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Knee injury sidelines Nuggets’ Martin

Mark J. Spears, Yahoo Sports
Mar 5, 8:39 pm EST

Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin has a partial tear of his left patella tendon, and surgery is among the treatment options being considered, NBA sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Martin was scratched from Friday night’s game against the Indiana Pacers and the Nuggets will use the next 48 hours to decide on a treatment plan. Rest, therapeutic injections and surgery are among the options that could be used to treat an injury commonly referred to as “jumper’s knee.”

The Nuggets publicly announced only that Martin is suffering from chronic left knee patella tendinitis. On Friday evening, the team listed his playing status as day-to-day.

Martin has battled pain in his left knee for the past two months. He aggravated the condition when he banged his knee in a Jan. 20 game against the Golden State Warriors and has missed three games over the past four weeks. He underwent an MRI on Thursday after experiencing pain following Wednesday’s win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Martin has dealt with knee problems throughout his career, including microfracture surgery to both knees.

Martin is averaging 11.8 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks through 55 games this season. If he is sidelined for an extended period, the Nuggets have starting center Nene and big men Chris Andersen, Malik Allen and Johan Petro to replace him.

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Lawson a long way from returning to action

By Chris Dempsey, Denver Post
March 4, 2010 2:45 pm MT

Usually, Nuggets guard Ty Lawson bounces around the practice court and back halls of the Pepsi Center with a smile as wide as his future is bright.

Lately, however, there has been some fade in the smile.

Lawson walked the halls today with a heavily-iced left shoulder, and with no real idea on when he’ll be back to the court. I asked him how it was doing.

“Terrible,” he said. “I don’t know what’s wrong with it. It won’t get better, for some reason.”

On Wednesday an ultrasound test was done on the shoulder, which was injured on Sunday against the L.A. Lakers on a hard foul by center Andrew Bynum. Nothing structurally wrong was found.

“It’s a good sign and bad sign,” Lawson said. “We still don’t know what’s wrong with it. I want to know what’s wrong with it so I can go ahead and get it fixed.”

Lawson can barely lift the arm to his waist. He’s definitely not playing on Friday against Indiana and will likely be out for an extended period, bad news for the Nuggets, who had gotten used to him being on the court. They miss the game-altering speed he’s brought to the table.

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Karl diagnosed with cancer
Coach expects rull recovery

Denver Nuggets PR
2/16/2010

Nuggets Head Coach George Karl announced today that he has been diagnosed with squamous cell head/neck cancer. While receiving treatment, Karl expects to miss periodic practices and games. He is optimistic he will make a full recovery. “The support I’ve received from my family, the Nuggets organization and my friends in the basketball community already has been incredible,” Karl said.

Karl, 58, is a cancer survivor. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in April 2005.“George has been in contact with the organization in recent weeks regarding his health condition,” Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke said. “We will continue to support our head coach in any way we can. Our thoughts are with him and his family as he focuses on getting healthy.” Out of respect for Karl and his family, the Nuggets will have no further comment.

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Nuggets Anthony and Billups named Third Team All-NBA
 
NEW YORK, May 13, 2009 – Denver Nuggets F Carmelo Anthony and G Chauncey Billups were named to the 2008-09 All-NBA Third Team, the NBA announced today.  Anthony and Billups become the first Nuggets teammates to be named All-NBA in the same season after helping the squad to the Northwest Division title and a franchise-record-tying 54 wins. 

Anthony earned the third All-NBA Third Team honor of his six-year career (also 2006-07 and 2005-06) after averaging 22.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.4 apg and 1.14 spg in 66 games.  He ranked seventh in the NBA in scoring and shot a career-best .371 (63-170) from three-point range.

Billups also earned his third All-NBA honor (Second Team, 2005-06 and Third Team, 2006-07).  He appeared in 77 games after being acquired from Detroit on Nov. 3, averaging 17.9 ppg, 6.4 apg, 3.0 rpg and 1.17 spg with the Nuggets.  He ranked fourth in the NBA in free-throw percentage (.913), 11th in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.86-to-1) and 15th in assists. 

Billups becomes the sixth different Nuggets player to be named to an All-NBA team joining Anthony, David Thompson, Alex English, Fat Lever and Antonio McDyess. 

Joining Anthony and Billups on the third team were San Antonio G Tony Parker, Phoenix C Shaquille O’Neal and Lakers F Pau Gasol.

 The All-NBA First Team includes Lakers G Kobe Bryant, Miami G Dwyane Wade, Orlando C Dwight Howard, Dallas F Dirk Nowitzki and Cleveland F LeBron James.

The All-NBA Second Team consists of New Orleans’ Chris Paul and Portland’s Brandon Roy at guard, San Antonio’s Tim Duncan and Boston’s Paul Pierce at forward, and Houston’s Yao Ming at center.

The All-NBA Teams were chosen by a panel of 122 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. The media voted for All-NBA First, Second and Third Teams by position with points awarded on a 5-3-1 basis.

Denver Nuggets PR
5/13/09
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Chauncey Billups wins NBA Sportsmanship Award

 

NEW YORK, April 28, 2009 – Chauncey Billups of the Denver Nuggets is the recipient of the Joe Dumars Trophy presented to the 2008-09 NBA Sportsmanship Award winner, the NBA announced today. 

 

A 12-year veteran, Billups was one of six divisional winners, which included Boston’s Ray Allen, Detroit’s Antonio McDyess, Golden State’s Ronny Turiaf, San Antonio’s Michael Finley and Washington’s Antawn Jamison.

 

Billups received 82 first-place votes (2,478 total points) of a possible 336.

 

For the fifth consecutive year, NBA players voted on this award, with eleven points given for each first-place vote, nine points for each second-place vote, seven points for third, five points for fourth, three points for fifth and one point for each sixth-place vote received.  Each team nominated one of its players for the award. Former NBA players Mike Bantom, John Crotty, Eddie Johnson, Jalen Rose, Tom "Satch" Sanders, Kenny Smith and Chris Webber then selected the six divisional winners. 

 

The NBA will make a donation on behalf of Chauncey Billups to Porter-Billups Leadership Academy at Regis University, a program that provides academic and leadership training to at-risk inner city students from Denver, with a goal of helping students attend college.

 

The NBA will also make a donation to each of the divisional winner’s charities of choice:  Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation & Ray of Hope Foundation on behalf of Allen; American Cancer Society on behalf of McDyess and Turiaf; the Michael Finley Foundation on behalf of Finley; and Kaboom & Wizards Care on Jamison’s behalf.

 

The annual award reflects the ideals of sportsmanship -- ethical behavior, fair play and integrity -- in amateur and professional basketball, a key focus of the league’s NBA Cares program efforts. The trophy is named for former Detroit Pistons guard and Hall of Famer Joe Dumars, the award’s first recipient. 

 

Following is a list of this year’s voting totals and all-time winners of the NBA Sportsmanship Award:

Denver Nuggets PR
04/28/09
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Warkentien 2008-09 NBA Executive of the Year

Nuggets Vice President of Basketball Operations, Mark Warkentien, has been named the recipient of the 2008-09 NBA Executive of the Year award.

“I proudly accept this award on behalf of Stan Kroenke and the entire Denver Nuggets organization,” Warkentien said. “This is a team honor that is a tribute to Mr. Kroenke’s leadership and vision for this season’s team. Our front office, coaching staff and players share equally in this award, and to be recognized by our peers throughout the league for our accomplishments during this special season is greatly appreciated and unexpected.” 

The Nuggets just completed their fifth 50-win season in the team’s NBA history, while qualifying for the postseason for the sixth-consecutive year. Denver won its sixth division title since joining the NBA in 1976, including the second in the last four seasons by tying the franchise’s NBA record for wins with 54. The Nuggets finished the 2008-09 regular season tied for the second-best record and earned the second seed in the Western Conference playoffs by owning tiebreakers over both San Antonio and Portland.

Since his arrival in Denver in the summer of 2005 as Director of Player Personnel, the Nuggets have orchestrated numerous transactions while maintaining a high level of success. On Nov. 3, 2008, Warkentien and the Nuggets netted four-time All-Star and Denver native Chauncey Billups via trade with Detroit, giving the Nuggets an established floor leader and seasoned postseason performer.  Last summer, the Nuggets signed key contributors Chris Andersen and Dahntay Jones as free agents, re-signed J.R. Smith and Anthony Carter and acquired Renaldo Balkman via trade.

Warkentien becomes only the second Nuggets executive to garner this award, joining former Nuggets President and General Manager, Vince Boryla, who won the award during the 1984-85 campaign.

Warkentien received nine of a possible 30 votes from a panel of his NBA Executives throughout the NBA. Cleveland’s Danny Ferry finished second with seven votes, Orlando’s Otis Smith finished third with six votes, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Mitch Kupchak and Chicago’s John Paxson were tied for fourth with two votes apiece, and Denver’s Rex Chapman, Houston’s Darryl Morey, Utah’s Kevin O’Connor, Oklahoma City’s Sam Presti each received one vote.

Denver Nuggets PR
05/02/2009
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Ex-Piston Chauncey Billups cheered, understands trade now

Michael Rosenberg
Detroit Free Press
03/04/2009

Everything felt strange except the cheers. Landing at the airport as a visitor felt strange. Getting on a bus to go to his Birmingham hotel -- even Chauncey Billups still owns a home here -- felt really strange.

And Tuesday morning, as Billups sat in the cubicle that passes for the visitors' locker room at the Palace, he thought, "Wow, man. I ain't never been in here before. That's small. That's REAL small."

Then came the pregame introductions, and an ovation that Billups said he will remember for the rest of his life. The crowd seemed like it could have gone for an hour; Billups said afterward he was "a little embarrassed" at how long it lasted.

"There are no words that can describe the way that made me feel," he said.

You can trade a player, but you can't trade memories. Maybe this is why pro sports remain so popular, even as players jump from town to town. Chauncey Billups wears a Nuggets uniform now, but to some Detroiters, he'll always be a Piston.

They love him. They desperately miss him. They wish the Pistons had never traded him for Allen Iverson.

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