- Bernie Lincicome of the Rocky Mountain News: "Allen Iverson will go off and be Iverson until he can no longer be, and if his undistinguished play in two games this season, plus his assorted ailments, indicate that time is soon to be, that is now the Pistons' problem and not the Nuggets'. This could be the second time the Nuggets have gotten the best of Joe Dumars, the architect of recent Pistons glory. Dumars took Serbian teenager Darko Milicic instead of Anthony in the '03 draft, leaving Melo to become whatever he has yet to become for Denver. In matters involving the Nuggets, Dumars is Joe the Bumbler."
- Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press: "An era officially ended Monday. Ben Wallace was first. Chauncey cements the fact. The Pistons, under Dumars, never stop, they just idle with the engine running. It's what makes them interesting. We'll see if it makes them a champion."
- Bob Ryan of The Boston Globe: "'The Answer' is what his adoring public calls him. Well, today's question is, 'Can you win a championship with Allen Iverson as your best player?' Thus far, the answer is no, and AI is now 33. This means he is a) past his physical peak and b) set in his ways. There is a chance I'm wrong about the first one, but there isn't much doubt about the second one. ... What is shocking about this transaction is the sobering thought that the Pistons have cold-bloodedly acquired him with a larger idea in mind. Can Allen Iverson deal with the idea that he has not really been brought to Auburn Hills to help the Pistons win an NBA championship, that he is, in addition to being an experienced player of note, that most desirable of NBA items, an expiring contract? Oh, the indignity. But that is the immediate assumption the experts are making."
- Michael Grange of The Globe and Mail: "Bryan Colangelo can be excused if he feels like everyone is trying to buy his date a drink. Except his date is Chris Bosh, the NBA equivalent of the cute girl with good grades who goes away for the summer -- in this case, the Beijing Olympic Games -- gets a new hairstyle and turns into a basketball bombshell. That's the subtext to yesterday's blockbuster trade that sent Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess from the Detroit Pistons to the Denver Nuggets for Allen Iverson. ... 'You've got to be aware of what's out there,' Colangelo said when asked about the way the Pistons' deal positioned them for free-agent classes to come. 'But if we take care of our own business, build a competitive team and treat people right, players should want to stay here.'"
- Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times: "There's talk that Iverson, the 160-pounder with the energy level of a hummingbird and the mind of a tiger, is finally slowing down. Clippers broadcaster Michael Smith raised the question during Friday's telecast. Iverson finished that one with 25 points, suggesting he has something left. In any event, the Pistons will be faster. The Nuggets will be slower, with George Karl under the gun and, whether it's Anthony's idea to get him out of there or theirs, Carmelo on deck. So much for the Nugget Experiment. It was fun while it lasted, if you didn't have to coach it."
- Kate Fagan of The Philadelphia Inquirer: "What do the Sixers, many of whom played with Iverson, think about the blockbuster deal returning their former teammate to the Eastern Conference? 'A lot of deals look good until you start playing; that's the one thing I've learned in this league,' center Samuel Dalembert said. 'I'm surprised they got rid of him.' 'I don't know if it's going to be genius or not,' swingman Andre Iguodala said. 'This could either make or break either team. Sometimes a change of scenery can help.' 'It's probably a good move for both teams,' point guard Andre Miller said. 'I expected it to happen because both teams were looking to improve.'"
- Bill Dwyre of the Los Angeles Times: "Describing Jerry West is a little like analyzing molecules. Always has been. He is a contradiction to contradictions, a right turn on a racing oval. Over the years, fittingly so, he spent most of his time with basketball players. It might have worked better had it been Sigmund Freud. ... West can best be described as one of the most conflicted legendary sports heroes of our time. He is a man who has had a lifetime of success in nearly all facets and has never been comfortable with that."
- Jeff Rabjohns of The Indianapolis Star: "Danny Granger fractured a root to a front tooth as a rookie when he took a nasty elbow from Kobe Bryant on Jan. 9, 2006. That tooth was put back into place, but in Saturday's 95-79 victory over the Boston Celtics, Granger shattered both front teeth going for a steal. ... 'As professional athletes, we've bled throughout our careers,' he said. 'We've broken bones, torn ligaments, busted teeth. It's part of the game. It's kind of fun when you do it, and you actually win. Granger's refusal to leave the game after the collision impressed his teammates and coaches. ... 'That one play epitomized what we want from our leaders -- toughness, refusing to get knocked out of the game because you've lost your choppers,' Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. 'That was just great.'"
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Before the game, on the locker-room whiteboard, listed next to select players is the notation 'L, often followed by an exclamation point, or two, or three, perhaps even an asterisk. From the sideline, as soon the ball is thrown into the post, assistant coaches crescendo 'Lefty!'... 'Watch the left!' ... 'Going left!' 'Everything in your instincts, whatever your scheme is, your instincts tell you that it's a right-handed player,' Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says. 'I don't know what advantage they have, but it's at least a slight advantage.' ... Perhaps it's only human nature. Various studies put the percentage of the world's left-handed population at about 10 percent. Yet, the NBA world probably should know better about dismissing that percentage as statistically insignificant, considering what Nate Archibald, Dave Cowens, Billy Cunningham, Gail Goodrich, Bob Lanier, Chris Mullin, Willis Reed, Bill Russell and Lenny Wilkens have produced over the years, and what Chris Bosh, Manu Ginobili, Tayshaun Prince, Zach Randolph, Michael Redd and Odom are delivering these days."
- Kyle Hightower of the Orlando Sentinel: "All you have to do is take one look at Shaq aging by the day and talking about buying the Orlando Magic one day and you have all the proof you need that that era of the NBA is quickly fading. But even with guys like San Antonio's Tim Duncan still putting up big numbers, it's been clear for the last h
andful of years that the league has been desperately craving a new generation of big men. That's what made the return of the Lakers' Andrew Bynum and second-chance rookie Greg Oden so exciting entering this season. That duo, along with Orlando's own Superman in Dwight Howard and Houston's Yao Ming, signaled to some NBA watchers a possible return to a time when young big men were the centerpiece of the league." - Tom D'Angelo of The Palm Beach Post: "If today's election goes the way Dwyane Wade is hoping, he wants to someday visit the White House again as a champion and go one-on-one with the big guy. 'Now you've got to win to meet the president, and you can challenge him,' the Heat guard said. While Wade is being a bit presumptuous about a victory for Barack Obama, he's right about one thing: The 6-foot-2 Illinois senator is a basketball junkie. ... 'What a great opportunity it would be to maybe have a chance to shoot around with him one day,' Heat forward Udonis Haslem said."
- Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer: "Mike Brown is one of 26 NBA head coaches who have signed a deal to wear suits made by Joseph Abboud, which was announced on Monday. He has a separate deal where he gets his numerous pairs of eyeglasses. As part of the endorsement, suits will also be donated to the Boys and Girls Club."
- George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon-Journal: "If it's the first week of the basketball season, that's got to mean that LeBron James has new commercials debuting. One of the newest ones features Business LeBron, the well-dressed ladies' man, romancing Nicole Scherzinger of Pussycat Dolls fame with smooth talk and slipping her a pair of his new Nike shoes named After Six. The four-minute long Web ad required more of James than the usual 30-second spot he's used to making. 'I was just being myself honestly, but a lot of it was acting.... It turned out really well. It took five or six hours [to film].'"
- Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times: "Kobe Bryant's popularity even extends to the animal kingdom. From a database of more than 465,000 pets insured by Veterinary Pet Insurance (indeed, it's medical coverage for dogs, cats, birds and exotic domesticated animals), 359 pets are named 'Kobe,' making it the 189th-most popular name out of 65,536 pet names across the nation. Five pets in the database are named 'LeBron,' two are named 'Yao Ming,' and there's a 'Boston Garnett' along with a 'Dirk Nowitzki.' The most unusual sports name in the pet world, however, might belong to a Yorkshire Terrier that answers to 'Kobe Shaq Jackson.'"
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