December 20th, 2006 - The Denver Suckets

Imagine you are a Denver Nuggets fan, and you awoke to the news that “The Cancer” is coming to town. This hard on the heals of learning your best player is a complete and utter suck.

Good times in the mile high city! (accent on the “high” after this deal)

Mere days after the leagues’ top scorer Carmelo Anthony was exposed as a thug with no clothes, the Nuggets acquire the very well rested Alan Iverson, who, despite the fact that he was the second highest scorer in the league, was sent home for being obnoxious. Imagine how obnoxious a feller would have to be for that to happen!

It seems Iverson could no longer stand listening to Philadelphia coach and 76ers legend Maurice Cheeks. After all, what would Cheeks know about being a guard in the NBA and leading a team to an NBA championship?

As for Anthony, he’s currently sitting down for 15-games for bitch-slapping New York’s Mardy Collins on Saturday night. For what it was, a sucker punch pretty much after the brawl between the Nuggets and the Knicks was over, the punishment seems a little harsh. However, what did the most damage was what he did next. After delivering the blow, he ran. He backed off so fast, no Denver player could catch him and he didn’t stop until he’d left Madison Square Gardens.

The only thing seen going faster was “Melo’s” reputation.

Now Anthony and Iverson are together. On one other occasion the league’s two leading scorers have been together on the same team – coincidently also in Denver. The season was 1982-83, and Alex English won the scoring title with 28.4 points per game; Kiki Vandeweghe, with 26.7 ppg, placed second.

Perhaps the team was fondly remembering those good old days, when those two put the Denver on the NBA map. However, there is a significant difference between English-Vandeweghe and Iverson-Anthony.

English, who retired as the seventh highest scorer in history, is a soft-spoken intellectual who has published three books of his own poetry.

Alan Iverson also has his own version of poetry. His rap album, “40 Bars” was so controversial, with its gun-lovin’ misogynistic and homophobic content, the NBA had to step in and beg him not to release it. Too bad… woulda made a nice Christmas present for my kids!

Vandeweghe had a productive 14-year playing career and returned to his first home in the NBA, Denver to become their GM. One of his brightest moves he made was, ironically in today’s context, drafting Carmelo Anthony with Denver’s third overall pick in 2003.

Anthony came into the league with largish question marks. In 2004, he appeared in that anti-snitch video that threatened Baltimore kids with violence if they went to the police to report a crime. The same year he was caught on the team plane with marijuana in a backpack - that he said belonged to a friend. And just this summer, on the day he signed a five-year, $80 million contract, police found marijuana in his car, which was being driven by another friend.

With friends like that…

There are those who are predicting the deal will elevate a pretty good Denver Nuggets team, to the upper echelons of the western conference. However, if you listen to practically everyone’s comments, they all include the word, “chemistry.”

All are wondering, “Can Carmelo Anthony and Alan Iverson get along?” No one more so than their coach, George Karl.

Thus far, George isn’t talking.

Perhaps he’s consulting with Iverson’s prior coaches to see what worked for them.
Cheers and Merry Christmas! - Gavin McDougald - AKA Couch

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