J.J. Hickson will miss five games to start the year. (Getty)
Nuggets forward J.J. Hickson has been suspended five games by the National Basketball Association for violation of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug program.
Hickson has been recovering from an ACL tear he suffered at the end of last season, but was expected to be ready for the start of next year. The NBA announced his suspension goes into effect with the first game of the season.
Hickson averaged 11.8 and 9.4 rebounds per game for Denver last year before his injury. A five-game suspension typically indicates a third positive test for marijuana under the NBA's testing protocol, but no official or unofficial indication of the reason for Hickon's violation has been reported or announced.
The Denver Post was the first to report the suspension.
Basketball Hot News
Coach K on those who believed he orchestrated Paul George photo: “You are a bad person’
That photo – Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski hugging an injured Paul George – served as an example in Adrian Wojnarowski’s article on how NBA players participating in USA Basketball helps Coach more than anyone:
At the foot of George’s hospital bed, someone had been waiting to snap the photo of the U.S. national coach reaching down and embracing his stricken player.
Suddenly, this most private and personal moment turned out to be anything but that. Within minutes, that image would be flying through Twitter and Instagram for all those moms and dads to see the compassion and caring of Duke’s coach.
Krzyzewski didn’t appreciate the insinuation.
Krzyzewski, via Nicole Auerbach of USA Today
I’m convinced Krzyzewski didn’t orchestrate the photo. I believe he cares about George, just as he’s grown close with other members of Team USA.
But Krzyzewski orchestrated putting himself in position for that photo to be taken.
In accepting the Team USA head-coaching position, Krzyzewski sought all the publicity that comes with it. Nobody had to ask a photographer to snap that picture. Everyone involved in the machine already knew how to pump its fame-creating flames.
Which is fine.
Coach K had led the Americans to success, and he’s made gains in recruiting because of it. Maybe the NBA shouldn’t allow its stars to compete in FIBA events when Krzyzewski is the primary benefactor, but that’s something the league must bargain with its players. Don’t blame Krzyzewski for being a good enough coach to land the position and excel in it.
And to be fair, Wojnarowski never accused Krzyzewski of orchestrating the photo. I don’t know of anyone who did. So, Coach K is fighting a straw man here, though I understand his issue with the rhetoric.
But that doesn’t mean Coach K will resist the goodwill the photo created and any potential benefits it yields.
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