http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/11508555p-12420124c.html
Chaos reveals a need for more Palace guards
By Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, November 21, 2004
Friday night's fisticuffs and mob mentality that prematurely ended the Indiana Pacers-Detroit Pistons game could leave long-lasting scars on the league.
One of two things is likely:
Players who were on that court might never feel the same levels of safety and comfort again.
Or the brawl and its sprawl could result in changes around the NBA in terms of security, either in training or increased numbers.
The NBA is likely to note that there were apparent breakdowns in security at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
First, television footage of the brawl appeared to show a lack of security personnel rimming the perimeter of the court by the time the initial fracas between Pistons forward Ben Wallace and Pacers forward Ron Artest had started to calm down.
At that point, players were throwing verbal barbs instead of punches in front of the press table. Artest, who had backed away from Wallace, was lying on the press table with a set of earphones on.
Television cameras from across the court showed no security behind the media table. The only ones between the fans and players were the courtside officials and media. So there was a clear path for a fan to dump his blue cup full of beer onto the prone Artest.
It also meant there was no one to stop Artest from going into the stands, climbing three or four rows of seats and confront the wrong fan, who was standing there sipping a beverage before realizing Artest had him in his sights.
Ray Biondi, who works with the Kings as part of NBA security, said he understood how a melee such as this one could have gotten out of hand because it was a unique circumstance.
"The best possible situation is try to isolate the problem," Biondi said. "You get players into the tunnel. But it was spread out to such a large area that I'm not sure that was possible unless you had many, many more security people."
He pointed out that there were parts of the arena not seen on TV, and security might have been securing those areas.
"There is no way you can be prepared for a situation like that," he said. "You want to isolate the problem, but the problem had spread in several different directions. We've never had a problem like that here. I think this was probably the worst I've seen in the NBA."
But that doesn't explain why security didn't take Artest off the court immediately after the initial fracas with Wallace was quelled.
Clearly, the NBA will be looking at this for a long time and assessing how to better secure NBA arenas.
A little sympathy
Although there's no excuse for the behavior of the players, some insight into their private circumstances might bring some understanding.
Wallace, who shoved Artest with both hands in the throat and face after being fouled hard by the Indiana swingman, buried one of his brothers, who died from brain cancer, a week ago Saturday.
A broad-backed African American man wearing a grey top was shown on TV coverage landing a couple of punches on Pacers guard Freddie Jones. He is another of Wallace's brothers.
Great eight
Depending on how many players are suspended for leaving the bench, they may not all serve suspensions at the same time.
The NBA has a rule that at least eight players must suit up for each game.
On Nov. 10, 1995, Bobby Hurley and Michael "The Animal" Smith of the Kings were involved in a big brawl at Indiana.
The Kings lost so many players to suspensions for leaving the bench that they had to play a couple of games with the minimum of eight suited up.
Rumors of retirement
An NBA confidant asked about the rumor coming out of the Pacific Northwest that Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie and coach Rick Adelman planned to retire at the end of the season and relocate to the Portland area.Petrie, who can create one of the great blank faces of our time when asked an uncomfortable question, could manage only the incredibly incredulous look when asked about this.
"You're asking me something I don't know," he said Friday night. "I have this year and next year remaining on my deal. And I have no intention of (retiring). If I'm alive, I'll be here."
Adelman, who still would like the Kings' front office to accept the option on his contract for next season, said any rumors of his impending retirement are a bit premature.
According to the rumor, Adelman's house reportedly was up for sale. Wrong, the coach said.
"It's definitely true that when I retire, I'll be going back to Portland," he said. "That's where all my family is, my grandkids. And if somebody wants to give me a whole lot of money, I will sell my house. But that's about it."
Think Shaq, remember Carter
The Miami Heat has Anthony Carter to thank for the acquisition of Shaquille O'Neal.Huh?
When Carter and his representative, Bill Duffy, forgot to invoke his contract option by a June 30, 2003, deadline, the Heat was able to rescind the final $4.1 million on his four-year deal. In turn, the Heat used that money toward signing free agent Lamar Odom two months later. This past summer, Miami parlayed Odom, Brian Grant and Caron Butler into a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers for O'Neal.
"That never registered to me," Carter, now a third-string point guard for Minnesota, told the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. "But that's OK. It was a great experience playing (in Miami)."
Duffy's firm reimbursed Carter for the missed guarantee money from the Heat.
"It's done. I got everything," Carter said. "I wasn't worried about it. We already had things lined up if it wasn't taken care of."
Carril: Whistle while you work
Kings assistant coach Pete Carril said he heard promises from the league's referees that perimeter players would not be allowed to impede the movements of others with their hands and arms.
Now he's waiting to see when that is going be enforced.
"They had said they weren't going to allow the hold," Carril said of the preseason meeting with NBA officials, "but every time we cut, we're being held, right? I mean badly. There was a game when Mike (Bibby) was cutting, three games ago, where the (defender) put his arm around Mike's neck. You could see his head snap back."
And there was a foul called, right, coach?
"Noooooooo!" the Hall of Famer said. "The thing is the officials come and talk to us about what they are going to do. And we're waiting for them to do it. When are they going to start to do it, make these calls?
"Like you weren't supposed to put your arm around a guy in the pivot, but guys have done it the whole night. Or sticking your knee in a guy's rear end, all that stuff they said they were to clean up, and I haven't seen it. I have not seen it."
No fan of Isiah's
New Miami swingman Shandon Anderson doesn't like how his character has been besmirched since Isiah Thomas became president of the New York Knicks, Anderson's former team."I've been in the league," Anderson told the Sun-Sentinel. "This is my ninth year. When have you heard my name pop up in any controversy? I tell people I played for 7 1/2 years straight without missing a game. I missed maybe four or five practices. That doesn't come from anybody being unprofessional.
"Then all of a sudden, I'm unprofessional, I have a problem?"
Thomas has gotten rid of virtually every hire made by Scott Layden, who was fired to make room for Thomas. And Anderson is the most recent to be caught in the cross-fire.
That meant his streak of 543 consecutive appearances ended last January, shortly after Thomas' arrival. Then he began to receive little or no playing time. Anderson didn't show for his 2003-04 season-ending interview, and the end was near.
"It was just a situation where there was no upside for me," Anderson said.
The Knicks bought out the final three years of his contract last week, and within 24 hours of clearing waivers, the 30-year-old was in Miami.
"This is all about trying to jumpstart my career again," said Anderson, who is well-known to Kings fans for hitting big shots that helped the Utah Jazz defeat Sacramento in the first round of the 1999 playoffs.
The Bee's Martin McNeal can be reached at mmcneal@sacbee.com.
Chaos reveals a need for more Palace guards
By Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, November 21, 2004
Friday night's fisticuffs and mob mentality that prematurely ended the Indiana Pacers-Detroit Pistons game could leave long-lasting scars on the league.
One of two things is likely:
Players who were on that court might never feel the same levels of safety and comfort again.
Or the brawl and its sprawl could result in changes around the NBA in terms of security, either in training or increased numbers.
The NBA is likely to note that there were apparent breakdowns in security at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
First, television footage of the brawl appeared to show a lack of security personnel rimming the perimeter of the court by the time the initial fracas between Pistons forward Ben Wallace and Pacers forward Ron Artest had started to calm down.
At that point, players were throwing verbal barbs instead of punches in front of the press table. Artest, who had backed away from Wallace, was lying on the press table with a set of earphones on.
Television cameras from across the court showed no security behind the media table. The only ones between the fans and players were the courtside officials and media. So there was a clear path for a fan to dump his blue cup full of beer onto the prone Artest.
It also meant there was no one to stop Artest from going into the stands, climbing three or four rows of seats and confront the wrong fan, who was standing there sipping a beverage before realizing Artest had him in his sights.
Ray Biondi, who works with the Kings as part of NBA security, said he understood how a melee such as this one could have gotten out of hand because it was a unique circumstance.
"The best possible situation is try to isolate the problem," Biondi said. "You get players into the tunnel. But it was spread out to such a large area that I'm not sure that was possible unless you had many, many more security people."
He pointed out that there were parts of the arena not seen on TV, and security might have been securing those areas.
"There is no way you can be prepared for a situation like that," he said. "You want to isolate the problem, but the problem had spread in several different directions. We've never had a problem like that here. I think this was probably the worst I've seen in the NBA."
But that doesn't explain why security didn't take Artest off the court immediately after the initial fracas with Wallace was quelled.
Clearly, the NBA will be looking at this for a long time and assessing how to better secure NBA arenas.
A little sympathy
Although there's no excuse for the behavior of the players, some insight into their private circumstances might bring some understanding.
Wallace, who shoved Artest with both hands in the throat and face after being fouled hard by the Indiana swingman, buried one of his brothers, who died from brain cancer, a week ago Saturday.
A broad-backed African American man wearing a grey top was shown on TV coverage landing a couple of punches on Pacers guard Freddie Jones. He is another of Wallace's brothers.
Great eight
Depending on how many players are suspended for leaving the bench, they may not all serve suspensions at the same time.
The NBA has a rule that at least eight players must suit up for each game.
On Nov. 10, 1995, Bobby Hurley and Michael "The Animal" Smith of the Kings were involved in a big brawl at Indiana.
The Kings lost so many players to suspensions for leaving the bench that they had to play a couple of games with the minimum of eight suited up.
Rumors of retirement
An NBA confidant asked about the rumor coming out of the Pacific Northwest that Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie and coach Rick Adelman planned to retire at the end of the season and relocate to the Portland area.Petrie, who can create one of the great blank faces of our time when asked an uncomfortable question, could manage only the incredibly incredulous look when asked about this.
"You're asking me something I don't know," he said Friday night. "I have this year and next year remaining on my deal. And I have no intention of (retiring). If I'm alive, I'll be here."
Adelman, who still would like the Kings' front office to accept the option on his contract for next season, said any rumors of his impending retirement are a bit premature.
According to the rumor, Adelman's house reportedly was up for sale. Wrong, the coach said.
"It's definitely true that when I retire, I'll be going back to Portland," he said. "That's where all my family is, my grandkids. And if somebody wants to give me a whole lot of money, I will sell my house. But that's about it."
Think Shaq, remember Carter
The Miami Heat has Anthony Carter to thank for the acquisition of Shaquille O'Neal.Huh?
When Carter and his representative, Bill Duffy, forgot to invoke his contract option by a June 30, 2003, deadline, the Heat was able to rescind the final $4.1 million on his four-year deal. In turn, the Heat used that money toward signing free agent Lamar Odom two months later. This past summer, Miami parlayed Odom, Brian Grant and Caron Butler into a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers for O'Neal.
"That never registered to me," Carter, now a third-string point guard for Minnesota, told the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. "But that's OK. It was a great experience playing (in Miami)."
Duffy's firm reimbursed Carter for the missed guarantee money from the Heat.
"It's done. I got everything," Carter said. "I wasn't worried about it. We already had things lined up if it wasn't taken care of."
Carril: Whistle while you work
Kings assistant coach Pete Carril said he heard promises from the league's referees that perimeter players would not be allowed to impede the movements of others with their hands and arms.
Now he's waiting to see when that is going be enforced.
"They had said they weren't going to allow the hold," Carril said of the preseason meeting with NBA officials, "but every time we cut, we're being held, right? I mean badly. There was a game when Mike (Bibby) was cutting, three games ago, where the (defender) put his arm around Mike's neck. You could see his head snap back."
And there was a foul called, right, coach?
"Noooooooo!" the Hall of Famer said. "The thing is the officials come and talk to us about what they are going to do. And we're waiting for them to do it. When are they going to start to do it, make these calls?
"Like you weren't supposed to put your arm around a guy in the pivot, but guys have done it the whole night. Or sticking your knee in a guy's rear end, all that stuff they said they were to clean up, and I haven't seen it. I have not seen it."
No fan of Isiah's
New Miami swingman Shandon Anderson doesn't like how his character has been besmirched since Isiah Thomas became president of the New York Knicks, Anderson's former team."I've been in the league," Anderson told the Sun-Sentinel. "This is my ninth year. When have you heard my name pop up in any controversy? I tell people I played for 7 1/2 years straight without missing a game. I missed maybe four or five practices. That doesn't come from anybody being unprofessional.
"Then all of a sudden, I'm unprofessional, I have a problem?"
Thomas has gotten rid of virtually every hire made by Scott Layden, who was fired to make room for Thomas. And Anderson is the most recent to be caught in the cross-fire.
That meant his streak of 543 consecutive appearances ended last January, shortly after Thomas' arrival. Then he began to receive little or no playing time. Anderson didn't show for his 2003-04 season-ending interview, and the end was near.
"It was just a situation where there was no upside for me," Anderson said.
The Knicks bought out the final three years of his contract last week, and within 24 hours of clearing waivers, the 30-year-old was in Miami.
"This is all about trying to jumpstart my career again," said Anderson, who is well-known to Kings fans for hitting big shots that helped the Utah Jazz defeat Sacramento in the first round of the 1999 playoffs.
The Bee's Martin McNeal can be reached at mmcneal@sacbee.com.