I know this isn't mainly about the Kings, but it does have reference to them so I'm putting it here instead of chopping it up and putting part here and part in the NBA forum... VF21
NBA Beat: Hot preseason picks had 'experts' snowed
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, January 9, 2005
Heading into the season, few would have been surprised by a Western Conference finals between Minnesota and Denver. These seemed like two teams for a new era.
But as this season plods along, the Timberwolves and Nuggets check in as two colossal duds.
Minnesota sits at 17-14, with two victories against the Kings and not a whole lot else.
Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell have performed like two guys distracted or, as one NBA general manager suggested last week, totally disinterested. Neither seems to have shed their contract-request hangovers from the preseason.
At times, they look a half-step slow against opponents who race past them. They aren't hitting the big shots. They're straining ligaments and reporting sore joints - the norm for players in their mid-30s.
A season ago, Minnesota provided Kevin Garnett with players who were the ideal complements.
But last week, the Timberwolves were shelled by the expansion Bobcats in Charlotte, buckling 102-84 to a team that had lost six consecutive games. There also were bad losses to Cleveland, New York and Memphis in which each opponent shot better than 50 percent from the field.
The Timberwolves ended a four-game losing streak Friday after barely getting past a Philadelphia team that was without an injured Allen Iverson. Minnesota otherwise feels fortunate about realignment, having been placed in the Northwest Division that has Denver, Portland and Utah slogging behind it.
As general manager Kevin McHale told Minnesota reporters, "We're probably the most underachieving team in the league."
Denver entered the season with hopes as high as the Rocky Mountains, with Carmelo Anthony a year older and - one would assume - wiser. Adding some muscle in the frontcourt in Kenyon Martin was supposed to make the Nuggets certifiably dangerous.
But injuries, lethargic play, losing streaks and some horrendous home blowouts led to the firing of coach Jeff Bzdelik.
Anthony has done exactly what he said would never happen - get into trouble off the floor. There was an embarrassing incident in which marijuana was found in his backpack (the charges were later dropped, and a friend of his was charged). He also hasn't been the same player as last season.
And in another soap-opera twist, point guard Andre Miller didn't play down the stretch - and it was an 8:06 stretch - in Denver's 102-98 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Denver's interim coach, Michael Cooper, deemed it a "coach's decision," though he later apologized to Miller, who had scored 17 points in the game.
Martin later wasn't about to engage in any controversy talk - the Nuggets are saddled with enough issues.
"Coach's decision, man," the power forward snarled to Denver reporters. "You're all digging too deep, man. You're all looking for a problem. Cut it out. Unless you want a problem, I'll give you one."
Now there's another unhappy face in Nene. A bargain with a salary of just over $2 million, the power forward has had games in which he has outplayed the significantly higher priced Martin and Marcus Camby, leading agent Michael Coyne to howl about the injustice. Coyne has gone public requesting that Nene start, saying to Denver reporters, "I wish he would start, because his progress would be retarded if he doesn't start."
The Kings host Denver on Tuesday.
Special K bust in D.C. (He's not talking about Kevin...)
He's shaping up to be a bust with poor numbers, suspect health and a growing list of transgressions.But someone will offer Kwame Brown millions when becomes a free agent this summer.
There always will be a need for a 6-foot-11 22-year-old with skills, but the Washington Wizards might not re-sign the first high schooler to become the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft (in 2001). He has been slowed with injuries, he was charged with DUI in 2003, and he was suspended for a game last month for refusing to join the team huddle, prompting Wizards coach Eddie Jordan to mutter, "We're not tolerating immaturity."
Brown was a Michael Jordan pick. In that 2001 draft, one of the youngest in NBA history, Brown was followed by fellow high school stars Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry and DeSagana Diop. None has played up to expectations.
Pau Gasol was the third pick to Memphis and has produced (and No. 6 pick Shane Battier has become a Jerry West favorite with the Grizzlies). Jason Richardson went No. 5 to Golden State, and the Warriors proved last week they are better with him active.
And the Kings' pick at No. 25 is proof that picks don't always fit. Gerald Wallace is in the midst of his best season - with Charlotte.
But then-sure-thing Brown has regressed. He reports that some days his legs feel fine, others he is sore.
And he has been at his best and worst against the Kings. Last March at MCI Center, Brown posted career highs in points (30) and rebounds (19) against Chris Webber. On Dec. 21 at Arco Arena, Brown had one point and six rebounds and was clearly outclassed by Webber, who went for 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
Feeling for an old friend
They were teammates 30 years ago under Dick Motta in Chicago, and they are two of the longest-tenured coaches in the business today.Rick Adelman is still winning with the Kings, but Jerry Sloan has hit a slump like no other this winter in Utah, with the Jazz in the midst of an eight-game losing streak and their worst season since the 1981-82 campaign. The Kings beat the Jazz 109-102 on New Year's Eve and host Utah on Thursday.
And anytime now, the Jazz expects to work Andrei Kirilenko back into the mix. The NBA's leading shot blocker early this season, he played just 14 games before a knee injury.
"Knowing Jerry, he's going to keep them working, and they're going to work their way back into it," Adelman said. "They're still playing hard, and they're in every game. But (Sloan) lost his best player, a guy who's really effective for him, especially on the defensive end."
From afar
He impressed in training camp with the Kings, and he wants a return to the United States someday, to follow his pal Yao Ming and carve out his own legacy as the first Chinese guard to make the NBA.Liu Wie for now is leading the Shanghai Sharks. He was with the Kings through the preseason, the second-most-popular figure not standing 7-foot-6 last October in China when the Kings and Houston Rockets met in two preseason games.
Kings coaches raved about his passing ability, and Liu knew he was a long shot with Mike Bibby and Bobby Jackson on the roster. Yes, Jackson is out for the regular season, but the Kings haven't called on Liu's services. At 23, he still has plenty of room to develop. He has said the Chinese leagues are too slow for his liking and that he's eager for another NBA opportunity.
Be like Mike
Mike Woodson nearly beat his old team Friday, with the struggling Atlanta Hawks falling to the Kings 100-97.But coach Woodson has some talent to work with, if chemistry, cohesion and time remain a problem.
He has youth, for one thing, in rookie Josh Smith, who Woodson said makes him feel very old. Woodson recalled legging out his last NBA games in 1991, a career that included the 1985-86 season in Sacramento. He managed just four games with Cleveland after signing a 10-day contract, then succumbed to bad knees.
"It was tough walking away," Woodson said. "The 11 years I played, I never thought it was going to end. It took me a year to really announce that I was through playing. I didn't try out the next year. I kind of lost the edge a little bit. I lost the thrill."
So he got into coaching, with the Atlanta gig his first head post.
* Webber on childhood pal Jalen Rose, who wants out of Toronto: "I hope he gets traded to a contender. He doesn't need to be rebuilding and coming off the bench with guys he's better than. I feel sorry for Jalen. I tell him that every day. He's definitely supportive of the team and the coach, but I'm the one in his ear saying this is not right and hopefully he gets traded ... come play for us maybe, something, and get to where he could be happy."
Coming to Sacramento won't work for several reasons. Rose wouldn't start ahead of Bibby or Doug Christie, and the Kings aren't interested in absorbing his contract, which pays $14.4 million this season, $15.6 next season and $16.9 in the final season.
They have the much more affordable Eddie House instead.
* Allan Houston of the Knicks on the Kings: "They have been together for a long time. They are probably the best passing and cutting offensive team in the league. They read each other so well, and they can all shoot. They are one of the toughest teams to defend in the NBA."
Added Toronto coach Sam Mitchell: "Any team that can keep their core guys five, six, seven years - they know one another, they understand one another. They have got to be considered a team that is capable of winning an NBA championship."
The Bee's Joe Davidson can be reached at (916) 321-1280 or jdavidson@sacbee.com.
NBA Beat: Hot preseason picks had 'experts' snowed
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, January 9, 2005
Heading into the season, few would have been surprised by a Western Conference finals between Minnesota and Denver. These seemed like two teams for a new era.
But as this season plods along, the Timberwolves and Nuggets check in as two colossal duds.
Minnesota sits at 17-14, with two victories against the Kings and not a whole lot else.
Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell have performed like two guys distracted or, as one NBA general manager suggested last week, totally disinterested. Neither seems to have shed their contract-request hangovers from the preseason.
At times, they look a half-step slow against opponents who race past them. They aren't hitting the big shots. They're straining ligaments and reporting sore joints - the norm for players in their mid-30s.
A season ago, Minnesota provided Kevin Garnett with players who were the ideal complements.
But last week, the Timberwolves were shelled by the expansion Bobcats in Charlotte, buckling 102-84 to a team that had lost six consecutive games. There also were bad losses to Cleveland, New York and Memphis in which each opponent shot better than 50 percent from the field.
The Timberwolves ended a four-game losing streak Friday after barely getting past a Philadelphia team that was without an injured Allen Iverson. Minnesota otherwise feels fortunate about realignment, having been placed in the Northwest Division that has Denver, Portland and Utah slogging behind it.
As general manager Kevin McHale told Minnesota reporters, "We're probably the most underachieving team in the league."
Denver entered the season with hopes as high as the Rocky Mountains, with Carmelo Anthony a year older and - one would assume - wiser. Adding some muscle in the frontcourt in Kenyon Martin was supposed to make the Nuggets certifiably dangerous.
But injuries, lethargic play, losing streaks and some horrendous home blowouts led to the firing of coach Jeff Bzdelik.
Anthony has done exactly what he said would never happen - get into trouble off the floor. There was an embarrassing incident in which marijuana was found in his backpack (the charges were later dropped, and a friend of his was charged). He also hasn't been the same player as last season.
And in another soap-opera twist, point guard Andre Miller didn't play down the stretch - and it was an 8:06 stretch - in Denver's 102-98 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Denver's interim coach, Michael Cooper, deemed it a "coach's decision," though he later apologized to Miller, who had scored 17 points in the game.
Martin later wasn't about to engage in any controversy talk - the Nuggets are saddled with enough issues.
"Coach's decision, man," the power forward snarled to Denver reporters. "You're all digging too deep, man. You're all looking for a problem. Cut it out. Unless you want a problem, I'll give you one."
Now there's another unhappy face in Nene. A bargain with a salary of just over $2 million, the power forward has had games in which he has outplayed the significantly higher priced Martin and Marcus Camby, leading agent Michael Coyne to howl about the injustice. Coyne has gone public requesting that Nene start, saying to Denver reporters, "I wish he would start, because his progress would be retarded if he doesn't start."
The Kings host Denver on Tuesday.
Special K bust in D.C. (He's not talking about Kevin...)
He's shaping up to be a bust with poor numbers, suspect health and a growing list of transgressions.But someone will offer Kwame Brown millions when becomes a free agent this summer.
There always will be a need for a 6-foot-11 22-year-old with skills, but the Washington Wizards might not re-sign the first high schooler to become the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft (in 2001). He has been slowed with injuries, he was charged with DUI in 2003, and he was suspended for a game last month for refusing to join the team huddle, prompting Wizards coach Eddie Jordan to mutter, "We're not tolerating immaturity."
Brown was a Michael Jordan pick. In that 2001 draft, one of the youngest in NBA history, Brown was followed by fellow high school stars Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry and DeSagana Diop. None has played up to expectations.
Pau Gasol was the third pick to Memphis and has produced (and No. 6 pick Shane Battier has become a Jerry West favorite with the Grizzlies). Jason Richardson went No. 5 to Golden State, and the Warriors proved last week they are better with him active.
And the Kings' pick at No. 25 is proof that picks don't always fit. Gerald Wallace is in the midst of his best season - with Charlotte.
But then-sure-thing Brown has regressed. He reports that some days his legs feel fine, others he is sore.
And he has been at his best and worst against the Kings. Last March at MCI Center, Brown posted career highs in points (30) and rebounds (19) against Chris Webber. On Dec. 21 at Arco Arena, Brown had one point and six rebounds and was clearly outclassed by Webber, who went for 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
Feeling for an old friend
They were teammates 30 years ago under Dick Motta in Chicago, and they are two of the longest-tenured coaches in the business today.Rick Adelman is still winning with the Kings, but Jerry Sloan has hit a slump like no other this winter in Utah, with the Jazz in the midst of an eight-game losing streak and their worst season since the 1981-82 campaign. The Kings beat the Jazz 109-102 on New Year's Eve and host Utah on Thursday.
And anytime now, the Jazz expects to work Andrei Kirilenko back into the mix. The NBA's leading shot blocker early this season, he played just 14 games before a knee injury.
"Knowing Jerry, he's going to keep them working, and they're going to work their way back into it," Adelman said. "They're still playing hard, and they're in every game. But (Sloan) lost his best player, a guy who's really effective for him, especially on the defensive end."
From afar
He impressed in training camp with the Kings, and he wants a return to the United States someday, to follow his pal Yao Ming and carve out his own legacy as the first Chinese guard to make the NBA.Liu Wie for now is leading the Shanghai Sharks. He was with the Kings through the preseason, the second-most-popular figure not standing 7-foot-6 last October in China when the Kings and Houston Rockets met in two preseason games.
Kings coaches raved about his passing ability, and Liu knew he was a long shot with Mike Bibby and Bobby Jackson on the roster. Yes, Jackson is out for the regular season, but the Kings haven't called on Liu's services. At 23, he still has plenty of room to develop. He has said the Chinese leagues are too slow for his liking and that he's eager for another NBA opportunity.
Be like Mike
Mike Woodson nearly beat his old team Friday, with the struggling Atlanta Hawks falling to the Kings 100-97.But coach Woodson has some talent to work with, if chemistry, cohesion and time remain a problem.
He has youth, for one thing, in rookie Josh Smith, who Woodson said makes him feel very old. Woodson recalled legging out his last NBA games in 1991, a career that included the 1985-86 season in Sacramento. He managed just four games with Cleveland after signing a 10-day contract, then succumbed to bad knees.
"It was tough walking away," Woodson said. "The 11 years I played, I never thought it was going to end. It took me a year to really announce that I was through playing. I didn't try out the next year. I kind of lost the edge a little bit. I lost the thrill."
So he got into coaching, with the Atlanta gig his first head post.
* Webber on childhood pal Jalen Rose, who wants out of Toronto: "I hope he gets traded to a contender. He doesn't need to be rebuilding and coming off the bench with guys he's better than. I feel sorry for Jalen. I tell him that every day. He's definitely supportive of the team and the coach, but I'm the one in his ear saying this is not right and hopefully he gets traded ... come play for us maybe, something, and get to where he could be happy."
Coming to Sacramento won't work for several reasons. Rose wouldn't start ahead of Bibby or Doug Christie, and the Kings aren't interested in absorbing his contract, which pays $14.4 million this season, $15.6 next season and $16.9 in the final season.
They have the much more affordable Eddie House instead.
* Allan Houston of the Knicks on the Kings: "They have been together for a long time. They are probably the best passing and cutting offensive team in the league. They read each other so well, and they can all shoot. They are one of the toughest teams to defend in the NBA."
Added Toronto coach Sam Mitchell: "Any team that can keep their core guys five, six, seven years - they know one another, they understand one another. They have got to be considered a team that is capable of winning an NBA championship."
The Bee's Joe Davidson can be reached at (916) 321-1280 or jdavidson@sacbee.com.
