Following the third quarter of last night’s Nuggets-Pacers game, Nuggets supermascot Rocky abruptly left the arena and climbed to the Pepsi Center rooftop. The mountain lion plans to remain on the roof until Nuggets fans have submitted 100,000 NBA All-Star ballots.
Rocky’s departure from Pepsi Center was prompted by an announcement made in-arena stating that if All-Star balloting ended today, no Denver Nuggets player would have enough votes to start in the 2009 NBA All-Star Game in Phoenix.
Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony, however, is third among Western Conference forwards, and trails Amare Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns) for second place – and a starting role – by roughly 17,000 votes.
The Milwaukee Bucks have requested waivers on Austin Croshere, General Manager John Hammond announced today.
The Phoenix Suns have released guard Daniel “Dee” Brown, the club announced today.
The AP reports: Former NBA player Antoine Walker was charged with suspicion of drunk driving in Miami Beach early Monday morning, further hurting his chances of playing again this season. Walker was driving a black Mercedes without the lights on when he was pulled over at 5:39 a.m., according to the arrest report. Officers detected a strong odor of alcohol and wrote in the report that Walker had a sleepy look on his face. He refused a breathalyzer test… Walker was being held Monday on a $1,000 bond and jail officials said they did not immediately know if he has attorney.
The San Francisco Chronicle (Janny Hu) reports: Despite the dismal start and consecutives losses to the two worst teams in the NBA this week, Warriors President Robert Rowell reiterated Monday that coach Don Nelson’s job in not in jeopardy. “No, I’ve not given it an ounce of thought,” Rowell said before the game at Utah. “Nellie’s a great coach. I think he’s done his job as a coach. I think Nellie has done everything he’s done his last 30 years in the business. … “Unfortunately, we’ve had Corey (Maggette) out 15 games, we’ve had Monta (Ellis) out, we’re banged up. It’s still not an excuse – it’s the NBA – but we knew when Monta went down that this would be a tough start to the year.”
The Oklahoman (Darnell Mayberry) reports: Nenad Krstic is officially a member of the Thunder after having his work visa approved Monday. And with a new team comes a new nickname. Krstic, the 7-foot center who was signed Dec. 30, is no longer affectionately referred to as “Curly” as he was during his four seasons with the New Jersey Nets. Thunder players have taken to the nickname “Krispy.” While the nickname is more of a play off Krstic’s last name, it could carry a double meaning for how crisp Krstic has been in his first week of practice. “He’s looking good,” Desmond Mason said of Krstic, who could make his Thunder debut tonight against the New York Knicks.