negative was Rasheed Wallace’s league-leading eighth technical foul as the Celtics quickly ended any hopes Charlotte had of erasing memories of its embarrassing 59-point performance in Boston on opening night... Gerald Wallace scored just five points for the Bobcats after getting into early foul trouble. Nazr Mohammed had 16 points for Charlotte, which entered giving up a league-low 87.9 points a game.
Jamison, Arenas lead Wizards past Raptors: The AP reports: Gilbert Arenas broke out of a scoring slump by dropping his new pass-first approach. Arenas had 22 points and nine assists, Antawn Jamison had 30 points and 12 rebounds and the Washington Wizards beat the Toronto Raptors 106-102 on Tuesday night... Caron Butler scored 19 points, and Brendan Haywood had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Wizards, who have won three of four, including two straight on the road... Chris Bosh had 22 points and 14 rebounds, Andrea Bargnani had 20 points and 11 rebounds and Jose Calderon added 20 points for the Raptors, who have lost four straight and eight of 10.
Knicks give D’Antoni easy win over his old team: The AP reports: Danilo Gallinari had 27 points and 10 rebounds, and the New York Knicks beat the Suns 126-99 on Tuesday night, snapping a five-game losing streak and giving their coach a resounding victory over his old team... David Lee added 24 points and Al Harrington had 22 for the Knicks, who rang up a season-best 71 first-half points, then put it away when Gallinari scored seven points in a span of barely a minute midway through the third quarter... Steve Nash had 20 points and eight assists for the Suns (14-4), who came in with the NBA’s best record. They had won four straight by an average of 21.3 points, but this time found themselves on the other side of a blowout.
Anthony leads Nuggets past Warriors 135-107: The AP reports: Stunned and angered by an embarrassing loss, the Denver Nuggets lit up the scoreboard the next time out and there was next to nothing the short-handed Golden State Warriors could do about it. Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points, Chauncey Billups had 22 and the Nuggets used their biggest scoring first half of the season to rout the Warriors 135-107 Tuesday night. Nene (18 points) and Chris Andersen (14) were among seven Denver players scoring in double figures... Anthony Morrow had 27 points to lead the Warriors. Vladimir Radmanovic added a season-high 17 for the Warriors, who fell to 2-8 on the road.
Beasley leads Heat over Trail Blazers, 107-100: The AP reports: Michael Beasley scored a season-high 27 points, Dwyane Wade had 18 points and 12 assists and the Miami Heat led from the start in beating the Portland Trail Blazers 107-100 Tuesday night. Beasley was 8 of 15 from the field and 11 of 12 for free throws as the Heat (10-7) ended a two-game losing streak. Quentin Richardson scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Miami. The Heat shot 53.3 percent from the field (40 of 75)... Greg Oden grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds and scored 13 points for Portland. Brandon Roy led the Blazers with 25 points, including 14 during the first quarter, while Andre Miller had 18. Portland, second in the NBA in points allowed at 90.5 points per game, has given up 106, 108 and 107 points in its past three games.
Lakers overpower Hornets 110-99 with Bynum, Bryant: The AP reports: Andrew Bynum scored 21 points, Kobe Bryant added 18 on a light night of work and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New Orleans Hornets 110-99 Tuesday for their seventh straight victory. Ron Artest scored 16 points as the Lakers remained undefeated in six games since the return of Pau Gasol, who had 14 points in Los Angeles’ balanced offense... Former UCLA star Darren Collison scored 20 points for the Hornets, who lost their fifth straight road game... Emeka Okafor added 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Hornets, who played again without All-Star point guard Chris Paul and forward Peja Stojakovic.
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Lakers overpower Hornets 110-99 with Bynum, Bryant
By GREG BEACHAM
December 1, 2009
LOS ANGELES — Andrew Bynum scored 21 points, Kobe Bryant added 18 on a light night of work and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New Orleans Hornets 110-99 Tuesday for their seventh straight victory.
Ron Artest scored 16 points as the Lakers remained undefeated in six games since the return of Pau Gasol, who had 14 points in Los Angeles' balanced offense.
The Lakers moved in front of Phoenix atop the Western Conference by taking another big first-half lead and coasting to their NBA-best 11th home victory.
Seven players scored at least seven points while Los Angeles beat New Orleans at Staples Center for the second time in 24 days.
Former UCLA star Darren Collison scored 20 points for the Hornets, who lost their fifth straight road game. New Orleans has the NBA's second-worst road record at 1-9, only ahead of the 0-11 New Jersey Nets, and is winless on the road since beating the Clippers at Staples Center on Nov. 9.
Emeka Okafor added 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Hornets, who played again without All-Star point guard Chris Paul and forward Peja Stojakovic. Paul still has a seriously sprained left ankle, while Stojakovic missed his second straight game to deal with a family member's illness.
The Lakers overpowered New Orleans last month with solid bench play and Bryant's low-post scoring, which more than made up for the injury absences of Bynum and Gasol in a 104-88 win. Los Angeles is nearly at full strength now, and its bulky front line was too much for the depleted Hornets.
The Lakers extended the NBA's longest current winning streak with yet another strong second quarter. Los Angeles made a 21-4 run that included 10 straight points during the period, rolling to a 23-point lead.
While New Orleans is struggling on the road, the Lakers don't even know what kind of road team they are. Thanks to a curious early-season schedule, the defending champions have played 13 of their first 17 games at home, and they've still got four more games left at Staples Center on this six-game homestand.
New Orleans might have improved its defense after Sunday's embarrassing 16-point loss at Sacramento, but the Lakers' outstanding ball movement still generated plenty of open shots. Four Lakers scored in double figures in the first half, with Fisher getting six assists.
Los Angeles again concentrated on low-post play against the undersized Hornets, with Bynum often scoring easily against Okafor. The Lakers had made more than 60 percent of their shots late in the third quarter.
NOTES: Bryant and New Orleans' Devin Brown exchanged looks and words after a hard foul by Brown in the third quarter. ... The teams don't meet again until March 29, when the Lakers make their only visit to New Orleans. ... Courtside seats were filled by actors Jack Black and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas, and Lew Wolff, the Los Angeles real estate mogul who owns part of the Oakland Athletics.
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