They didn’t even try to re-sign Dikembe Mutombo. They traded Antonio McDyess for a bunch of middle-level draft picks. Their games this season are scheduled to be telecast on the local channel that carries the home shopping network.
And they say not everyone can run an NBA franchise–badly, that is.
Welcome to Denver.
“When it comes to pressure, you have two ends of the spectrum,” says new Nuggets coach Bill Hanzlik with another view on all this. “You have us and then you have Minnesota, where they just signed a guy for a kazillion dollars. There’s a lot of expectation from that. Don’t you think there’s a little pressure on that organization? Nobody expects us to do a thing.”
Only Bryant Stith and LaPhonso Ellis are left from the team that stunned Seattle in the 1994 playoffs and Ellis, although not playing yet, has made a near-miraculous comeback from a ruptured Achilles’ tendon. He should be ready to play by the end of the month, instead of January, as previously predicted.
And, of course, he hates the Nuggets. He blasted the team last summer for the way it treated players and coaches. He didn’t even get to the personnel moves. And now he says, “I don’t have any relationship with the Nuggets. . . . My commitment to the Nuggets is to play ball. We’ll have to see if it ends in April, May or June.”
We can answer that. Ellis, who reluctantly will move back to power forward with McDyess’ departure, will hope a starting lineup that should include Stith, Eric Williams, Dean Garrett and Anthony Goldwire can win more than 15 games.
Amid all the gloom, rookie Danny Fortson isn’t depressed.
“So what if people say we (stink)?” he says. “I mean, I’m happy to be here. That’s a blessing. Hey, I could be working as a garbage man now, so why not take this job, run with it and do the best I can?”
The sanitation department in Denver figures to be more entertaining.
No hard feelings: No tears are being shed for Larry Brown as the Pacers opened the exhibition season under new coach Larry Bird.
Said Rik Smits: “It’s going to be a refreshing season and preseason. The enthusiasm is really back this year. With (Brown), we’d run up and down once or twice and then he would stop practice and talk for 15 minutes about what we were doing wrong. (Bird) lets us run more and that’s a better way of getting in shape. I’m sure he’s going to give us input, but he’s going to pick his spots better than Larry Brown did.”
Said Reggie Miller: “There has been such a big change, it’s like day and night. It’s so relaxed here. (Bird) is talking to everyone. And even though he’s demanding, he says it to you in a positive way. You can feel he’s going to be one of those coaches you’re going to die for. Sometimes when I go back to my room I’m thinking, `I just can’t believe Larry Bird is our coach.’ “
And it doesn’t appear coach P.J. Carlesimo is much missed in Portland. Said Isaiah Rider: “Who wants to come back to a guy who can’t even smile when you’re winning by 30 and you crack a joke?”
OK, perhaps criticism from Rider is a badge of honor, but even Carlesimo favorite Kenny Anderson said: “I’ll have a little more input. P.J. was a great coach for me, but he was more like, `This is what we’ve been practicing, this is what we want to do and this is how we’re going to do it.’ There was not much bending with P.J.”
Thomas leaving? With Isiah Thomas’ bid to buy the Raptors refused, talk is Thomas may leave and take free-agent-to-be Damon Stoudamire with him. . . . It’s not only head coaches cashing in. Portland hired former Timberwolves coach Bill Musselman as an assistant after Seattle assistant Tim Grgurich rejected a $650,000-a-year deal for five years. . . . Detroit’s Doug Collins, who renegotiated his contract to guarantee just one more season, bristles at talk he’s a lame duck. Says Collins: “What the hell is a lame-duck coach? There isn’t a coach in the league who isn’t a lame duck. We can all be fired tomorrow. I plan on being here a long time. I feel strong about my ability to coach. And I will continue to coach as long as it’s rewarding for me and I feel like I’m making a difference.” . . . This ought to help Charlotte owner George Shinn’s request that taxpayers ante up for a new arena for the Hornets. Police have expanded their investigation into charges of sexual abuse against him. . . . We don’t think he was mocking Michael Jordan’s play-till-I-drop attitude of late, but Detroit’s Grant Hill says none of that 35-year-old stuff for him. Said Hill: “I’d like to play until I’m 32 or 33. I figure if I don’t win a championship by then, I never will. When I get as old as the number on my jersey, it’s time to retire.” . . . Spurs top pick Tim Duncan has looked sharp already, including a couple of blocks and power slams over Patrick Ewing Sunday.
Shaq’s sugar: Shaquille O’Neal makes just a little less than Kevin Garnett now. But he says not to worry: “I’m not a greedy person. I just want what’s fair. I might not even ask for a new deal (when his out clause takes effect after the 1998-99 season). I might just say, `This is fair.’ ” Sure. Expect O’Neal to seek $150 million. . . . The Rockets didn’t make any major changes and that’s fine with Mario Elie, who says: “Everybody’s talking about how we’re old, but I think that’s how you win. You have to keep your chemistry and just build around them. I look at teams and everyone is making changes. Seattle made a big change. Vin Baker is a great player, but he’s no Shawn Kemp. The Lakers are good. But it’s going to be us and Utah again.” . . . Not great news for Mavericks coach Jim Cleamons as General Manager Don Nelson declared the Mavericks playoff contenders. Said Nelson: “I’m not talking about winning the division or 50 games or even playing .500. I’m talking about competing for a playoff position. What did it take last year, 35 wins? I mean, jeez.” Dallas finished 12 games behind the Clippers last season for the last playoff spot and its big off-season move was trading Derek Harper for Dennis Scott.
