Monday Insider

[Weez]

Anthony's progress has Nuggets excited

By Chad Ford

NBA Insider

Send an Email to Chad Ford Monday, October 13

Updated: October 13

11:20 AM ET

Two preseason games may be too early to make any judgment -- good or bad -- about anyone, let alone a rookie. But after watching Carmelo Anthony dominate in a preseason game versus the Suns on Saturday, it's hard to find something not to like.

Anthony has played just two games, both versus the Suns, and he's been fantastic in both. He scored 19 points in both games and grabbed 11 rebounds in the second game in Phoenix. But it's the swagger with which he's playing that's catching everyone's eye.

Anthony

"He's going to be really good," GM Kiki Vandeweghe said with a smile when Insider caught up with him outside the locker room. "He's got a confidence that's rare in a kid his age. We're really happy."

Suns GM Bryan Colangelo went a step further, predicting that Anthony will win rookie of the year. "He's playing really well already. What happens when he really starts to figure things out?"

Carmelo's trademark smile has turned into a smirk. When he's out there he doesn't just act like he belongs. He acts like it's easy. For long stretches in the game on Saturday, Anthony was the best player on the floor, period. The key is the inside, outside game. Anthony's outside jumper has improved and his inside game was unbelievable. Working against Shawn Marion, Amare Stoudemire and Joe Johnson, Anthony's play in the paint was outstanding.

Whenever he caught the ball on the block, Anthony immediately went into his move. No hesitation. He backed down Marion and Johnson easily and was just as aggressive on the boards.

"He's very conscious of what he needs to do to improve," Vandeweghe said. "After the first game in Denver, he said that he was disappointed with his rebounding. So he goes out the next game and gets eleven -- mostly on effort."

Anthony's play has even more ramifications. His confidence is bleeding over onto his teammates. The team easily handled the Suns at home and on the road. The Nuggets scored over a 100 points in each outing and seem to already be clicking. Andre Miller is driving and dishing. Voshon Lenard is firing away from the perimeter. Nene Hilario is bashing bodies in the paint. Marcus Camby looks pretty spry. Rodney White is playing in control. And Earl Boykins is already playing the Energizer bunny.

It must be the preseason.

"It's early," Vandeweghe said. "But we're encouraged."

Around the League

Still trying to get a good read on the Grizzlies-Suns trade that sent Bo Outlaw and Jake Tsakalidis to Memphis for Brevin Knight, Cezary Trybanski and Robert Archibald?

Executives around the league feel that the Grizzlies got the better end of the deal. After spending time last week in Memphis and Phoenix talking to Jerry West and Bryan Colangelo about the deal, I think the thing was more even than people think.

Clearly the Grizzlies got the better end from a talent standpoint. Outlaw's the type of energy guy Hubie Brown loves. After West failed in his attempt to get Michael Olowokandi and Erick Dampier, Tsakalidis was the best 7-footer left on the trading block. The Grizzlies gave up three players they didn't need and trimmed their roster in the process. Not too bad.

But the Suns claim they knew what they were doing. The team wasn't seeing the progress from Tsakalidis that it hoped. With the Suns' new, run-and-gun offense, Tsakalidis' lumbering style just wasn't a good fit. Jake Voskuhl, on the other hand, runs the floor well and plays with the type of energy the team feels that it needs.

And as much as everyone in Phoenix loves Outlaw, the team was so impressed with Zarko Carbarkapa in the summer league it felt it could afford to lose Outlaw. Outlaw gave the team 4.7 ppg and 4.8 rpg in 22.5 minutes last season. The Suns feel that Carbarkapa is capable of giving them 10 ppg and 5 rpg if they were to give him similar minutes.

The move also saved them roughly $2 million this season and another $13 million in salary and luxury-tax payments next year. It may save them more down the road. The Suns are hoping to move Knight to clear another $10 million in salary and luxury-tax payments this year. The team has talked with the Jazz about a deal that would send Knight and a first-round pick that the Suns are owed from the Cavs (it's lottery protected). The Jazz may be interested, but not right now. They'd prefer to have the Suns pay the salary until the trade deadline approaches. A player doesn't count against the cap or the luxury tax as long as he's off the roster by the end of the regular season. Look for the two teams to start talking again in February.

For now, however, the Suns are hurting a bit in the depth department. With Voskuhl and Scott Williams out with injuries, the team is trying to turn Tom Gugliotta into a center.

Speaking of rookies, Stephon Marbury is raving about the Suns' second first-round pick, Brazilian point guard Leandro Barbosa. Barbosa's energy has stood out in an otherwise lifeless Suns team early.

"He's going to be special man," Marbury told Insider. "He's so long and quick and he really knows how to play."

It's no surprise that Barbosa has been on the floor in the fourth quarter the past couple of games. His defense and versatility have made him a regular early on in Frank Johnson's rotation. Says Johnson: "The language thing is the biggest barrier. But if he keeps up the learning curve, it's going to be hard for me to keep him off the floor."

Loren Woods averaging 11.3 rpg? It must be the preseason.

Knicks fans cheering Dikembe Mutombo and jeering Keith Van Horn in the home opener after committing eight turnovers? Glad to see things are back to normal in New York.

Hubie Brown told Insider he's taking his Grizzlies gig year-to-year. When I asked Jerry West last week how long he felt Brown needed to be there to turn the Grizzlies around, he said four years. He didn't pick the number arbitrarily. West signed a four-year deal when he came to Memphis and said he's unsure whether he'll continue when his contract expires in the summer of 2006.

"I don't know that," West told Insider. "I'm not a youngster. I still have great energy and enthusiasm for the game. Candidly, this job has really revitalized me and my self worth. You feel better about yourself. This is something I wanted to do. It was the ultimate challenge."

Peep Show

By Terry Brown

NBA Insider

Monday, October 13

Updated: October 13

11:50 AM ET

Atlanta Hawks: The good news is that Terrell Brandon's knee surgery went well. The bad news is that they performed the procedure so that he could function as a normal person, not an NBA superstar with a multi-million dollar deal. "I feel for all of us [who have suffered career-ending injuries]," Brandon said in the Minnesota Star Tribune. "You see the other guys go through it, and then it's you. You really have to appreciate your body and appreciate the game while you can. I'm grateful. I mean, I'm 5-11 and I played 11 years in the NBA. Can you believe it?"

Mourning

New Jersey Nets: Alonzo Mourning signed with the New Jersey Nets and that's who he wants to play for. "I didn't come here to go to Long Island," Mourning said in the NY Daily News about the rumor that the Nets may move to New York with a new owner. "I just bought a nice house over in New Jersey. My family is just getting settled in. I understand the nature of this business. (But) I came here to play in New Jersey at the Continental Airlines Arena. I just got this system down, don't change it now."

Minnesota Timberwolves: Ask Wally Szczerbiak and he will tell you that his left toe is connected directly to his shooting arm. "I don't want to have a setback to the point where like last year I had to go back," he said in Pioneer Press after being diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. "This is an injury where I couldn't play even if I wanted to. The toughest thing is that it seems like this injury came from the toe a little bit. The stupid toe injury is causing me even more difficulties."

Washington Wizards: The Nets may miss Eddie Jordan now that he's the head coach of the Washington Wizards. But he misses them, too. "The last two years, I had a team that really ran it well," Jordan said in the Washington Times of his motion offense. "We had an [All-Star] point guard [Jason Kidd] who really got people in their spots and was adept at running the show. We have young players here. It's probably a little more difficult because of what I'm used to the last couple of years."

New York Knicks: Age may only be a number to Dikembe Mutombo, but that court sure does seem to be getting longer. "The coach was hesitant about me playing, but I told him I have to get in basketball shape," Mutombo said in Newsday. "I felt good about myself, but I think I could do more. I have to get my emotions going ...I need to get my wind to go up and down." His coach agreed after the newly acquired center tallied four points, three boards and one block in 13 minutes. "Considering the fact he hadn't played in awhile, he did OK," Don Chaney said. "You could tell his timing was off a little bit. You don't expect him to play the minutes he did, but he didn't want to come out of the game. He's a gamer. He loves playing."

Brandon slips quietly into retirement

Steve Aschburner / Minneapolis Star Tribune

Mourning's also against L.I. move

Ohm Youngmisuk / New York Daily News

Foot sidelines Wally -- again

Mike Wells / St. Paul Pioneer Press

Jordan patient about offense

John N. Mitchell / Washington Times

Mutombo: I'm Not in Shape

Greg Logan / Newsday

[Traceman]

before and after the draft, he would have been my pick at #21 instead of Boris. Boris' combination of size, ballhandling, defense and athleticism fits our needs better ON PAPER but I just think Barbosa sounded like the better player because of the fact that ALL reports said that he was VERY aggressive.

I hope Boris turns out to be the better player but I think Barbosa would have fit well in our backcourt alongside JT. Even though he is 4 inches shorter than Boris, I think Barbosa's aggressive nature would have more than made up for his size (Note - At 6'4", Barbosa certainly isn't small, just shorter than Diaw). Unless Boris can make himself be more aggressive, Barbosa may very well end up being the better player.

Here is the excerpt from Insider about Barbosa:

"Speaking of rookies, Stephon Marbury is raving about the Suns' second first-round pick, Brazilian point guard Leandro Barbosa. Barbosa's energy has stood out in an otherwise lifeless Suns team early.

"He's going to be special man," Marbury told Insider. "He's so long and quick and he really knows how to play."

It's no surprise that Barbosa has been on the floor in the fourth quarter the past couple of games. His defense and versatility have made him a regular early on in Frank Johnson's rotation. Says Johnson: "The language thing is the biggest barrier. But if he keeps up the learning curve, it's going to be hard for me to keep him off the floor."