Another title defense
Robert Horry knows something about what it takes to win an NBA championship. In his 13 years in the league, Horry has been part of six teams and three different franchises that have finished the season popping champagne corks and, a few months later, putting on the diamond-laden rings that go to the world champions.
No current NBA player has more championship bling than “Big Shot Bob.”
Now in his third year with the reigning champion San Antonio Spurs, Horry also knows what’s coming next. The pressure of repeating that will follow the Spurs as it did when Horry played for the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets. The challenge from the league’s legitimate contenders to combat, and even mimic, the Spurs.
“You can’t copy a style,” Horry said before an exhibition game in Indianapolis last month. “When I first got traded to Phoenix (from Houston before the 1996-97 season), we tried to copy the Bulls’ style. Every system is not good for every team. You have certain matchups that work with certain people’s abilities.”
The style that worked for the Spurs last season might not be as successful this season, which begins tonight with a ring ceremony and a game against the Denver Nuggets. The Spurs are considered nearly as big a favorite to repeat as the Lakers or Bulls were during their years of dominance.
Like other recent championship teams, including the 2002-03 Spurs, San Antonio didn’t stand still, adding veteran free agents Michael Finley and Nick Van Exel to a team that revolves around the inside presence of All-NBA forward Tim Duncan and perimeter game of All-Star guard Manu Ginobili and point guard Tony Parker.
Though the playing style of the Spurs differs from that of the Lakers or Bulls, the blueprint is pretty much the same.
“I think the model has been there for years. You have your main players, you have role players, you have role players accept their roles and your star players play the right way and you go from there,” Duncan said. “I think you can find that in every team that’s won it, from the Lakers when they were winning it, to the old Lakers when they were winning it, to the Celtics when they were winning. It’s all the same.”
West signs extension with Grizzlies
Jerry West signed a two-year contract extension Monday, agreeing to remain through 2008 as president of the Memphis Grizzlies.
West came out of retirement three years ago to join the Grizzlies after spending almost four decades with the Los Angeles Lakers as player, coach and executive. He was in the last year of a four-year agreement with Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley.
“I’ve retired once and it didn’t do very well for me,” West said. “This is a life that I know well.”
In Memphis, West created a team that topped a franchise-best 28 victories with 50 wins in 2003-04 to make a first trip to the NBA playoffs. The Grizzlies also made the playoffs last season but were swept for the second time as tensions rose between coach Mike Fratello and key players.
West rebuilt the Grizzlies in the off-season, removing Jason Williams, Bonzi Wells, Earl Watson and James Posey and bringing in NBA veterans Damon Stoudamire, Eddie Jones and Bobby Jackson.
Pistons lock up Prince
The Detroit Pistons signed Tayshaun Prince to a $47 million, five-year contract extension, preventing one of their key players from becoming a restricted free agent after this season.
“He’s been a valuable member of our team both on and off the floor in each of his first three years,” Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said. “I’m pleased that he will continue to wear a Pistons’ uniform through the 2010-11 season.”
The 24-year-old Prince has averaged 10.6 points, 4.2 rebounds during his three-year career, helping Detroit advance to at least the conference finals each season and win the 2004 NBA title. He narrowly was left off the league’s all-defensive first team last season, earning second-team honors.
“The Pistons traded forward Ronald Dupree to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a future second-round pick, clearing a roster spot for rookie guard Alex Acker.
Around the league
Investigators suspect Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collier died of a heart problem and will announce their findings today. The 28-year-old player died Oct. 15 after he had trouble breathing in his Georgia home. … Caron Butler signed a five-year contract extension with the Wizards, a move of stability for a player who has been with three teams as he starts his fourth NBA season. … The Hornets exercised their contract option on forward David West, and will have him through the end of the 2006-07 season. West, the 18th overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft, averaged 6.2 points and 4.3 rebounds in 30 games for the Hornets last season. … New Jersey Nets assistant coach Gordon Chiesa has resigned for family reasons. … Rookie Andray Blatche practiced with the Wizards for the first time since he was shot during an attempted carjacking. … Forward Mike Dunleavy signed a multiyear contract extension with the Warriors, hours before a deadline to prevent him from becoming a restricted free agent after the season. … The Cavaliers exercised the fourth-year contract option on Sasha Pavlovic, a move that will keep the swingman with the club through the 2006-07 season.