Zgoda's short takes

Last update: November 29, 2008 - 3:55 PM

Just remember, we're talking about practice, not a game but practice:

Detroit coach Michael Curry planned to give his players Thanksgiving Day off, then the Wolves clobbered the Pistons Sunday, so he reconsidered and scheduled a holiday practice "because we have a lot of work to continue to do."

Allen Iverson never showed, opting presumably for family, football and turkey instead. He was fined and did not start Friday's game against Milwaukee. When he was acquired from Denver a month ago, Iverson said he'd do whatever Curry asked and made fun of his famous rant about practice when he played for Philadelphia.

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Former Wolves guard Scott Brooks' promotion to Oklahoma City's interim coach makes him the fifth NBA head coach who either played for or coached under Denver's George Karl. The list also includes: Detroit's Michael Curry, Chicago's Vinny Del Negro, Portland's Nate McMillan and Toronto's Sam Mitchell.

Brooks was Karl's assistant for a season and a half in Denver. "He's earned it,'' Karl said. "He's got to look at it as a positive opportunity. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, you're still going to be in the league.''

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Everybody, even the Wolves, is clearing salary-cap space for 2010, when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, among many others, could be free agents. The Knicks positioned themselves by dumping the salaries of Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford recently, but if you listen to New Jersey's Bobby Simmons, the LeBron Sweepstakes will be anything but.

"There's only one team this guy is going to," Simmons said. "I don't know why everybody's making a big deal about it. I'm just saying: You know he's going to the biggest market, to play for the Knicks. It's a business move. It's all about the marketing dollar."

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