The Denver Post (Benjamin Hochman) reports on Carmelo Anthony: As for his “we quit” comment after a playoff loss to the Los Angeles Lakers: “I didn’t think there was anything wrong with me saying that. I didn’t call anybody out. I said we all quit. Myself quit also. As a team, as an organization, we quit. (Being politically correct), that’s not always right, either.” … Melo on the Boston Celtics’ NBA championship: “They had to come together and get theirs as a group. I don’t think I can win one by myself. There’s no way I can win one by myself. They came together as a group. I’ve only got five years in the NBA and I’m only 24 years old. Hopefully, I have at least 11 more years. People act like I’m 30, and I just turned 24.” … Melo on his offensive success for Team USA: “It ain’t easy! It looks easy. But when I’m on the court with Jason Kidd, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, somebody’s got to be open.”
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Nuggets make qualifying offer to J.R. Smith
The Denver Nuggets have made a qualifying offer to restricted free agent J.R. Smith, Nuggets Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today. Per team policy, terms of the offer were not released.
In accordance with the league’s collective bargaining agreement, in order for a team to retain its right of first refusal with respect to a restricted free agent, the team must tender the player a qualifying offer prior to June 30. A restricted free agent may sign an offer sheet with any team, but is subject to a right of first refusal with the team for which the player last played.
Smith, 6-6, 220, has averaged 12.6 ppg while shooting .396 (306-772) from three-point range in his two seasons with the Nuggets since being acquired in a trade with Chicago on July 20, 2006. This past season, he averaged 12.3 ppg in 19.2 minutes in 74 regular season contests and 18.3 ppg in 27.0 minutes in four playoff games.
Nuggets trade No.20 pick to Bobcats
The Denver Nuggets have traded their first round draft pick (the 20th overall) in the 2008 NBA Draft to the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for a future protected first round draft pick, Nuggets Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today.
The Nuggets now currently have no picks in tomorrow’s draft.
The Bobcats now own the ninth and 20th picks in the first round, along with the 38th overall pick in the second round. ESPN’s live coverage of the 2008 NBA Draft begins at 7:00 p.m. ET tomorrow.
Nuggets suspend Carmelo Anthony 2 games
The Denver Nuggets have suspended forward Carmelo Anthony for the first two games of the 2008-09 regular season, Nuggets Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today. Anthony was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol on April 14 and is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow.
“We take drinking and driving very seriously,” said Warkentien. “Carmelo admits he made a serious lapse in judgment and has expressed his sincere remorse numerous times since to the Nuggets organization, his fans and the Denver community. We will continue to support Carmelo as he strives to live up to the high expectations set by Carmelo himself and the Nuggets organization on and off the court. We will respect the legal process moving forward and continue to handle the matter internally without further comment.”
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Allen Iverson stays with Nuggets
The Rocky Mountain News (Chris Tomasson) reports: With Friday the deadline for Iverson to opt out of the final year of his contract, the star guard decided not to do so and will return to the Nuggets next season for $20.84 million. The move first was reported by the Rocky Mountain News after Iverson’s agent, Leon Rose, confirmed his client’s intentions in a phone interview. “Things have gone well for him (in Denver),” Rose said of Iverson, traded from Philadelphia in December 2006. “He’s looking forward to taking the team (further).” Iverson’s decision wasn’t a surprise. But his personal manager, Gary Moore, had told the Rocky on May 30 that Iverson’s camp had discussions with the Nuggets about Iverson possibly opting out and signing a multiyear deal.
May 24: Celtics 94, Pistons 80
The AP reports: The Boston Celtics insisted they weren’t worried about winning a road game, knowing their time would come in the playoffs. Perfect timing. Kevin Garnett scored 22 points to lead Boston to a 94-80 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night and a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals… Boston’s Big Three scored as much as its supporting cast… Two of the Pistons’ starters had awful games. Tayshaun Prince scored four points and Chauncey Billups had six, combining to shoot 3-for-17… The Celtics led 50-32 after holding Detroit to a playoff-low in the first half and getting at least two points from each of the nine Celtics who played… Detroit rallied to pull within 87-78—its smallest deficit since midway through the second quarter—with 3 minutes left, but couldn’t get closer in a game in which it trailed by as many as 24 points.
InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Celtics shot 46.4%, the Pistons just 38.4%. And the Celtics nailed a decent 5-of-14 three-pointers, the Pistons an awful 1-of-13. Free throws were close. The Celtics dominated the glass, 44-28 rebounds, and dished a few more assists. The Pistons did get more steals, and won blocks, 9-3.
For the Celtics, Kevin Garnett (7-of-16) had 22 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. Ray Allen (awful 5-of-16, 1-of-6 threes) had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists (so at least he stepped up in the non-shooting department). Rajon Rondo (5-of-10) had 12 points but more turnovers than assists. Kenderick Perkins (6-of-7) had 12 points and 10 rebounds. James Posey on just 5 shots had 12 points off the bench. Pierce Pierce (4-of-6) was off with 11 points, a few steals, and 5 turnovers.
For the Pistons, Richard Hamilton (8-of-18, 10-of-10 free throws) had 26 points, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Rodney Stuckey (4-of-12, but 9-of-10 free throws) had 17 points, 4 assists and 4 steals off the bench. Rasheed Wallace (6-of-13) had 12 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals. Tayshaun Prince and Chauncey Billups were both lousy. Jason Maxiell had 7 with 2 blocks off the bench.
Nuggets once traded Kiki Vandeweghe
The Denver Post (Terry Frei) reports: The Nuggets not only listened to offers for Kiki Vandeweghe after the former UCLA star averaged 29.4 points in 1983-84, they took one. They broke up the entertaining Alex English-Dan Issel-Vandeweghe triumvirate, sending Vandeweghe to Portland in June 1984 for Fat Lever, Calvin Natt and Wayne Cooper, plus first- and second-round draft choices. As I remember it, in announcing the deal, Nuggets GM Carl Scheer kept saying: “But wait! There’s more!” And the press release disclosed that the Trail Blazers even threw in a nifty set of steak knives. Vandeweghe’s stunning first step and move to the basket, coupled with a deadly pull-up jumper, seduced Portland into believing he could be a difference-maker. In part because of back problems, he wasn’t.
George Karl has left hip replacement surgery
Denver Nuggets Head Coach George Karl underwent successful left hip replacement surgery today.
The surgery, which lasted more than two hours, was performed at Rose Hospital by Dr. Hal Crane of Orthopedic Associates, the team orthopedic group for the Nuggets.
Karl is expected to resume walking without a cane in a week to 10 days.
Nuggets not rising yet
The Sacramento Bee (Scott Howard-Cooper) reports: The Nuggets have made their moves (trading for Allen Iverson) and not made their moves (Artest), and it hasn’t mattered. They are still going nowhere fast, unable to register as more than a ripple in the West by going 31-28 last season after acquiring Iverson and 50-32 in 2007-08 as the eighth and final playoff entrant and a combined 1-8 in the two postseasons. And that supposed spike in interest once Iverson arrived? The Nuggets were 17th in attendance his first full season. The team with the No. 3 (Iverson) and No. 4 (Carmelo Anthony) scorers in the league, and center Marcus Camby as 2006-07 Defensive Player of the Year, squeezed into the playoffs and got summarily dispatched. The Nuggets didn’t get swept because Artest remained a King. They would have lost to the Lakers anyway. But there was something deserving about getting embarrassed after scuttling a trade for the best hope for a Bryant matchup because they didn’t want to part with Kleiza.
Apr. 28: Lakers 107, Nuggets 101
The AP reports: The Denver Nuggets finally gave the Los Angeles Lakers a good fight. No surrender on this night. No frustration fouls filling up the fourth quarter of another blowout. No matter. The Lakers dispatched the tempestuous Nuggets anyway. Kobe Bryant scored 14 of his 31 points over the final 5 1/2 minutes Monday night, leading the Lakers to a 107-101 victory and a sweep of their first-round series… Pau Gasol led the way early, scoring 18 first-half points, and Bryant took over in the waning minutes, scoring nine straight points in every way—a turnaround jumper, a 3-pointer, a driving layup and a 15-foot floater—to give the Lakers a 97-96 lead… Marcus Camby’s first points since the series shifted to Denver came on a 3-pointer from the left corner with 33 seconds left, cutting the Lakers’ lead to 103-101, but Gasol maneuvered underneath for a dunk, and Bryant added two free throws with 18 seconds left… The Nuggets couldn’t keep Los Angeles out of the lane for easy layups and dunks and they made the silly mistakes that the Lakers avoided, like the missed dunks by Nene and Anthony, who blew an alley-oop rim-rattler that bounced out of bounds at halfcourt in the third quarter.
InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Lakers shot slightly better than the Nuggets from two-point range, and hit 8-of-22 threes while the Nuggets only made 4-of-21. The Lakers only hit 19-of-30 free throws; the Nuggets 19-of-24. The Nuggets had a slight rebounding edge. Assists were tied. For the Lakers, Bryant (12-of-24, 3-of-8 threes) had 31 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists (6 turnovers), 3 steals and 2 blocks. Gasol (7-of-15) had 21 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks. Lamar Odom (5-of-11) had 14 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Vladimir Radmanovic took 13 shots for 12 points. For the Nuggets, J.R. Smith (7-of-12, 3-of-7 threes, 9-of-9 free throws) had 26 points, 3 assists and 2 steals off the bench. Allen Iverson took 22 shots for 22 points and little else. Carmelo Anthony (just 8-of-20) had 21 points and 11 rebounds. Marcus Camby only scored 3 but grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked 4 shots. Anthony Carter shot 1-of-6 for 2 points and 6 assists.