Allen Iverson

Nuggets missing Camby with broken finger; waiting for Iverson

Marcus Camby of the Denver Nuggets expects to be sidelined a couple of weeks after breaking a finger on his shooting hand during a game against the Washington Wizards.

The six-foot-11 centre-forward is averaging 11.7 points and 11 rebounds and his absence is a blow to a team already without J.R. Smith and Carmelo Anthony. Anthony was suspended for 15 games and Smith for 10 for their roles in a brawl in the final minutes of a Dec. 16 game in New York.

Camby was hurt Monday night, and his time away from the team begins with Friday night's home game against Sacramento.

Allen Iverson was expected to join the Nuggets on Friday after being acquired Tuesday in a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers. He has been kept away by a snowstorm that shut down Denver International Airport for two days.

Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 76ers exchange barbs over trade

Allen Iverson is having one last fight with the Philadelphia 76ers as he leaves town.

Now that Iverson is going to Denver, the former MVP is saying he never wanted to leave Philadelphia _ not exactly.

Iverson denied on Wednesday night that he ever asked the Philadelphia 76ers for a trade, even though team president Billy King and chairman Ed Snider both repeatedly said the request was made. Iverson was traded to Denver for Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two 2007 first-round picks. The Nuggets also get Ivan McFarlin.

ESPN.com first reported on Iverson's latest spat with his now-former team.

``I didn't actually go ahead and ask for a trade,'' Iverson said in a statement to The Associated Press. ``I went in and expressed my displeasure with the style of basketball that we were playing. We weren't playing winning basketball. I said that if we are going to continue to play this style, and we were going to continue to lose, then I didn't want to be a part of it.

``After I spoke to the team about it, I told my teammates that I enjoyed playing with them, and that I loved them, but that if the team wasn't willing to switch things up and make changes, I didn't want to be a part of it.''

Iverson's last game with Philadelphia was Dec. 6 in Chicago.

The Sixers' 101-93 loss to Indiana on Wednesday night was their 12th straight. The Sixers are on their longest losing streak since they dropped 13 straight from Dec. 28, 1996, to Jan. 20, 1997.

Snider, who had been adamant that Iverson was banished from the team on Dec. 8 because of a trade request, backed off a bit at halftime on Wednesday.

``Billy King told me he asked to be traded,'' Snider said. ``Now, technically, I don't know that he asked, but my understanding is he had his agent call Billy King and said he wanted to be traded.''

Iverson, a four-time scoring champion, soured on his relationship with coach Maurice Cheeks and management realized it was time for a change.

``There's going to be some times where things don't go the way it's planned, but I've always marvelled at his talents and always will because he's a phenomenal player,'' Cheeks said.

``It's not like we had this quarrel or this big fight or anything like that. Obviously, things happen during the course of the season, and hopefully things will turn out the best for him and turn out the best for us.''

Iverson was inactive for his final six games in Philadelphia and he will probably make his Denver debut Friday night at home against Sacramento. The Nuggets postponed their game Wednesday night against Phoenix because of a snowstorm.

``I don't have anything bad to say about Mo or the organization,'' Iverson said. ``They gave me the best opportunity I could hope for by sending me to Denver. They showed me a lot of loyalty in putting me in this situation, so I'm grateful to them and wish them well. The bottom line is, it was time for a change. Both the 76ers and myself need to move forward.''

Larry Brown could return to 76ers now that Iverson no longer there

Larry Brown may be back with the Philadelphia 76ers now that Allen Iverson is gone.

Already acting as an unofficial adviser to the Philadelphia 76ers and team president Billy King, Brown could formally return to the organization he led to the 2001 NBA final.

``We will certainly continue to talk, but at this point, we are not sure if anything official will come of it,'' King said in an e-mail Wednesday night.

Brown's agent, Joe Glass, indicated in a brief interview that Brown could return to Philadelphia. The Knicks fired Brown in June after he went 23-59 in his only season in New York.

``However it's going to be characterized, will come out in the next couple of days,'' Glass said.

Glass was vague on what kind of announcement should be expected.

``I'd much rather have it come out of the Sixers office,'' Glass said Wednesday night.

Brown, who had a contentious relationship with Iverson during his six seasons as Philly's coach, moved back to the area after he was fired by the Knicks. King consulted with Brown on the Iverson trade, which ended with the former MVP dealt to Denver on Tuesday.

``I will still be talking to Larry. Beyond that, I am not sure,'' King said before the 76ers' game against Indiana on Wednesday night.

Brown has been King's mentor since he hired him as an assistant coach in Indiana. When Brown came to Philadelphia in 1997, he brought King with him as vice-president of basketball administration. King was named president after Brown resigned in 2003.

``Larry is a great friend and tremendous asset who I have talked to numerous times during the season,'' King said.

While Brown has stayed behind the scenes in Philadelphia, he's visited some Sixers practices this season and attended a game against Miami. He also is still friends with team chairman Ed Snider.

``It's strictly up to Billy King. I'd welcome him if Billy decided he wanted him,'' Snider said at halftime Wednesday night. ``He's a basketball man.

``He's also a coach, but he has a tremendous basketball mind.''

A Hall of Famer and one of basketball's most well-travelled coaches, Brown's job with the 76ers was his longest tenure with any team in his 34-year coaching career. He took the job at Detroit and led the Pistons to an NBA title in the first of his two seasons there before bolting for one disastrous year in New York.

Brown criticized players through the media and talked to the press without a public relations official present, both violating Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan's policies. Also, the Knicks said Brown undermined team president Isiah Thomas by making trade offers to other teams, which he wasn't allowed to do.

The Knicks withheld the remainder of Brown's contract, which had four years and more than US$40 million remaining, saying they fired Brown for cause. The dispute went before commissioner David Stern, but the sides agreed to a compromise in October before Stern's ruling, in which Brown got $18.5 million and both sides were freed of any future obligations to each other.

Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said he would welcome Brown's input.

``I've never had a problem with Larry Brown being around,'' he said.

Heat's Riley says Iverson, Anthony should flourish

Though Miami Heat president and coach Pat Riley failed to work out a deal to acquire Allen Iverson, he said Wednesday night the perennial all-star should flourish in Denver alongside Carmelo Anthony and coach George Karl.

``I don't see there's going to be any problem at all, I really don't,'' Riley said before Miami's game against the Milwaukee Bucks. ``I think Allen wants to win now, so I think he'll be more than accommodating.''

Riley, who announced earlier this week that the Heat were out of the running to acquire the seven-time all-star, said Karl would be important in making sure the relationship between Anthony and Iverson, the NBA's top two scorers, stays positive Denver.

``I think George is very good at being able to probably monitor some of that stuff. I do believe their system is appropriate for both of them,'' Riley said. ``They really get out and run, they open the court up and Allen is great in the open court.''

The four-time scoring champion was traded Tuesday by the Philadelphia 76ers to the Nuggets for Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two 2007 first-round picks. The Nuggets also got Ivan McFarlin.

Riley said the Heat had many discussions with Sixers team president Billy King about trade scenarios, but couldn't find the right combination.

``It just never worked out,'' Riley said.

He wouldn't say whether he thought King got a better value for Iverson from Denver than what the Heat offered.

``It's all in the eyes of the beholder,'' Riley said. ``We can all judge the way we want to judge, but Billy did what he wanted to do and that was to get picks, it looks like. So he can get three of them this year, an expiring contract (with Smith), the assist leader, or the third-best assist leader in the league, in Andre.''

Riley also said Iverson moving to the Western Conference might have factored in King's decision. Iverson was averaging 31.2 points per game for Philadelphia this season, his 11th with the franchise that drafted him No. 1 overall in 1996.