The easiest part for Devin Brown was coming to grips with the situation.
He wanted to play. The Nuggets weren’t sure if they wanted him. Brown didn’t want the summer to pass by without giving himself the best chance for success.
So, after the 2003 season, he walked into Denver general manager Kiki Vandeweghe’s office, and with his agent present via speakerphone, asked about his future with the Nuggets. It became clear there wasn’t much of one.
“They didn’t look at me crazy,” said Brown, a key Spurs guard who has played just once in this series because of a back injury. “They were just like, ‘Well we have (a top pick) in the draft, we have free agents, we have some money, we’ll see what we can do.’
“They wanted me to stay up there and on a non-guaranteed contract. If they got the players they wanted, they could have released me. So I would have missed all the summer leagues. That didn’t make any sense.”
Sensing the disinterest, Brown asked for his release, which was granted.
“You are a little bit nervous about it,” Brown said. “It’s weird how things work out in this league. But a few days later you get a call. Miami wants you to come down there and work out.”
Miami worked Brown out, but he landed with San Antonio, the city where he grew up and played high school and college ball. He had played seven games with the Spurs in the 2002-03 season before being released and picked up by the Nuggets later that season. Two years later, his role with the Spurs continues to evolve.
“I rolled the dice a little bit thinking San Antonio is a good team,” Brown said. “I wanted a chance to be back home and keep an eye on my parents. That was real important, being able to stay close to them, and if they need me they can call and I can go over and take care of them. That was a big issue with me.”
Not that he wouldn’t have liked to stay with Denver.
“To see the guys they got and the things they are doing now, it’s funny,” Brown said. “A little part of you wanted to be a part of the changes going on. But all you can say is it’s a business.”
Bowen overlooked, again
Detroit’s Ben Wallace was named the NBA’s defensive player of the year Monday. Again. For the third time in four years.
Bruce Bowen has yet to win.Yet, the Spurs swingman is annually one of the NBA’s best defenders. In this series, he has given the Nuggets’ fits. So what gives?
Bowen doesn’t know, but here’s the catch: He doesn’t care. Much.
“I think we had a better record than Detroit,” Bowen said. “I think my play had something to do with it. But it is what it is. There’s nothing that I can do about it. You have to ask the people who vote. Don’t ask me. I have to just go out and compete and play.”
Media covering the league vote on the award, and Bowen was a distant second.
Staff writer Marc J. Spears contributed to this report.
Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
