Allen Iverson (photo. Gary Land)Following the off-court drama with Carmelo, the embarrassing playoff sweep at the hands of Kobe and the Lakers, plus the fact that the guy they reportedly liked the most in the Draft (Ty Lawson) is no longer available, the Nuggets got their best piece of news in what seems like months when Allen Iverson decided yesterday not to opt out of his contract. Denver will pay A.I. a nice $20 million and change next season, and if they don’t get an extension worked out this summer, then he’ll be a free agent in 2009. If you’re Iverson, do you definitely want to keep playing with ‘Melo, or would you want the Nuggets to explore these rumored trade offers and see what’s out there? … Yesterday’s (non-Carmelo) trade rumor #1: T-Mac to the Pistons for Rasheed and Rip Hamilton. It would give Detroit a versatile big-numbers scorer/playmaker and someone who can create off the dribble aside from Chauncey. T-Mac isn’t exactly a renowned defender, but do we even know if Michael Curry’s system relies on defense like the Pistons we’ve known for so long? Not as good of a move for the Rockets, who would turn into a team totally reliant on jump shots … Trade rumors #2: Mike Miller and the 5th pick in this year’s Draft to the Heat for the 2nd pick — if that 2nd pick winds up being Michael Beasley. That would be a great move for the Grizzlies, who need all the help they can get in the frontcourt and could pair Beasley with his buddy Rudy Gay to make the whole rookie transition a little easier. For the Heat it’s only worth it if they used that 5th pick to get a guard like Jerryd Bayless or O.J. Mayo … Trade rumor #3: T.J. Ford and the 17th pick to Phoenix for Boris Diaw. We like this one. The Raptors obviously have to unload Ford somewhere, and this way they get a guy with playoff stripes and some versatility. Phoenix gets a legit backup for Steve Nash, and it’s unlikely T.J. will be upset when he’s backing up someone he knows is better than him (which didn’t seem to be the case with Jose Calderon). Plus he’ll get to play for his former coach in Milwaukee, Terry Porter … The Celtics were honored before Friday’s Red Sox/Cardinals matchup at Fenway, where Paul Pierce threw out the first pitch (very high and very outside, but not as bad as THIS) and the Sox wore green jerseys during the game … In case you missed it yesterday, Dime #42 is on newsstands now. On the cover is Lance Stephenson. Inside is a whole bunch of good stuff, including LeBron, O.J., ‘Melo, Greg Oden, Yao, Jerryd Bayless and more … Sasha Vujacic (a restricted free agent) spoke on his summer plans: “It’s going to be the team that wants me and needs me the most. Who that’s going to be, I don’t know. I just want to win a championship.” The kid would have had a much stronger leg to stand on if the Finals had ended after Game 3 … Ronny Turiaf is also a free agent, but we all know he’s not going anywhere that Kobe’s not going … One guy who had a worse postseason than Vujacic was Robert Horry. He’s still deciding if he’s coming back for another year, but did let it be known that if he does play next year, he’s in it for the long haul and won’t pull a P.J. Brown-type move. “I wouldn’t feel right doing that,” Horry told the San Antonio Express-News. “You’ve got to go through training camp with the rest of the guys. Don’t just sit back and wait and get all the glory.” Really? Seriously? If anyone’s mastered the art of coasting through the regular season and showing up once the playoffs start, it’s Big Shot Rob. We’re pretty sure he’ll be on someone’s roster next year, and don’t be shocked if it’s in Boston … NBA TV was showing old Draft broadcasts again, so we caught some of the 1990 and the 1992 version in the office. 1990 was the year Derrick Coleman, Gary Payton and Chris Jackson (a.k.a. Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf) went 1-2-3, as well as Dennis Scott, Kendall Gill, Lionel Simmons (whose NBA career was ultimately ended due to his Gameboy addiction. Seriously, look it up) and Bo Kimble in the first round. Funniest moment? At one point announcer Doug Collins was breaking down whether the Kings should take Duane Causwell or Dwayne Schintzius with the #14 pick … ‘92 was a star-studded Draft, with Shaq, Alonzo Mourning and Christian Laettner going 1-2-3, then lost its star power pretty quickly: Tom Gugliotta, Walt Williams, Todd Day and Adam Keefe all went in the Top 10. Oliver Miller and Clarence Weatherspoon also went in the first round that year, which was coincidentally the last year they served ribs in the Green Room … There’s a chance high school All-American point guard and Arizona freshman-to-be Brandon Jennings won’t be academically eligible to play next season, and word is he’s looking at two alternatives just in case: (1) The D-League, and (2) playing pro ball overseas before entering the ‘09 Draft. If you had to make the call, what would you do? … We’re out like Adam Keefe …
June 21st, 2008 at 8:04 am
Damon says:
well…
June 21st, 2008 at 8:06 am
Damon says:
so this shit with that number ends…
why is jennings not eligible? are those tests that hard?
its hard to decide between those options, staying home and being a possible target in the d-league(as reported) or playing overseas and learning something about team basketball.
June 21st, 2008 at 8:38 am
jay says:
jennings should go overseas he’s good enuf 2 play in the l now i’ve seen him…i feel bad 4 tmac man i wonder if a team is gonna put like him iverson and jermane oneal on a team or are they hungry enuf hears a trade 4 u melo 4 odom strate up lakers win a chip???
June 21st, 2008 at 8:42 am
miamiVIS3 says:
What happened to the Grizz taking Mark Blount in that deal as you mentioned earlier.
June 21st, 2008 at 8:58 am
Dave says:
Nuggets would be better off without Iverson. He’s just holding up the program, they must re-tool around Carmelo. Keeping JR Smith is the first step.
Hard to imagine Iverson having much trade value at this stage of his career. Doubt they get any real talent for him without being forced onto another bad contract.
June 21st, 2008 at 9:00 am
Damon says:
if ai REALLY wanted to win a ring, he would’ve opted out.
June 21st, 2008 at 9:13 am
Ashlov says:
The Pistons need to steer clear of T-Mac. The man is a curse. AI is valuable, but not at $20 million at this stage of his career.
June 21st, 2008 at 9:21 am
KBY says:
Overseas if he can land with a good or semi-decent team and get the playing time.
June 21st, 2008 at 10:33 am
CCB says:
Those “tests” are that difficult for some students. Think about the idea that Wake Forest is actually removing the requirement for the non-student athletes and that should give you an idea of how the ACT and SAT’s are being looked at.
Brandon Jennings, is a great player. Undoubtedly, he could do both of these things( NBDL or overseas) but as a big supporter of JUCO’s I think he should attend Yavapai or Arizona Western for two years or one year if he is that talented he will definitely be challenged in the right JUCO system. Before you all get uptight about this statement Brandon is more of a PG than Stevie Franchise and Maryland took Franchise from a JUCO and turned him into a pro.
The unfortunate thing is that a player of that magnitude risks a lot if he gets to a JUCO and does not perform. I don’t think that would happen to Brandon. If he can lead AW or Yavapai to Hutch next year he could actually raise his stake as an NBA PG.
A few stats: At the D-1 level there are basically 12-13 schollies avaiable each year. Most of those spots are held by returning players so in actuality there are only maybe 4 schollies per year available. That means with 300 plus D-1 schools offering 1200 schollies, only 1200 schollies are available each year. Of those 1200 over 500 of those D-1 schollies go to JUCO players. JUCO would not be a bad option for him and if he performs well he gets to Arizona in two years and then goes into the draft. Just a thought.
Chris B
http://www.centercourtbasketball.com
ARC Sport
June 21st, 2008 at 10:43 am
hoopsguru says:
The best 1st pitch EVER!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=LPdWtydZChg&feature=related
June 21st, 2008 at 11:00 am
Big Sneezy says:
The Jennings thing hurts Arizona, but not as bad as it may seem. They already have a very solid PG in Nic Wise, and he’ll probably be around for the next two seasons. Jennings was looking like a one and gone player (barring any further Stern interventions), and guys like that are great, but then you have to try to reload year after year, which is tough to do if you aren’t North Carolina. Or Memphis, as it’s now looking. Of course, would be nice to make a one year run a la Carmelo or Derrick Rose.
June 21st, 2008 at 11:19 am
me says:
easy…he should go to europe. being around other cultures and scenerie is like an eduction it self. plus he already knows that hes guna play basketball for the rest of his life, so why not try to perfected as soon as possible. must be a nice life.
June 21st, 2008 at 11:25 am
nerditry says:
If Jennings goes to Europe it’s going to be for 2-3 years I’d guess because no one over there is going to sign him for a single season. Playing in the D-League means he’ll have to be there without a callup for the first season, but I’m not sure if that means he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2009 and able to sign a full deal like an undrafted free agent?
June 21st, 2008 at 11:29 am
Amar says:
keefe (drafted by ATL) had a few good seasons on the jazz benefitting from the sasha effect. (i.e. guys like kobe, pau and lamar was worthy of defensive attention — so a guy who isn’t awesome can still be effective because he’s always open — like sasha is) after the NBA he became a pro volleyball player. (he was a two sport athlete at stanford)
now that scals has a ring, he was previously the most successful redhead in the nba in the past 20 years.
June 21st, 2008 at 11:56 am
doc says:
Shit I bet you if he go to Europe he can get a 1 year contract.He aint the average dude going over there.
June 21st, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Celtic Pride says:
There is no way horry ends up with the celtics.
He threw a towel in Ainge’s face!
June 21st, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Austin Burton says:
If Jennings goes to the D-League, he’ll be eligible for the 2009 Draft just like if he’d gone to college for a year. This year a guy named Mike Taylor is in the Draft; he started out at Iowa (or Iowa State), left school for some reason before he ever played, played in the D-League this season (finished 2nd in their All-Star Weekend dunk contest) and is in this year’s Draft pool.
June 21st, 2008 at 12:55 pm
doc says:
Yeah AB but he could get more bread i europe.
June 21st, 2008 at 12:57 pm
daquest?on says:
he should go to the d league… he is too young to go overseas
June 21st, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Bobby B says:
The SAT and ACT may indeed be difficult for some students, but that’s not the reason Wake Forest dropped the SAT requirement for students. The scores are not indicative of future academic performance; thus, they look at other parameters before admitting students.
However, the tests are not inherently difficult. And, the eligibility standards for D-I is actually a sliding scale; i.e., if you have a really high HS GPA, you only need a very low SAT or ACT score to be eligible.
If Jennings is academically ineligible, he must have had a terrible GPA in high school.
June 21st, 2008 at 1:25 pm
tealish says:
Best thing for AI is to stay clear of Melo. If he ain’t opting out, he better be hoping for some trading action.
June 21st, 2008 at 1:44 pm
djKianoosh says:
even if AI plays this year in Denver, he’s going to be a free agent next year right? so, if he thinks he can play several more years, then he can make one more run with Melo to see if that works out at all. then he can go fish for a championship contender in the open market.
Europe is the easy choice between that and the D-League. better pay, better competition, better life experience.
June 21st, 2008 at 1:54 pm
CCB says:
I was implying that Wake is using more rounded admissions standards instead of simply relying on the ACT/SAT. Both of those tests are honestly about how well you take the ACT or SAT. If you take a series of prep courses then you will succeed, but if you have any type of phobia or problem with testing it will be difficult. The sliding scale is a joke considering a kid with a 3.5 is probably not going to score low on the test.
Wake is correct in actually looking at the complete person rather than just the numbers. The school will become more diverse in the type of students they admit.
Brandon actually passed the test but was required to retest due to a jump in his score from the previous test. This is hearsay so don’t take it as fact but he may be admitted.
Go figure
Chris B
http://www.centercourtbasketball.com
ARC Sport
June 21st, 2008 at 2:28 pm
daquest?on says:
would you put an 18 year old who apparently has a low gpa, into a new environment where he knows no one and he doesnt understand the people there??? i think thats too much for an 18 year old to handle
June 21st, 2008 at 2:36 pm
daquest?on says:
but seriously hw bad are ur grades that u cant even get into a school with a basketball schoolarship????!!? he needs to talk with danny granger, he was accepted in harvard
June 21st, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Joseph says:
Adam Keefe, go facemask.
I would take the D-leauge for a good team. he’s a Point guard and point guards do different things stateside then internationally. If I was him I’d go learn a system in the D-Leauge so he will adjust better to NBA life. A lot of teams are set up to run the same offense as their NBA counterparts.
June 21st, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Homeless J says:
I didn’t know about the L-Train thing so I looked it up and found a bunch of other crazy sports injuries on the same site.
* St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Vince Coleman injured his knee when he was run over by the animated field tarp apparatus before the 1985 World Series.
* Sacramento Kings rookie Lionel Simmons missed some games during the 1991 season when he developed tendinitis in his right wrist from playing too many video games, primarily the Nintendo GameBoy.
* Atlanta’s John Smoltz once burned himself while ironing a shirt. Apparently Smoltz was wearing the shirt at the time.
* Ken Griffey Jr. once missed a game for the Mariners when he pinched himself with his protective cup.
* San Diego pitcher Adam Eaton missed a 2001 start when he stabbed himself in the stomach while trying to cut the shrink-wrap off a DVD.
* Tom Glavine, then with the Atlanta Braves, broke a rib when he threw up an in-flight meal on an airplane.
* Former NHL goaltender Glenn Healy missed time between the pipes after he cut his finger while attempting to repair bagpipes.
* Wade Boggs injured his back while trying to pull on cowboy boots.
* Arizona kicker Bill Gramatica suffered a season-ending injury when he hurt his knee celebrating a successful field goal.
* Hall of Famer George Brett broke his toe when he tripped running from the kitchen to the living room to watch a baseball game replay of himself on TV.
* Colorado’s Larry Walker separated his shoulder while fishing.
* Sammy Sosa had to go on injured reserve when he hurt his back while sneezing.
* David Cone missed a start when his mother-in-law’s dog bit him.
* Jacksonville punter Chris Hanson needed stitches after a wayward swing with an ax at a tree stump that was placed in the locker room for motivational purposes.
* Latrell Sprewell broke his hand when he tripped and fell of his yacht in 2002.
* Nolan Ryan once was bitten by a coyote.
* Washington QB Gus Ferotte was taken to the hospital with a jammed neck after he head-butted the end zone concrete wall while celebrating a touchdown.
* Tony Gwynn fractured a finger when he slammed his car door on his hand.
* Muggsy Bogues missed the second half of an NBA game after unintentionally inhaling ointment fumes during a halftime treatment.
* Boston’s Craig Grebeck had to leave a game after rubbing his eye with a finger that had stick-em on it.
June 21st, 2008 at 4:33 pm
heavy d says:
Wasn’t one of the sports agencies setting up an academy in Bradentown for basketball like they have for tennis? That could be option 3. Although sitting out a season and training didn’t help football player Mike Williams in his pro pursuits.
Brandon’s decision depends a lot on factors that aren’t contained in a scouting report. If it was me at that age I’d see what’s the best 2 year deal I could get in Italy or Spain or possibly China or Japan. If the money was good enough I’d do that prior to entering the draft. The learning experience opportunity (life not book learning) along with the higher cash would be the draw to me. Notice I said 2 year deal. I doubt he gets a lucrative offer if he wants to be one and done internationally. It just doesn’t reward their investment enough. The risk with international is that he could really fall off the league’s radar if he doesn’t play (much or well).
The D-league offers the comfort of not leaving the country, but low dollars. It’s also not much of a learning experience off the court (sorry Idaho). If he doesn’t feel up to being half a world away from his family it is a better option.
June 21st, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Nathan Gugliotta says:
tom gugliotta is my uncle.
June 21st, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Jeffrey says:
If I were in his shoes, I would go to community college.
June 21st, 2008 at 4:44 pm
E-ROC says:
Can Jennings speak Spanish? I would go overseas and play for Spain. He would make a ton of money there.
The Lakers would be crazy to give Vujacic an annual salary of $5.8 million. He is not worth that much money. Hell, Bruce Bowen isn’t making that kind of money.
June 21st, 2008 at 6:39 pm
CCB says:
He should consider JUCO: From a 2002 article in CSN:
Mookie Blaylock, Anthony Bowie, Sam Cassell, Cedric Ceballos, Keon Clark, Blue Edwards, Kevin Edwards, Craig Ehlo, Kevin Gamble, Winston Garland, Armon Gilliam, Harvey Grant, Ed Gray, Bobby Jackson, Avery Johnson, Larry Johnson, Dontae’ Jones, Nate McMillan, Ken Norman, Robert Pack, Ricky Pierce, Mitch Richmond, J.R. Rider, Alvin Robertson, Dennis Rodman, Latrell Sprewell, John Starks, Johnny Taylor, Nick Van Exel, Ben Wallace, Spud Webb, David Wesley, Gerald Wilkins, Eric Williams, Jerome Williams and Kevin Willis. Embellishing junior college credentials further are all-time pro greats with a J.C. connection such as Tiny Archibald, Ron Boone, Fred Brown, Mack Calvin, Michael Cooper, Mel Daniels, Artis Gilmore, Spencer Haywood, Lionel Hollins, Dennis Johnson, Gus Johnson, Vinnie Johnson, Jim Loscutoff, Bob McAdoo and Paul Pressey.
http://www.collegesportingnews.com/article.asp?articleid=16720
This list does not include Stevie Franchise, Shawn Kemp, Qyntel Woods and I’m sure other players who made it to the league from JUCO’s.
All I am saying is that the stigma on JUCO is wrong and it would not hurt Brandon to play two years or one if he really shined at the JUCO level.
Chris B.
http://www.centercourtbasketball.com
ARC Sport
June 21st, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Leoni says:
Hey, Googs was good for probably 5/6 years (even had a all star selection)until the steroids or some shit finished him.
Anyone remenber the conscussion episode?
He can pass, rebound, score and even defend at spurts.
And he is 6′10″ (I think), hard to find some big white guy whith this skills.
June 22nd, 2008 at 1:31 am
djKianoosh says:
just got my Dime in the mail this weekend.
great issue fellas. they keep getting better. the photography is excellent and so is the design/feel of the graphics/layout. keep it up!
June 22nd, 2008 at 2:05 am
What is this!? says:
The Iverson haters come out in full force don’t they?
@ Dave,
What exactly is Iverson “holding up”? The Nuggets were 1 and done in the playoffs before he came there. So what exactly is being held up? He was the main reason they even made it to the playoffs this season, even if they got swept (keep in mind an Iverson team has NEVER gotten swept in the playoffs… untill he got to the Nuggets ofcourse). AI was their best player this year, and is freaklish seeming to get better with age, so i’m sure he’ll be fine where ever he plays. That Nuggets is a garbage franchise, hate to break it to you and anyone else, if their FO was serious about contending they would have made the proper moves after aquiring Iverson and actually had a plan in place when he came to Denver instead of just trading for him and expecting for him to do all the work and create magic. I’m starting to think they brought him their to sell even more tickets and the jersey and merchandise sales. Looking at that team, Iverson is the least of their problems, and Carmelo is not the type of player you build around, dude is NOT a real franchise player…I would have him on my team (with a little work) but I would not build around him.
@ Damon,
Would you leave $20 mil on the table? I didn’t think so. Its easy for people that are sitting at home telling these athletes to leave all this money on the table.
The only time an athlete opts out of a big contract is if they are sure that the team is going to make the proper changes in order for them to contend, so far the Nuggets have not shown any evidence (besides trading for AI) that shows they are ready to contend. So why should he leave $20 million dollars on the table and sign a new contract just to make it easier for them to trade him? And if they did trade him, who’s to say that they would have enough class to try to trade him to a REAL contender? No, he did the right thing by staying in his current contract, he only has one season left there and if things don’t work out they can part ways. Like I said, as much as people want to hate, Iverson is still playing at an unbeleivable level, so he shouldn’t have any problem going to a new team. And the Nuggets can go on their losing ways…like they were doing before he got their.
June 22nd, 2008 at 8:27 am
rob stewart says:
I agree with “What is this”. Melo is not a franchise player at all. He seems to have worn out his welcome and truthfully the only way he can possibly improve or get better is by leaving Denver. I’m not saying Iverson is some sort of saintly baller but Melo has to go. I think Iverson will prove he is still balling at a high level at the age of 33 and at the end of the year alot of teams will be interested in him.
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:04 am
Brandon Hoffman says:
How is Iverson’s decision NOT to opt-out good news? I thought the Nuggets were hoping he would opt-out and sign a lesser deal?
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:31 am
Joe Cozi says:
Iverson is nice no denying that….but I would hate to play with that dude..it’s not how many shots he takes it’s how many bad shots he takes where nobody else touches the ball and he launches a 20 foot jumper after pounding the rock for 8 seconds….and for being able to break his man down as much as he can he is a horrible passer, he always hits the guy a split second too late…I don’t have the stats in front of me but I’m sure he’s never averaged 10 assists a game something he should be doing easy with the way he can blow by his man and the minutes he plays per game…
June 23rd, 2008 at 2:46 pm
do it! says:
AI should opt out and go to Cleveland!!!!!!!!
Melo is an becoming expert at BI*CHA**NESS!
June 24th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
MSkittle says:
Don’t sleep on Tom Gugliotta! He had mad game back in the day.
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:21 pm
C Gugliotta says:
In regards to Post 29… Nathan Gugliotta…Tom is in MY family…and I do not know you I don’t think? Are we related? U from Dallas?
And it was not steroids that caused the problem, it was a perfectly legal supplement that he did not react well to.
And yes.. he was a heck of a player! Can you think of any other American Caucasian guy in the league today that can play like him? Thanks for those comments!
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:24 pm
C Gugliotta says:
And it was not the concussion that slowed Tom down .. it was the completely blown out knee that happened when he was with the Suns.