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'Birdman' is back in a familiar nest

By Aaron J. Lopez, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published July 23, 2008 at 4:13 p.m.
Updated July 24, 2008 at 2:06 p.m.

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Chris Andersen made a name for himself as "Birdman" during his three seasons with the Nuggets.

He now is seeking to restore his reputation and get his career airborne again.

Andersen, four months removed from his reinstatement to the NBA, on Thursday signed with the Nuggets. It's believed to be a one-year, minimum contracts, according to sources close to the team.

Andersen's agent, Steven Heumann, declined comment Wednesday. Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien has a standing policy of not commenting on personnel matters.

Andersen, a 30-year-old forward, will add frontcourt depth after the Nuggets traded center Marcus Camby to the Los Angeles Clippers in a cost-cutting move last week.

Camby's salary-cap figure for 2008-09 is $10 million, and Andersen would receive $998,389, with a cap hit of only $797,581.

The Nuggets also have shown interest in free-agent center Francisco Elson, who played in Denver from 2003 to 2006.

Andersen was an unknown talent when he made his NBA debut for the Nuggets seven years ago, but he quickly became a fan favorite with his high-flying dunks and hustling style.

He parlayed his modest success into a free-agent contract with New Orleans before the 2004-05 season and averaged 7.7 points and 6.1 rebounds in his first year with the Hornets.

Things then spiraled downward for Andersen. He was banned from the NBA in January 2006 for violating the league's substance-abuse policy before being reinstated March 4.

He rejoined the Hornets after his reinstatement but appeared in only five games. Andersen would be the ninth Nuggets player with a guaranteed contract for 2008-09 and put Denver's total salary-cap number about $70.3 million. The luxury-tax threshold is $71.15 million.

In other Nuggets-related news, restricted free-agent guard J.R. Smith has been added to the U.S. Select team that will scrimmage Team USA in advance of the Beijing Olympics.

Smith, 22, averaged 12.3 points and made 157 three-pointers for the Nuggets last season.

Comments

  • July 23, 2008

    4:40 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    bigbadthor writes:

    Great, get rid of a great guy for the community for nothing and bring back a cronic dope smoker to hang out with other dope smokers, way to build a character of the team Nuggets. I suggest everyone boycott this team to show Kronke that he needs to get rid of the three headed GM.

  • July 23, 2008

    6:03 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    TheSlinger writes:

    birdman is exactly what the nuggets needed! someone to do the dirty work. he wont score (except for monster dunks) and he wont allow any easy layups (ever) its a great pick up bigbadthor. hes cheap and has a chip on his shoulder, if he screws up hes gone and he knows it. ever heard of josh hamilton? people change! im on the bandwagon. they need a new coach. hard to win in the nba with no gameplan except to eat 30 mints a night. FIRE KARL. FLY FREE BIRDMAN!!

  • July 23, 2008

    7:38 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    jeffdragon writes:

    Hey Mr. Lopez,
    Funny how your "sources" for this story materialized two hours after the Denver Post reported this news on their website. Just keep scanning the Post's site for news and then trying to pass it off as your own, Snooze staffers.

  • July 23, 2008

    10:51 p.m.

    ONEman writes:

    (This comment was removed by the site staff.)

  • July 23, 2008

    11:02 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    ONEman writes:

    Hey George lay off all the mints that doo doo you smell is'nt your breath it's your coaching and now it'll be your players.P U WEEE!

  • July 23, 2008

    11:38 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Highcountry writes:

    Bird Man didn't get busted for pot. He was on harder stuff. But rehab was good for him and he's a new man. He's welcome back in Denver.

  • July 24, 2008

    12:31 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    ONEman writes:

    I take that back Stan. Mark Warkentien is the real piece of sh** here along with Rex the retard.

  • July 24, 2008

    8:22 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    joeblow writes:

    I've got a great idea(s). Now that the Nuggets have brought back Chris Anderson, who a few years ago was considered imminently disposable, and Francisco Elson (also deemed a throwaway), why not bring back Dan Issel? Not only did he distinguish himself by giving Tariq (that French guy) a nearly forty-million dollar guarenteed contract (did he ever play?), but he uh, uh, hmmmmm, well what did he do? Oh! No....that wasn't Issel. Ahhhh! Yeah, he alienated a whole group of fans when he called that guy a Mexican piece of ****! Wow, Dan. If you want to leave a sinking ship, there are more thoughtful ways of doing it.
    Anyway, bring back Issel. While he may not have accomplished anything as a coach (turning red and behaving childishly on the bench doesn't count)---absolutely nothing----he did distinguished himself as a Grand Dragon or Klegal, or whatever 'they' call themselves!

  • July 24, 2008

    9:12 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    yamahabass2 writes:

    It all comes down to $10 million vs. 1 million. Birdman should be tougher as a 1 on 1 defender. Nuggets will miss Camby's rebounds and blocked shots. Let's face it. The Nuggets were looking for a bargain and with Anderson's drug problems, he's a bargain.

  • July 24, 2008

    11:23 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    007 writes:

    We need to do something to at least getting these guys to play some D on the court, and Karl isn't helping with that we need to replace him and bring in someone who knows about defense.

  • July 24, 2008

    11:46 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    lovepony0201 writes:

    JoeBlow, get it right, Issel never called the guy a Mexican piece of S... He called him a drunk Mexican. As it turns out, the guy was drunk and of Mexican descent, so what's the problem? I guess it's ok to be an obnoxious, foul-mouthed drunken idiot in a public place, but no one better call them on it because that's bad. Get a clue.
    Go Nuggets!

  • July 24, 2008

    1:47 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    ONEman writes:

    Frontranger,you go ahead and torture yourself watching these idiots.
    Sounds like your probably an idot your dam self. If you think this team is gonna be any good you need to put down the crack pipe. Maybe you'll realize it when J.R. and Kleiza are both gone and you have to watch the starting five of A.C., A.I. (the ballhog), Melo( No hustle whatsoever), Nene and The Bird man and Karls coaching or lack there of. That's an average team, no way they can compete in the west.Size them up to the Lakers, Clippers, Spurs, Suns, Rockets, Jazz and even The Trailblazers and Hornets are greatly improved. Go ahead and waste your money on these losers. I'll be at more Bronco games now.

  • July 24, 2008

    1:55 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    ONEman writes:

    Frontranger writes:

    ONEman, we don't need you as a fan! We still have a great team, as long as Nene doesn't get hurt I think we might actually win a playoff game.

    LOL. Wow dude that's what I call low ambitions. How bout making it to the second round? But c'mon you know that they probably won't even make the playoffs. Chances are Nene is gonna get hurt again for the 4th year in a row. He's good but he can't carry this team.

  • July 24, 2008

    2:27 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Pusherman writes:

    Not a bad basketball move for a team clearly trying to cut costs. If he screws up, just let him go and take some pucnhes from the media and some fans. Low pay, low risk and he can fill some of Camby's shoes, which are not that big. Camby blocked some shots and grabbed some uncontested rebounds, but that's it. He had no offense and couldn't guard any of the bigs in the league one on one. Also, he used to hustle much more than he did in the last couple of years (see his Knick years when he was a force on the offensive glass), but that got him on the DL, so he decided to take less risk, stay in the game, accrue stats and get paid. Nevertheless, he definately was a good guy and did much for the community in Denver. I actually think signing Elson would be a good move as well. Again, a low pay, low risk signing for a year until they right the ship.

    Nugs fans will need some patience. They may entertain this year, but they will not win a playoff series, if they get there. It will be at least a year until they free cap space (i.e. lose A.I.) and sign some new players before the Nugs will be in contention again (not that they ever really were on the cusp).

  • July 24, 2008

    2:59 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    O_TRAIN writes:

    lovepony0201 - Joe Blow got it right. I was at that game, it was during VanExel's troubles, and everyone was expecting VanExel to meltdown, either on the refs or Issel. Turns out it was Issel's meltdown after the game. I loved Issel the player, it's a shame his coaching ended that way.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Issel

  • July 24, 2008

    3:42 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Squatch writes:

    Stay off the drugs and booze and you will be able to contribute to this team. Also quit using your camera phone to take pictures of you junk and sending them to chicks in the bar.

  • July 25, 2008

    7:36 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    lovepony0201 writes:

    I talked to Issel right after it happened. I saw the actual video of the rant. He called the guy a "drunk Mexican". The guy was actually of Mexican descent and admitted publicly on 103.5 the next day that he was drunk. Not only that, but Issel was the master of ceremonies at an event celebrating latinos in the community earlier that same year. JoeBlow's implications that Issel is some sort of angry racist are unfounded. In fact, anyone who would claim Issel is a racist doesn't know anything about him. The incident was used as a distraction and justification for firing a Nugget legend. That team was ruined for years thanks to Bernie. No one could have coached that mess to a winning record.

  • July 25, 2008

    7:43 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    lovepony0201 writes:

    Not trying to bicker over the quote, but I am trying to point out that the insinuation that Issel is a racist isn't valid. If anything, it points out how quickly people will cry foul in defense of a person who is obviously a disgrace. The guy was drunk, was of Mexican descent, and whose behavior could lead any rational person to believe that he was "a piece of s".