Nba Coach George

Shabby treatment of Dantley nothing new for Nuggets coach

A permanent friend (no matter what I write about him or those in his profession; yes, there is actually such an animal) is forever telling me not to expect anything out of people, especially those you work for.

“That way you can never be disappointed,” he preaches.

Despite being regularly disrespected the older he gets, my friend’s dissertation is unshakable:

“You do your job to the best of your ability and get paid for it. Other than that, your boss doesn’t owe you a thing.

“If he strokes your ego, that’s wonderful. If he acknowledges your contribution in front of co-workers or in public, accept it graciously. If he throws a bonus bone your way, frame it. But don’t expect any of this stuff and your feelings can never get hurt.”

As implausible as this may be for you to believe, I don’t subscribe to, abide or so much as loosely live that philosophy. People persistently disappoint me. Not the peripheral population; I mean strictly those I’ve established referential relationships with over time and, therefore, expect them to do the right thing by me — and others.

George Karl is the latest in that long line of disillusion-ists. Three days ago, reveals a source, the Nuggets head coach, whose opulent contract was extended several months ago, fired top assistant Adrian Dantley.

OK, fired might not be the correct word. Karl’s aide for eight seasons was not signed past this month. One way or the other, his immediate superior, theoretical friend and throat cancer survivor, who you’d think might have accrued approximate compassion for other peoples’ plights during his harrowing ordeal, did not notify Dantley he was done until the majority of jobs throughout the NBA were filled or promised. And, oh, yeah, with a league lockout looming a week away.

Why would Karl leave Dantley hanging and then put him on the unemployment line like that? Fact is, he has done it before to his right hand man. For years, Terry Stotts (currently assisting Rick Carlisle in Dallas) sat alongside Karl in Seattle and Milwaukee. When things went bad with the Bucks, Karl signed a richer deal and dumped Stotts, as if his assistant were responsible for the team’s troubles.

Had friction occurred in Dantley’s case? Not as far as the Hall of Fame forward is concerned. Karl obviously felt differently about a quandary that surfaced during the season.

Robert 'Tractor' Traylor's first NBA coach, George Karl, remembers ...

“He had great rebounding hands,” said Denver Nuggets coach George Karl , who was his first NBA coach in Milwaukee. “Had that body that so many say the presence in the paint is size and athleticism. It is a guy who knows how to use his body and has great hands.

“There were nights where he was just tremendous. Rebounding the ball was his forte. Rebounders don’t get the glory, but everyone wants one of them. He had the knack of getting the offensive rebound.”

Traylor played seven seasons in the NBA, scoring 2,085 points and grabbing 1,640 rebounds. He played in 438 games and started 73 for the Milwaukee Bucks (1998-2000), Cleveland Cavaliers (2000-01 and 2004-05) and the Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets (2001-04).

His most productive seasons in the NBA were in Cleveland. He averaged 5.7 points and 4.3 rebounds in 2000-01 and 5.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in his final NBA season in 2004-05.

After heart surgery in the 2005 off-season, he tried to return to the NBA but couldn’t pass a physical — sending him overseas instead.

“The game did give him a lot of fun games,” Karl said. “And a lot of good games.”

His NBA career, though, will often be known because of who he ended up being traded for during the 1998 NBA Draft . Picked sixth by the Dallas Mavericks, the Mavs traded him to Milwaukee for Pat Garrity and a highly touted German prospect named Dirk Nowitzki.

“Robert was a fierce competitor on the court who helped the Bucks reach the playoffs in each of his two seasons in Milwaukee,” the Bucks said in a statement on Facebook. “Off the court he was a gentle giant, displaying his smile and care, especially toward young people through his involvement in school visits and his work with the Special Olympics clinic.

“Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends.”

Traylor started in Milwaukee but would be part of four trades during his career, although none had the cachet of the draft night deal.

“There’s a stress to the symbolism to what happens in the draft,” Karl said. “That is way overinflated.”

Karl wasn’t there when the trade was made, but he knows the pressures of being part of a draft-day swap that will always be analyzed. The veteran coach, though, enjoyed having Traylor around.

“He was a damned good player,” Karl said. “And a fun-loving guy to be around.

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