- by AJ So it's in the books, Allen Iverson is now a Piston; Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess are returning to the Mile High City, along with some dude whose name I forget and will likely be rocking NBDL threads by month's end. Just a week into the season, we get a deadline-worthy blockbuster that leaves plenty to be suspicious of. This is one of those deals I just don't understand. It'd been circling around sports talk shows and internet forums for a week or so but I gave it little time because I didn't think NBA GMs, more importantly ones as crafty as Joe Dumars, wasted time rolling dice on trades that accomplished so little for their teams. Both the Nuggets and Pistons were in need of shakeups after lackluster performances last year, but it seemed much more likely they'd be lowballing basement-dwellers (see: Boston Celtics, 2007/Los Angeles Lakers, 2008) in a rapid, buyer-driven NBA marketplace. What they've done instead seems counterproductive to both of their agendas.
Let's start with the Pistons, who I'm particularly sceptical of. They now have Iverson as their point guard (I think), which will contradict Detroit's equitable offensive philosophy, and underline his fundamental flaw: he's a 6-foot shooting guard. The sudden emergence of Rodney Stuckey made Billups somewhat more expendable, but it's not like AI will give him any more time to operate. And what's more, Detroit gave up not only their best player but a guy who fit perfectly into their system; a pass-first point guard who wasn't afraid to score when he was needed. He played within the game, kept everyone involved and always delivered in big games. This has never been Iverson's strong suit. The departure of McDyess, while not as critical, sees them losing a skilled veteran and will put more pressure on their young bigs to perform. When Kwame Brown is involved in your rotation, this is never a good thing.
What's worse is the Pistons' situation; they've fallen from the East's throne and realistically might not even cop homecourt this year. They have a closing window on another trip to the Finals with this often-complacent core and made a huge deal that doesn't drastically improve their team this season. Iverson's never been known as a winner, and it's doubtful if he's hungry enough for a title to inspire the kind of awakening needed in Detroit. True, his contract expires at the end of the year, and he'll probably walk if the Pistons don't win the East, so they may be able to make free agency moves, but that'd be yet another gamble that hardly justifies Billups' shipping.
The Nuggets meanwhile just seem out to lunch. After dealing the only guy who played a shred of defense for them last year in one of the more blatant salary-dumps ever, Denver's front office dealt a $20 million deductible for a (relatively) long-term investment. While I (kind of) like the trade from a basketball perspective (more on that in a second), it just defeats the purpose of trading your All-Star center for nothing. Whatever they were trying to accomplish, the Nuggets just took a step in another direction.
It's not really a step anywhere though. The Melo and AI pairing clearly wasn't getting them out of the First Round; they were the Warriors without the moxie, the Suns without Steve Nash, a team without a clue. Billups is, among other things, a great leader to bring some structure to Denver's offense and lead a team with the collective maturity of a single fifth-grader. He'll become their best defender by default and hopefully instill more discipline without the ball in his teammates. McDyess gives their thin frontline another able body and their locker-room another leader, but this approach didn't work for them a few years ago with Andre Miller and Camby in the same roles, so what's to say it will now? They might be better off this season than last, who knows, but they'd have been much better off with Marcus still holding down the pivot, and they're still not going nowhere come Playoff time.
Along with illogical, this trade just seemed premature. Especially in Detroit's case with a new coach who wasn't widely hated by his players and might've had them playing at their potential. It'll be a surprise to many if Detroit now wins in the East or if Denver does anything relevant out West, and if they don't, then what exactly was the point of this?
