PejaNowitzki
07-09-2015, 01:15 AM
I remember this. The Suns with Kidd and McDyess were a lot of fun to watch in the season that he played for Phoenix, and then he went back to Denver a year after they had traded him away.
Back in January 1999, well-regarded young power forward Antonio McDyess became an unrestricted free agent during the truncated post-lockout offseason. McDyess had been traded from the Denver Nuggets to the Phoenix Suns prior to the 1997-98 season but reached an agreement to rejoin the Nuggets soon after the end of the lockout. Like Jordan, he had some misgivings about the decision and called Suns teammate Jason Kidd.
The Nuggets ensured that McDyess would not meet with Kidd via some drastic measures. Later, McDyess told Chris McCosky of the Detroit News about what happened (via Denver Stiffs via J.A Adande):
Kidd, along with Suns teammates George McCloud and Rex Chapman, chartered a plane and flew through a blizzard into Denver that night.
"I was at a (Colorado Avalanche) hockey game (in the owner's suite) and I wasn't going to sign until they got there," McDyess said.
But McDyess said Dan Issel, Denver's coach and general manager at the time, knew Kidd's rescue party was on the way, and instructed security and ticket sellers at McNichols Arena to keep Kidd and company out of the building.
"I mean, it was a blizzard outside, and they wouldn't let those guys inside the arena. They kept them out in the snow," McDyess said. "It was crazy times."
McDyess, true to his character, honored his verbal commitment to the Nuggets and played four more seasons with them. But he's always regretted the decision he made on that snowy night.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/the-1999-denver-nuggets-set-precedent-for-the-deandre-jordan-blockade-025429242.html
Back in January 1999, well-regarded young power forward Antonio McDyess became an unrestricted free agent during the truncated post-lockout offseason. McDyess had been traded from the Denver Nuggets to the Phoenix Suns prior to the 1997-98 season but reached an agreement to rejoin the Nuggets soon after the end of the lockout. Like Jordan, he had some misgivings about the decision and called Suns teammate Jason Kidd.
The Nuggets ensured that McDyess would not meet with Kidd via some drastic measures. Later, McDyess told Chris McCosky of the Detroit News about what happened (via Denver Stiffs via J.A Adande):
Kidd, along with Suns teammates George McCloud and Rex Chapman, chartered a plane and flew through a blizzard into Denver that night.
"I was at a (Colorado Avalanche) hockey game (in the owner's suite) and I wasn't going to sign until they got there," McDyess said.
But McDyess said Dan Issel, Denver's coach and general manager at the time, knew Kidd's rescue party was on the way, and instructed security and ticket sellers at McNichols Arena to keep Kidd and company out of the building.
"I mean, it was a blizzard outside, and they wouldn't let those guys inside the arena. They kept them out in the snow," McDyess said. "It was crazy times."
McDyess, true to his character, honored his verbal commitment to the Nuggets and played four more seasons with them. But he's always regretted the decision he made on that snowy night.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/the-1999-denver-nuggets-set-precedent-for-the-deandre-jordan-blockade-025429242.html