Gangsta Gangsta

Legiterally hours after Stop Snitchin' and JR were removed from the Nuggets lineup, the Nuggets go out and find an Answer resting on the scrap heap. Billy King did not fail to dissapoint, taking back a confusing medley of players (1.e. Joe Smith + Andre Miller) and a couple of 1st rounders.

This is w/o doubt the second most exciting destination for A.I., finishing just behind Minnesota on the Pump-o-Meter. While their status as the ultimate brawling team was somewhat in doubt as far as their status in the all-time annals, this move cements their #1 spot. Answer brings toughness+willingness to sacrifice whatever it takes to drag his teammates into the storied land.
Think about this for a second before you talk about team chemistry, and how Melo and Ivey will have a tough time adapting to each other: A.I. has been busting his ass up and down the court for about 5 years w/o a single teammate worthy of his lofty stature. Now, picture him w/a bunch of quality teammates sorely in need of an offensive boost now that Options 1 and 2 are suspended for 15 and 10, respectively. It's true that there will be 2 learning curves for Iverson, one w/o Melo and JR, one w/both in full effect.

Before you write this entire move off as stupid on both parties, consider that Iverson has nothing but desire to win. I have not doubt that not only will he not fuck this situation up by playing petulant/former frustrated alpha dog, but in fact he will embrace his role as perhaps the second banana. Or maybe Melo and A.I. will figure a unique way to share the ball and scoring responsibility in a way that benefits both of them in a quest for a championship. I would hope that they can form some kind of alliance that results in both of them scoring obscene amounts on the same court, with JR picking up the rest of the point-scoring tab.

While I don't yet know how that will work, it's my sense that Melo might start spending more time on the perimiter, allowing Iverson ample room for his barely controlled drives toward the rim. Although this trade still leaves Denver bereft of shooters, it should allow them to play at what has become the league's fastest pace with a premier PG/SG running the show.

BLACK SUNS BABY!

Can't get up like you need Viagra

K-Mart is something of a polarizing presence in the NBA. On the one hand, he is a player whose sucess is predicated on bland hustle and ridiculous bounce. On the other, he was suspended for the playoffs as a result of badmouthing George Karl and the rest of the Nugs in the press.

What no-one can dispute is that he's about to miss the rest of the season with a continuation of knee problems. As anyone who has ever played basketball knows, the knee is key to basic functionality on the court. It is even more key for someone whose value is predicated on the fact that he can jump out the damn gym.
KMart is an interesting player for both systems in which he has played in his career. On the Nets, JKidd uncaged his shit like an animal. KMart is at his best when he acts as a conduit for a more creative force. Most players of his type (explosive bangers with few other basketball skills) are merely paintbrushes for the maestros that they should be playing next to. He was the perfect brush for Kidd's creative style--he's a moderately fast player with bounce out the building.

His lack of other skills are incidental: Kidd has such a catalogue of moves and deceptions, but lacks the ability to score. Perhaps because he feels he should embody the purest of pure points that he so disdains developing a reputable J, but the fact is that his jumper is merely adequate for professional ball. Sure he can make the occaisional 3 or two, but he never takes the game over on the offensive like his Canadian counterpart.It is Kidd's non-presence on the scoring end of the offense that makes KMart such a valuable counterpoint to his oblique attack. Martin was the exlamation point to Kidd's run-on sentence. Kidd is unique in the regard that he had only one means of punctuation available to him both times he went to the Finals. KMart and RJ provide only exclamation points as resolution to Kidd's creations. By contrast, Steve Nash has an arsenal of punctuation at his disposal and finds himself continually short of the perfect story. He can construct a hell of a sentence, but his attack seems sometimes to meander, to lack the incisiveness that so defined the New Jersey championship runs.

KMart was somewhat of a different type player in Mile High. Rather than serving as a piece of creation for a maestro, he was now expected to help define a team with his supreme athleticism. As we have established, he is the type best served to be the subjects of creation, not its master. Martin was hopelessly overmatched in his role, but still managed to bang out some semi-impressive shit. Andre Miller is no Jason Kidd, but his amateur scribblings found an excellent instrument in Martin.

The occaisonal flying slams were interrupted by periods of seemingly unending boredom. Although he's capable of some basic hustle plays (rebounds, diving for loose balls, looking worn out,) KMart was not near the contributor, nor the max-type player that the Nuggets envisioned. Melo's emergence has done nothing to help his case. No longer the top option on offense, KMart was instead forced to contribute on defense only. It wasn't as if he was the greatest #1 option, but he had his damn pride, right?

From thence the explosion came. From thence his knee decided to quit. From thence, the Nuggets are totally fucked.