Today In Random NBA Trades: Iverson To Detroit For Billups
Monday, November 03, 2008
I know this has nothing to do with announcing but this report from Stephen A. Smith on ESPN just blew my mind. Apparently the Nuggets are trading Allen Iverson to Detroit for Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess at some point today....
I've been searching for conformation but all I can find is this brief nugget from the Boston Globe....
A source close to Denver Nuggets guard Allen Iverson is telling people in Denver that he expects to be traded to the Detroit Pistons for Chauncey Billups.This seems like a terrible move for the Pistons considering that the team just recently resigned Billups to a multi-year contract and that they're giving up a solid veteran like McDyess. Both teams do need a wake up call of sorts and maybe the move would help each out. The Pistons also have Rodney Stuckey who they are absolutely in love with and Allen Iverson is surprisingly only one year older than Billups (I know....that blew my mind too).
Iverson makes $20 million this year. Billups makes half. The deal can not be executed unless the Pistons involve more players to match the Iverson cap figure.
Billups, a Denver native, has seemed opened minded to finishing his career back home.
Again, this is a rumor, and ESPN is reporting it as gospel, so expect it to be proven wrong at about 1:30pm.
Iverson to Pistons? (Boston.com)
Labels: ESPN Reports, Making Up Trades, Sports Center, Stephen A. Smith, Trades
7 Comments:
I like this trade for both teams, actually, after thinking about it. For the Pistons, it'll give playing time to deserving players like Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson who were buried behind a productive but very aged McDyess. It will also free up a lot of cap room this summer when Iverson comes off the books. This will allow Rodney Stuckey to become the starting point guard next year in his third year, which is the year a lot of young point guards really start to get it.
For Denver this will put the ball in Carmelo Anthony's hands a lot more, which is good for not only the Nuggets, but also for Anthony. He is the best when the plays run through him. Iverson, being a shoot first "point" guard (really a 2-guard) took the ball away from the franchises real centerpiece. You can argue whether building your team around Carmelo is a good move, but that's the direction the Nuggets have chosen to go. McDyess is also the kind of guy that can exist within an offense that is driven towards one player. He's a good spot shooter from 10-18 ft. He's a good rebounder and, at least last year, was a decent defender (something the Nuggets lack now that Camby is gone).
Joe Dumars has had the same kind of hard on for AI that White Sox GM Kenny Williams had for Ken Griffey Jr. Not even one of WDFN's stripper videos could get me to endorse the deal.
the pistons werent going anywhere with this team that they had so a trade was necessary. they drafted stuckey to replace billups anyway so why not try it now.
This trade seems great for the Pistons. Iverson's contract is up at the end of the year so they're just renting him and they should have plenty of cap space to sign two max contract free agents in 2009 or from probably the best free agent pool ever in 2010.
this makes keith olbermann statement during an obama rally of chauncey being a nuggets guard true now, maybe he knew something we didn't
GMoney said...
How does this make the Pistons better, Joe Dumars? And why did it go down a week into the season?
-------------------------------
30-some million in cap space is how it makes the Pistons better.
Imagine signing Boozer in '09, Bosh in '10. Or Boozer in '09, Wade in '10. You get the idea.
How does this make the Pistons better, Joe Dumars? And why did it go down a week into the season?