'Nasty News - Traversing Time & Space' Vol: 27

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http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/kerr_090226.html#

The Chicago Bulls are deeply saddened to announce that Bulls legend Johnny “Red” Kerr has passed away at the age of 76. “The entire Bulls organization is deeply saddened by the passing of Johnny “Red” Kerr. Johnny spent his entire life around the great game of basketball. His name was synonymous with basketball, both here in Chicago, and throughout the entire NBA,” said Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. “Those that were fortunate enough to have known Johnny were touched by both his tremendous compassion for people, and his life-long passion for the game of basketball. We will miss him greatly. Our sincere condolences, and our thoughts and prayers, go out to the entire Kerr family.”

Kerr, a native of Chicago, was a part of the Chicago Bulls organization in various capacities for 35 of the franchise’s 43 seasons, most notably as a team broadcaster for more than 30 years. He also served as the team’s first head coach in 1966, and earned NBA Coach of the Year honors for the 1966-67 season, when he directed the first-year Bulls to a playoff appearance. Kerr is the only head coach in NBA history to lead an expansion team to the playoffs during its inaugural season. As head coach of the Bulls, Kerr directed the team to a record of 62-101 (.380). “Red” was also the franchise’s business manager for two seasons (1973-74, 1974-75).

In addition to his Bulls ties, Kerr played 12 seasons (1954-1966) in the NBA for the Syracuse Nationals, Philadelphia 76ers and the Baltimore Bullets. During his 12 years in the NBA, his teams never missed the playoffs, highlighted by Syracuse’s run to the NBA Championship in 1955. From 1954 to1965, Kerr appeared in a then-NBA record 844 consecutive games. A three-time NBA All-Star, he finished his career with more than 10,000 points and over 10,000 rebounds. In all, he appeared in 905 NBA games and averaged 13.8 ppg, 11.2 rpg and 2.2 apg in 30.7 mpg. In recognition of his significant contributions, for over 50 years, to the game of basketball as a player, coach, administrator and broadcaster, Kerr received the 2009 John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He is survived by his five children, Ed, Matt, Jim, Bill and Essie, along with 10 grandchildren.

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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3938770

Kerr, 76, dies of prostate cancer
Johnny "Red" Kerr, the former Chicago Bulls coach who spent more than three decades as a broadcaster for the team, died Thursday. He was 76.

Kerr died at his home after a battle with prostate cancer, Bulls spokesman Tim Hallam said. "His name was synonymous with basketball, both here in Chicago, and throughout the entire NBA," Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said. "Those that were fortunate enough to have known Johnny were touched by both his tremendous compassion for people, and his lifelong passion for the game of basketball. We will miss him greatly."

Kerr's death is a double blow for the Bulls, following the death also Thursday of Norm Van Lier, one of the most popular players in Bulls history. Van Lier was 61. "We're deeply saddened by the whole course of events today," Hallam said.

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http://www.nba.com/2009/news/02/26/nash ... index.html

Suns' Nash misses game with ankle injury
Steve Nash missed Phoenix's game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night because of an injured right ankle.

The All-Star guard hurt himself during the third quarter of Tuesday's victory over the Charlotte Bobcats. He is listed as day to day.

Nash is averaging 14.1 points, 9.7 assists and 3.1 rebounds. He is three points from amassing 13,000 in his NBA career.

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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3938427

Steve Nash missed Phoenix's 132-106 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night because of an injured right ankle.

The All-Star guard hurt himself during the third quarter of Tuesday's victory over the Charlotte Bobcats. He is listed as day to day.

Nash is averaging 14.1 points, 9.7 assists and 3.1 rebounds. He is three points from amassing 13,000 in his NBA career.

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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3938537

Cavs' Wallace out 4-6 weeks
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Ben Wallace will miss four to six weeks after breaking his right leg in Thursday's 93-74 loss to Houston.

Wallace said Yao Ming kicked him as the two were running down the court in the second quarter. The 6-foot-9 Wallace managed to play midway into the third quarter before leaving for good with 6:19 left. "I thought it was like a calf bruise or something, that would probably let up eventually," Wallace said. "But it didn't. It was one of those freak accidents that happen in basketball."

Wallace had a protective boot and crutches next to his locker after the game. He was hoping to play again before the postseason. "I haven't had a broken arm, broken leg, anything major like that since I've been playing basketball," said Wallace, in his 12th season. "For it to happen now, it's just tough. I'm 34 years old. I don't need no broken bones."

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http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=290226013

Bryant had 22 points and eight rebounds for the Lakers, while O'Neal had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Suns, who trail first-place Los Angeles by 15 games in the Pacific Division.

Lamar Odom had 23 points to lead the Lakers and Pau Gasol added 16 points and nine rebounds.

Leandro Barbosa and Alando Tucker, who started in place of Nash, led Phoenix with 18 points each, and Jason Richardson added 13. Alvin Gentry fell to 4-2 as interim coach.

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http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=290226010

Yao Ming scored 28 points and Ron Artest added 15 while harassing James on defense most of the night, leading the Rockets to their six consecutive win and ninth straight at home.

James scored 21 points, but went 7-for-21 from the field with three turnovers. He left for good with 4:03 left, the only time in 493 NBA games (counting playoffs) he failed to record an assist.

Von Wafer scored 19 points and Luis Scola added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Rockets. Houston had 25 assists, its sixth straight game with 20 or more, and went 8-for-19 from 3-point range.

[nasty daddy]

http://www.nba.com/pistons/chat_mailbox ... ilbag.html

Ken (Manila, Philippines): As I watched the game with New Orleans, it seemed like their offense had a really good flow right after Iverson went out of the game. I compare it to the time Hamilton was injured and they went on a winning streak with Iverson. That leads me to the conclusion that the Pistons have two far-different personalities and you can’t put them together without getting chaos. Curry should bring Iverson off the bench and complement him with McDyess and Maxiell. What do you think?

Langlois: That’s going to be the popular theory today, I sense. And I’m not sure it’s fair to judge based on the evidence of the New Orleans game. Iverson went out with about four minutes left in the first quarter and the Pistons still sputtered their way to a 13-point quarter. You could make a more compelling case, in my view, that things changed when Will Bynum entered the game and started getting inside the paint and picked up the tempo of the game. But whether the Pistons as a whole can thrive with Iverson playing his style remains the major question hanging over their season. Curry has said they aren’t changing again, but nothing is ever that permanent in sports, and if the Pistons keep sliding, anything and everything will be back on the table.

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http://www.nba.com/pistons/chat_mailbox ... ilbag.html

Hugo (Washington, D.C.): AI complained about the offense and Curry interpreted that to mean Iverson wanted to play an open, fast-breaking style. But Curry didn’t want to subject Sheed and Dice to all that running. So why wouldn’t he move AI to the second unit full of young players and eager to run and put Rip back in the starting lineup?

Langlois: If Iverson is going to play his 38 minutes a night, does it matter that much? Those second unit guys are going to play about 20 minutes less than he does, if that. You can shuffle the pieces around, but the bottom line is that if the Pistons are going to make the most out of this season, Iverson and Hamilton and Stuckey and Wallace and Prince and McDyess all have to be comfortable playing together – they’re the top six players and some combination from that group is going to be playing together whenever a game is on the line.

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http://www.nba.com/pistons/chat_mailbox ... ilbag.html

Tony (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.): Tayshaun Prince looks tired to me. He seems to be short on his shots late in games – tired legs. Do you think playing in the Olympics, rather than getting a break over the summer, has been a factor?

Langlois: It could be, Tony, but I really think the ripple effects of the Iverson trade have been hard on him – everything from his stint as a power forward, which he told me was much more draining on him than heavy minutes at small forward, to the way his role changed. I think he’s frustrated, confused and a little exasperated at times that hard work isn’t translating into success as it did for his first six seasons. Remember, Prince has never known anything but 50-win seasons and postseasons that extend to the conference finals. He’s never played on a team struggling to break .500 this late in the season. The effects of the Olympics are hard to quantify. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade are having great years. Carlos Boozer has missed most of the year with a knee injury. Michael Redd is out for the year with a knee injury. Chris Bosh started off like an MVP candidate but tailed off as his Raptors floundered. My hunch is those other things I mentioned are affecting Prince’s play more than his participation in the Olympics.

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http://www.nba.com/pistons/chat_mailbox ... ilbag.html

Rob (Troy, Mich.): There are some good free agents this summer. Nothing like 2010, but players who could help the Pistons. Who do you think out of all the players in the 2009 free agent class will be very good in Detroit next year?

Langlois: At least until he suffered a knee injury that has cost him most of the season, Carlos Boozer was the best of the likely free agents. (Boozer is signed for next season but is – or was, at least – expected to opt out of his contract on July 1.) Given that Boozer’s strength – low-post and mid-range scoring – fits the Pistons’ needs, it doesn’t take much to connect the dots on that one. They’ll need to see him healthy and productive when he returns, as he did on Monday night, but Boozer makes sense as the odds-on Plan A for the Pistons.

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http://www.nba.com/pistons/chat_mailbox ... ilbag.html

Nigel (Manila, Philippines): I have followed the Pistons since the Grant Hill era and been an all-out Sheed and Tay fan. When Sheed moved to the Pistons, I’ve been a hard-core Motown fan ever since. The way the Pistons are playing now, though, makes me cringe. They are playing without the heart and fire they’ve always played with. Is there anything going on in the locker room that makes the Pistons play without fire that fans need to know?

Langlois: There’s nothing sinister to report, Nigel. Let’s put it in more common workplace terms. Let’s say you worked at General Motors when GM was king, then had to endure the tough years where success just wasn’t showing up in sales figures anymore despite you doing your job every bit as well as you did in the glory days. For the players who’ve experienced a world title and so many near-misses, who no doubt feel they’re still at or near the top of their game, it has to be frustrating to experience the struggles of today. And that frustration manifests itself in what can appear to be joylessness or lethargy. That’s no excuse. The Pistons, as Michael Curry has implored them to do, have to put up a better fight against frustration. But there’s nothing going on, beyond that, in the locker room.

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http://www.nba.com/pistons/chat_mailbox ... ilbag.html

Kevin (Chicago): I understand Joe D is trying to develop Stuckey, but they need to win games and Stuckey has been struggling. Start Rip and AI and let Stuckey play with the second unit.

Langlois: It’s an option they’ll have to consider if his play doesn’t pick up at some point, Kevin, but that means making Iverson the point guard again and the overwhelming consensus of opinion is that doesn’t suit his strengths, either. So it’s an option, but more of a last resort.

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http://www.nba.com/pistons/chat_mailbox ... ilbag.html

Kevin (Austin, Texas): Did Rip Hamilton actually sign his extension prior to the Billups trade? If so, what are the basic parameters of the deal?

Langlois: He agreed to the terms of the extension prior to the trade, but hadn’t yet signed it. He actually signed the contract about two weeks after the trade when the Pistons returned from their West Coast trip. The three-year extension, which obligates him to the Pistons through the 2012-13 season, was widely reported as three years and $34 million.

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http://www.nba.com/pistons/chat_mailbox ... ilbag.html

Chris (Dearborn, Mich.): The sooner this season is over, the better in my opinion. I’d rather have them finish early and get a high draft pick than get further embarrassed in a first-round sweep by Cleveland or Boston. They should just buy out Iverson now and use the rest of the season to develop chemistry between the guys that are actually going to be here next season.

Langlois: As bleak as things have turned in the past few weeks, it’s hard to see the upside in tanking to get into the back end of the lottery where you have a snowball’s chance in hell to get a top-three pick – in a year where, aside from Blake Griffin going No. 1, there is no sure-fire star. I think the best thing for the Pistons is to finish strong and take their chances in the playoffs, exposing Rodney Stuckey to the pressure of being the point guard and floor leader in a postseason series.

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http://www.nba.com/pistons/chat_mailbox ... ilbag.html

Kevin (Saginaw, Mich.): Do you think Joe D was just lucky to get Big Ben, Rip, Chauncey, Sheed and Tayshaun? We had a great team with Larry Brown, then we got Flip and just tried to outscore every team. Flip, Darko, Michael Curry, AI, Afflalo … starting Stuckey is the worst move of all. Do you think Joe D just got lucky and now it’s over?

Langlois: Luck would be drawing a name from a hat and having that player turn in to Kobe Bryant or LeBron James. If you want to draw up a balance sheet of every GMs’ good and bad moves, I guarantee you Joe Dumars’ will look better than almost everyone else’s. And your perception is off about Flip Saunders’ teams. Every coach’s objective is to outscore the opposition. Saunders was viewed as an innovative offensive coach, and I’m not disputing that, but his innovation was in playing with utmost efficiency offensively. Under Saunders, the Pistons remained among the league’s best statistical defensive teams.

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http://www.nba.com/pistons/chat_mailbox ... ilbag.html

Neil (Hatfield, Pa.): I am a diehard Allen Iverson fan. I always wanted him to go to a place in a winning environment. Where will he go over the summer and will Joe D try to re-sign him for less money?

Langlois: To have any cap space, the Pistons will have to renounce their rights to Iverson and Rasheed Wallace. They could still re-sign one or both, but they would lose their Bird rights and be unable to go over the cap to sign them. Of the two, Wallace is more likely to be re-signed, I believe, because of need. It’s very difficult to say where Iverson might wind up if he leaves the Pistons. The uncertainty with the economy makes it difficult to project which teams will be shopping.

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http://www.nba.com/pistons/chat_mailbox ... ilbag.html

William (Fresno, Calif.): Do you think the Pistons will address their lack of a legitimate big man this off-season. Chris Bosh, maybe, or Amare?

Langlois: If Bryan Colangelo makes Chris Bosh available – meaning if he comes to the conclusion that most neutral observers have already come to, that Bosh is destined to leave Toronto as a free agent in July 2010 – then you can be sure Joe D will try to leverage his assets into a play at Bosh. I think it’s possible he makes a play for Bosh while also going after a premier free agent.

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http://www.nba.com/pistons/chat_mailbox ... ilbag.html

Jackson (Alanson, Mich.): Is Mehmet Okur available this summer? I think that’s the guy the Pistons should go after, not Boozer. He doesn’t have injury problems and he can spread the floor like Rasheed in case we lose him.

Langlois: Okur, like Boozer, has the option to terminate his contract and become a free agent. Of the two, he’s more likely to stay with the Jazz, who have a reasonable replacement for Boozer already on board in Paul Millsap.

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Alec (Ypsilanti, Mich.): It seems we can only give one of Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell the consistent minutes they need to succeed. I like both players, but wonder if a trade would give the Pistons (and both players) a more productive situation.

Langlois: It wouldn’t surprise me if one of them were traded this summer, Alec, but only after other bigger decisions have been made. If one of them is needed to package in a trade for another big man, that would make sense. If the Pistons spend their free agent money on a big man, then they could address other needs by shopping Maxiell or Johnson, both of whom are young and have reasonable contracts – the perfect ingredients to take shopping.