Monday, November 3, 2008

Iverson to Detriot

The Answer in Mo Town?

Allen Iverson is on the move again. After a season and a half with the Denver Nuggets, Iverson has been shipped to the Detroit Pistons for  point guard Chauncy Billups and power forward Antonio McDyse. This trade means alot of different things for everybody involved, and tells you about the direction that each team is going. 

First of all, for Iverson, this trade could mean that by this time next year, he will be playing for his third team. The Detriot Pistons made it clear today when they gave Richard Hamilton a year extension worth 34 million that he is their shooting guard. They also only moved Chauncy Billups to make room for their budding star Rodney Stuckey. 

Where does this leave Iverson? In all likely hood, a free agent. His 20 million dollar contract runs up at the end of this season, and he almost certainly won't be back in Detroit. In fact, he might not even be there at the end of this season. Don't be surprised to see him moved to a team that wants salary cap space at the end of the season. 

Its a shame to see this happen to Iverson. After being one of the faces of the NBA for so long, a hero in Philly, and a league MVP, he is now bouncing from team to team after being jettisoned from Philly. In his time at Denver, he averaged around 24 points and 7 assists. While those are good numbers, the big number is zero. That is the amount of playoff games he and Carmelo Anthony were able to win in their time together. At the end of the day, the Nuggets had to make a change. And they were not going to pick Iverson over Anthony. That is why they made the move.

For Chauncy Billups, this move is going to be big for him. He now gets to run a team that has Anthony, J.R. Smith and other weapons. He is not a pass first point guard, but is much more of a true point guard then Iverson, who we all know is really a 2 guard. He should put up big numbers in a new city. After much success in Detroit, a new enviroment will be good for him. 

I think this move makes alot of sense for the Nuggets. First of all, it makes Anthony the primary player once again. He is a 24 year old, Olympic gold medalist who needs be the the franchise player. While Iverson was allways the numbr 2 option, Iverson did take away shots from Anthony. He and Billups will be able to work off each other better then him and Iverson did, because Billups has more of an outside shot then Iverson, and also is more of a distributer then Iverson. Billups is also a better defender then Iverson, and will help them agaisnt other Western Conference point guards like Steve Nash, Tony Parker and Chris Paul. I think they will ultimitly have more success with Billups, but I think a trip to the second round at best is how far they can go. 

For the Pistons, the move was waiting to happen. After losing to Boston last year, GM Joe Dumars promised moves would be made. And with the emergence of Rodney Stuckey, Billups was the logical choice for them. How does Iverson fit in? He will start at point guard for now, with Richard Hamilton at the 2. That gives them a solid 4 of Iverson, Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace. That is a group with a ton of playoff experience. 

When Iverson was at his best- league MVP and a trip to the finals- he was surrounded by hard working, defensive role players. While calling Hamilton, Prince and Wallace role players is a stretch, they do play hard defense, and they will not require the ball like Anthony did. But they now do have a end of the game closer. Iverson might be older, but he is a way more dominant one on one, end of the game player then Billups. He is a superstar. And in the NBA, more then any other league, superstars win games. 

Last year, the Pistons lost to the Celtics in the Eastern Confernce Championship. With the addition of Iverson, I think they can get back there. Iverson can take over a playoff series, and they should be a top 4 seed. And once you get in a playoff series, who knows what can happen. Who is going to guard Iverson on the Celtics? What if he gets hott and averages over 30 for the series like hes done in the past? That has a chance of happening. With the Billups lead Pistons, we knew what would happen. A lose to the Celtics.

Plus, if Iverson dosn't work out, he is a valuable trade piece. Like I said earlier, don't be surprised if he is moved again this season if things don't work out. He makes 20 million a year, and can still sell out arenas. That would give the pistons 20 million in cap space to sign a free agent like Carlos Boozer, or wait a year and try for players like Lebron James, Dwanye Wade and Chris Bosh. 

Overall, I think the Pistons got the better of the trade. While the Nuggets did get a true point guard, they also commited to 4 years of Billups, who is getting up there. The Pistons got a chance to maybe make a deep playoff run in a weak East, and if it dosn't work, they get a 20 million doller trading piece. If it dosn't work for the Nuggets, they are stuck with Billups. So overall, I think the Pistons got the better of the deal. 

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