Motta, Nuggets Part Ways
The year of the coaching change didn’t end with the regular season.
The list of fired coaches grew to nine Monday when the Denver Nuggets made their second change of the season, jettisoning Dick Motta and his entire staff.
The Philadelphia 76ers fired Johnny Davis on Sunday in the first of what is expected to be a series of off-season dismissals.
M.L. Carr is expected to be replaced as coach of the Boston Celtics, Larry Brown is free to leave the Indiana Pacers if he chooses, and Rick Adelman is said to be in danger of being fired by Golden State.
“We’re trying to move forward in a new direction to give ourselves a fresh start,” was the predictable comment of Nuggets vice president Allen Bristow on Monday as he announced Motta’s firing.
The Celtics refused to confirm a report in Monday’s Boston Globe that the decision to replace Carr as coach and/or general manager had already been made.
“It’s been decided by whom?” Celtics president Red Auerbach said when reached at his office in Washington. “There’s nothing I can even comment on until we meet.”
Thomas buys in
Toronto Raptors general manager Isiah Thomas has signed a letter of intent to buy majority ownership of the NBA team from broadcast magnate Allan Slaight.
The deal was announced after Thomas and Slaight spent most of the day negotiating the sale by telephone. Slaight is in Los Angeles.
There was no immediate indication of how much the deal may be worth.
NBA issues honors
Washington’s Chris Webber, who led the Bullets to their first playoff berth since 1988, was selected NBA player of the week.
Webber averaged 22 points, 15.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists and two steals as Washington posted a 4-0 record last week.
In monthly awards for April, Phoenix’s Kevin Johnson was the top player, Philadelphia’s Allen Iverson was the top rookie and Charlotte’s Dave Cowens was the top coach.
Johnson averaged 23.2 points and 9.7 assists as the Suns went 7-3 and gained the seventh seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
Iverson averaged a league-best 33.6 points during the month and led all rookies with 8.7 assists per game.
Cowens’ Hornets had a nine-game winning streak and the best one-month record (9-2) in team history.