Iverson demands trade

[Dutchy]

"As hard as it is to admit, a change may be good for everyone." -- Allen Iverson

Now, he wants out. Finally!


Even though he now wants out, don't expect suitors to line up for Allen Iverson.After being shopped -- honestly -- for six years (especially, if you include the summer of 2000, when the Sixers tried to trade him less than a year before he would take them to the NBA Finals and win the MVP award), Allen Iverson has finally reached that point most parties reach in a broken marriage.


They've been done. He's literally done. The differences are beyond irreconcilable ... it's Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston time.

But there's one problem: No one wants him. For so many reasons that have nothing to do with basketball, it seems none of the 29 teams outside the 215 area code want anything to do with Allen Iverson. Not that a trade won't happen, but it will be more of a club "settling for" Iverson, as opposed to an actual desire to have AI on its roster.

Because the only difference in today and almost every offseason this century is the "demand." The one that AI apparently put on Sixers GM Billy King when he walked into his office Tuesday and verbally cosigned his walking papers. The big difference: Allen Iverson finally conceded.

And his concession won't change the market. The only thing it will do is make Sixers chairman Ed Snider and King more aggressive in getting him outta there, so they can get on with their lives. Without The Answer.

One would think after 10-plus seasons, four scoring crowns, three steals titles, seven All-Star appearances, two All-Star MVPs, three All-NBA first-team selections, three All-NBA second-team selections and one MVP award, teams would be lined up like PS3s were on sale. But one would be wrong.

Despite his gift for basketball, Iverson has another gift that many teams in the NBA don't want to deal with ... and that gift is a combination who he is and who they have been waiting on him to become.

From the business side of the equation, trading for Allen Iverson has to be beneficial for his new team ... both on and off the court. In a market where some of the cities that host NBA teams are not "urban" cities, having Iverson as the face of your team will not be "in the best interest" of the franchise. Which makes a deal for Iverson as much a business decision as it does one based on basketball.

For franchises like Utah, Minnesota, Milwaukee, Indiana, Portland, etc., the conversations will go far beyond what happens on that 94-foot-by-50-foot space of hardwood. And those conversations probably have occurred in the past, too.

Profile
2007 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
15 31.2 2.7 7.3 .413 .885


All that doesn't help the cause, but there's another factor working against Iverson, that's even a bigger "force of resistance" here. And that is the combination of his age (31), the way he plays and the universally preconceived notion that his decline is about to set in. You know, that mentality that "every year is his last year playing this well" which has been floating around the NBA for the last several years.

See, more than anything (more than the other baggage they'll say that comes with Iverson: insubordination, lack of punctuality, bad practice habits, poor shot selection, selfishness, mood swings, etc.) teams have been hesitant because they fear his decline is about to hit. Every GM is waiting for him to fail, waiting for him to not to be able to do the impossible again.

Ever since he came into the NBA in 1996, Iverson has done things he was not supposed to be able to do. Every season, he has proven people wrong. Five years ago, people around the league were saying he couldn't continue to play like he plays, that in five years he'd be out of the game because no one his size can attack the game the way he does.

Every year was supposed to be his last.

Five years later, 31.2 ppg, 7.3 apg, 2.2spg. Still.



Iverson's attacking style has always prompted rumblings that his career would have an early demise.Still they doubt. Still they say that one day his smoke and mirrors will be exposed, the David Blaine act over. He has been over-the-hill, over and done with, over and out'd since he was 25. He's 31. He's 16 months younger than Steve Nash.


But you'll never hear any GM concerned over trading for Nash, reluctant because his game is on the verge falling off.

And it's that "against-all-odds" state of affairs that Iverson has had to deal with his entire career, his entire life if you want the truth. His fight has been constant -- as he continues to prove people wrong, but at the same time never proving himself right. That's the AI paradox: one that he will not be able to change; one he's unfairly about to again be a victim of.

So, let it be said that the Allen Iverson Sweepstakes will not be the bidding war that many would expect for a player of his brilliance. Instead, the unfortunate darkside of the game is about to reveal itself in the form of 15 teams fighting not to make a trade for Allen Iverson.

Sit back and watch how one of the game's best players gets treated in the open market. See how a player of Iverson's value learns how hypocritical "value" can be in the business of the NBA. Notice how after years of Philly trying to get rid of him, the fact that Iverson finally has agreed to a divorce, won't change anything.

And when it's all over, pay attention to who really comes out the loser in this: the Sixers or the teams who decided to stay away from Allen Iverson

[Wedgie]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Been following the 76ers since the early 80s and been following AI since he started, even have a 76er AI top.
This is as bad as when Jestyn Harris left Leeds Rhinos for Rugby and then came back to play at the Bulls!
AI leaving the 76ers, Hargs playing for Port.
Im a shattered man!

[Magpiespower]

The Sixers have a bad history when it comes to trading superstars.

Wilt...Sir Charles...AI...

Is another decade in oblivion on the cards?

[Dutchy]

Might be best for Philly in the long term (ala Chicago post Pippen,Jordan)

WOuldnt mind AI at teh Jazz, after the great start he might be the key to taking the next step towards the championship...be tough to handle though and would need a coach with great people management skills otherwise could be a negative

incredible player though, reckon D Wade has the indicator on and might be passing him this season

[ORDoubleBlues]

Have felt that Iverson isn't neccesarily the type that can orchestrate a winning environment but to be fair he hasn't always had a great roster around him and the team he led to the 2001 NBA Finals was a blue collar side full of players who aren't likely to be remembered in future years i.e. Tyrone Hill, the chainsaw inventor, Matt Geiger, Eric Snow, Aaron Mckie for starters.
Has been talk of him going to the Timberwolves but there are many factors to consider including Iversons current contract situation plus the situations of players he may get traded for but I could see the 76'ers getting at least Ricky Davis, Eddie Griffin and one or both or Mike James and Marko Jaric in return.

[Dutchy]

so far Ive heard rumours of him going to Utah, Toromto, Denver and Min (Garnett came out and publically pleaded for him to come)

would like to see him in a good side.

I was in Toronto in 2001 when the Philly/Toronto division finals were on and it was amazing Iverson v Carter both at the top of their game, Carter scored 50 points one game and Iverson came out and went 55 the next!!! spewing I couldnt get a ticket to one of the games

[Dutchy]

Him and melo in the same side will be worth seeing, will provide some "hardness" to a Denver side which can fold under pressure...

Iverson traded by 76ers to Nuggets

By DAN GELSTON, AP Sports Writer
December 19, 2006

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A day after losing one superstar for a month, the Denver Nuggets got an even bigger one -- Allen Iverson.

The four-time scoring champion was traded Tuesday by the Philadelphia 76ers to the Nuggets for Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two 2007 first-round picks. The Nuggets also get Ivan McFarlin.

NBA scoring leader Carmelo Anthony was suspended for 15 games because of a weekend brawl between the Nuggets and New York Knicks. Iverson now takes his 31.2-point scoring average to Denver and ends 10 turbulent seasons with the franchise that made him the No. 1 overall pick in 1996.

Nuggets vice president of player personnel Rex Chapman said Iverson and Anthony will "be a dynamic duo together. They are going to take this franchise to new heights."

Iverson, a seven-time All-Star, transformed the 76ers from lottery losers to contenders, though he couldn't bring home an NBA title to this championship-starved city. He came close in 2001, when the 76ers lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA finals. Since then the team has fallen from the elite, missing the playoffs twice in the last three seasons.

This year is worse, with the 76ers on an 11-game losing streak. Only Memphis (5-19) has a worse record than the 76ers (5-18), who are winless since Nov. 24.

Now the 31-year-old Iverson's chase for a coveted championship will continue in the Western Conference.

Sixers team president Billy King thanked Iverson for his 11 years in Philadelphia.

"I think he gave us all some great excitement," King said. "I think he's one of the greatest ever to play the game."

Iverson's relationship with the only team he's ever played for was irreversibly broken once he asked for a trade two weeks ago. Iverson had just been fined for missing a team function and his relationship with coach Maurice Cheeks had deteriorated to where the cornrowed point guard didn't want to play for him anymore.

The 76ers sent Iverson home for good after holding him out of a morning shootaround. Chairman Ed Snider said then the All-Star guard had "probably" played his last game in Philly. His nameplate was removed, his locker was cleaned out, and his dazzling highlights were edited out of a pregame video package.

No matter the drama in Iverson's life, it rarely affected his performance on the court. Even this season, with Iverson unhappy and the 76ers stuck in last place, he still is second in the league in scoring (behind Anthony) and averaged 42.7 minutes and 2.2 steals.

He's averaging 28.1 points, 6.1 assists and 2.3 steals in 697 career games. Iverson scored a career-high 60 points against Orlando on Feb. 12, 2005.

But as dynamic Iverson has been, and as thrilling as it can be to watch the 6-foot tattooed bundle of energy play, only twice did he lead the Sixers out of the second round of the playoffs. And Philadelphia was only a modest 355-342 (.509 winning percentage) with Iverson in the lineup for regular-season games.

At his best, he has been the ultimate gamer; a hustling, hard-charging MVP who became one of the most popular players in the league. His No. 3 jersey was always one of the top sellers.

Only Minnesota's Kevin Garnett has been with one team longer than Iverson among active players.

For as much as he thrilled the 76ers on the court, he gave them nearly as many headaches off it.

With his rants about practice, his run-ins with former coach Larry Brown, his arrests and failed rap career, Iverson was often a magnet for trouble away from the court.

Iverson and Brown were a volcanic combination during the six seasons they spent together in Philly. Brown criticized Iverson for taking too many shots and accused him of being selfish at times.

Iverson often arrived late for practice or missed practices for various reasons. In one infamous blowup at the end of the 2002 season he repeated "talking about practice" nearly 20 times during a rambling monologue. He now pokes fun at the memorable meltdown.

Brown and Iverson eventually reconciled and Brown named his former guard co-captain of the 2004 Olympic men's basketball team.

While some have predicted his all-out style means he'll wear out sooner rather than later, Iverson still ricochets around the court like a pinball and slamming to the court after seemingly every basket. He had 15 40-plus point games in 2005-06, including his 10th-career 50-point game.

Iverson's name was always in trade rumors, but the guard out of Georgetown nicknamed "The Answer," has always publicly stated he wanted to end his career in Philadelphia. He's due the rest of his $18 million this season, and a combined $40 million through the 2008-09 season.

"I truly wanted to retire a 76er," Iverson said after he was banished by the 76ers on Dec. 8. "I appreciate that in my 11 years in Philadelphia, the fans have always stood by me, supported me, and gone to bat for me."

Iverson's years in Philadelphia were marred by arrests in 1997 for carrying a concealed weapon and for possession of marijuana and in 2002 over a domestic dispute with his wife. He was sentenced to community service in 1997 and all charges dropped against him five years later.

Iverson also never released his rap album, which drew criticism from civil rights groups and earned him a reprimand from NBA commissioner David Stern because of its offensive lyrics.

While Iverson's maybe a half-step slower than he was 10 years ago, that's still a step quicker than most players in the league. He still was too quick to guard 1-on-1 and beat teams with the same killer crossover he once used in his rookie season that dusted Michael Jordan.

Perhaps in Denver, he won't have to shoulder the scoring load like he always did in Philadelphia. He had little success playing with a legitimate No. 2 scorer, with Glen Robinson, Jerry Stackhouse, and Tim Thomas among a slew of players brought in that underachieved or never fit in while trying to find consistent shots with Iverson still running the show.

The 76ers can only hope trading this superstar doesn't end up as lopsided as their last two franchise-shifting deals. No one in Philly can forget the 76ers only getting Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang and Tim Perry for Charles Barkley in 1992. And the 76ers traded Wilt Chamberlain to the Lakers in 1968 for Jerry Chambers, Archie Clark and Darrall Imhoff.

[Wedgie]

I think my only option is to never watch NBA again.

[MW]

It will be interesting to see how the egos of the No's 1 & 2 scorers in the league gel together

[ORDoubleBlues]

It will be interesting to see how the egos of the No's 1 & 2 scorers in the league gel together

You're right about this one MW.
IMHO Iverson has to defer to Anthony, at least when Anthony gets back from his 15 game ban, as he is the one who is more desperate for a championship, is almost 10 years older than Anthony and despite his impressive scoring average is 100 points lower in his field goal percentage. As good as a player as Iverson is, a team will not win a championship with a player who is averaging over 20 points a game while only shooting 40 percent from the field.
Having said that, I still think the Nuggets have got the better end of this deal unless one of those two first round picks the 76'ers got for the 2007 draft is a pick that was previously acquired from a team that is likely to be in the lottery and it ends up being the No.1 overall which will get the 76'ers Greg Oden who looks to be potentially one of the most dominant big men to be coming into the NBA since Duncan in '97 and O'Neal in '92.

[Dissident]

It will be interesting to see how the egos of the No's 1 & 2 scorers in the league gel together

You're right about this one MW.
IMHO Iverson has to defer to Anthony, at least when Anthony gets back from his 15 game ban, as he is the one who is more desperate for a championship, is almost 10 years older than Anthony and despite his impressive scoring average is 100 points lower in his field goal percentage. As good as a player as Iverson is, a team will not win a championship with a player who is averaging over 20 points a game while only shooting 40 percent from the field.
Having said that, I still think the Nuggets have got the better end of this deal unless one of those two first round picks the 76'ers got for the 2007 draft is a pick that was previously acquired from a team that is likely to be in the lottery and it ends up being the No.1 overall which will get the 76'ers Greg Oden who looks to be potentially one of the most dominant big men to be coming into the NBA since Duncan in '97 and O'Neal in '92.

Too true - I was thinking that myself.
No good shooting a high score if you take away scoring opportunities from your team mates at the same time.

[Dissident]

It will be interesting to see how the egos of the No's 1 & 2 scorers in the league gel together

You're right about this one MW.
IMHO Iverson has to defer to Anthony, at least when Anthony gets back from his 15 game ban, as he is the one who is more desperate for a championship, is almost 10 years older than Anthony and despite his impressive scoring average is 100 points lower in his field goal percentage. As good as a player as Iverson is, a team will not win a championship with a player who is averaging over 20 points a game while only shooting 40 percent from the field.
Having said that, I still think the Nuggets have got the better end of this deal unless one of those two first round picks the 76'ers got for the 2007 draft is a pick that was previously acquired from a team that is likely to be in the lottery and it ends up being the No.1 overall which will get the 76'ers Greg Oden who looks to be potentially one of the most dominant big men to be coming into the NBA since Duncan in '97 and O'Neal in '92.

Freak. Absolute freak.

[Dutchy]

Iverson v Philly today...be an interesting game...do you like him in Baby Blue?