Denver beating PHX, without Melo and Smith, with AI playing his first game, and with the incredible amount of hype (no way the Suns will be sleeping) would be as big a regular season upset as you can get. The crowd will be amped, though.
denver built a 20 point lead in the first against the wizzards
suns have to go to MOUNTAIN HIGH AIR
and it is a back to back
SUNS ARE DUE A BAD GAME TO
SUNS if they win tonight break their record for most wins in a row(dating back when they had barkley)
so I can see them lossing tomorrow
Prepare to have Friday's Spurs game taken off ESPN.
no because it is so close
Allen can have games where he shoots 3 for 40
news flash: Phoenix can have games where they play no defense
Anyone sure if Iverson is actually going to play tommorow?
Denver is possibly going to waive the physical i think.
They will try and get him for tomorrow night but im not sure
even with iverson i doubt he will make a sudden impact and leas his team over Phoenix
the trade was offical like two hours ago, he needs to take his medical, fly there...i doubt he plays tomorrow
they need him to otherwise suns will win by 20+
Great. The west just got tougher.
Imo, AI is an underrated playmaker when he's willing to setup his teammates.
If Denver decides to go small, they will have the fastest backcourt since we had Speedy and occasionally played him with TP. Boykins and AI would be a blur.
looks like iverson will play tomorrow vs the suns
http://www.myfoxcolorado.com/myfox/p...Y&pageId=1.1.1
Najera is the starter not Nene.
Temporary
Nenê started the Knicks game. Expected to start against the Suns.
A win-win situation
A win-win situation
By Steve Kerr, Yahoo! Sports
December 19, 2006
The proverbial "trade that helps both teams" might have occurred Tuesday when the Philadelphia 76ers finally unloaded Allen Iverson and sent him to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two 2007 first-round draft picks.
Philadelphia general manager Billy King basically accomplished all three goals he had when this process began, while the Nuggets added perhaps the fastest player in the league to an already quick, up-tempo team.
Here's what the deal means for the 76ers:
1. They pick up a good player in the deal. Miller will be the Sixers' starting point guard for the foreseeable future. Maybe King would have preferred a younger, up-and-coming star like Randy Foye or Shawn Livingston, but Miller is a very good point guard who will help Philadelphia fill the huge void left by Iverson.
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2. Salary-cap relief. Smith's $6.8 million salary comes off the books after this season, and given that Miller will make an average of $10 million the next two years – compared to Iverson's $20 million average – the Sixers will in effect shave about $10 million off their cap in each of the next two seasons. And depending on their luxury tax situation (they're well over it this season), there could be millions more in savings.
3. Two extra first-round picks (to go with their own). Philadelphia will receive both Denver's pick and Dallas' first-rounder, which the Nuggets had acquired in a previous deal. The Dallas pick will most likely be in the late 20s, but the Denver pick (which apparently is marginally protected) could be interesting, depending on how well the Iverson/Nuggets marriage works out. With Carmelo Anthony out for the next 14 games due to his suspension, Denver could struggle and fall back some in the West. If the Nuggets stumble and don't make the playoffs, the 76ers could potentially have two lottery picks – their own (assuming the Sixers don't make the playoffs) and the Nuggets'. In a deep draft that potentially could include Greg Oden, Philly will have plenty of options to dramatically improve its team.
Here is what Iverson will mean to Denver:
1. He will bring a huge surge of excitement to the Pepsi Center. Iverson will give the Nuggets publicity that is unprecedented in their franchise's history. Fans will flock to see A.I. perform, arena shops will sell a ton of "Iverson" Nuggets jerseys, and there will be a buzz all over the league when Denver comes to town.
2. He'll join a team that already plays an up-tempo style. And with Iverson, that attack will now become even faster. He'll also play for a coach in George Karl who is well-equipped to handle egos and personalities. The prevailing theory around the NBA was that Iverson had to go somewhere with a strong coach who had presence. Karl definitely fits the bill.
3. He'll pair with Carmelo Anthony to form one of the most explosive duos in the league. The Melo/Iverson relationship is the key to the deal. If the two can click and share the ball, the Nuggets could potentially be very, very good. Also, A.I. gives Denver the big scorer it'll need as it attempts to tread water during the extended suspensions of Anthony and J.R. Smith.
Of course, the trade might not turn out well for the Nuggets. Iverson and Carmelo might not mesh. After all, we're talking about the league's two current leading scorers playing on the same team. Can they coexist? The fact that Melo doesn't handle the ball a lot in order to score bodes well, as does the fact that Iverson has proven to be a good distributor when he wants to be. (He averaged 7.4 assists per game last season).
Financially, Denver could be facing luxury tax , with the contracts of Anthony, Iverson, Marcus Camby and Nene Hilario putting the team well over the threshold. If the Nuggets don't succeed with this group, they will be hard-pressed to disentangle themselves from a salary-cap nightmare. But if it does work, they could challenge the Spurs, Suns and Mavericks for Western supremacy.
As for the Sixers, there doesn't appear to be much of a downside. This is probably the best deal King was going to get. The key for Philadelphia is to use the draft picks wisely, select the right players and begin to rebuild with an eye on shedding the contract of Chris Webber, which expires after the 2007-08 season.
Steve Kerr is Yahoo! Sports' NBA analyst. Send Steve a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
Rocky relationship
Rocky relationship
By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports
December 19, 2006
So here comes the twisted reality greeting Allen Iverson's arrival in Denver, an immediate and inevitable elevation of his public stature from a rebellious perpetual adolescent to thirtysomething sage and imparter of wisdom. Suddenly, he will be cast as the voice of been-there, done-that reason for the reeling Carmelo Anthony.
"A.I. will love it there for the next 14 games," one Eastern Conference official laughed on Tuesday afternoon.
Iverson arrives with the leverage and la ude to cut into Anthony's powerbase in Denver. The situation promises to be equal parts high drama and high comedy in the Rockies, a fascinating chemistry experiment complicated with an unmistakable twist: Because of the NBA's suspensions, it won't be Allen Iverson who must learn to fit in with Anthony, but Anthony with Iverson.
For the next 14 games, it will be Iverson controlling the ball and the shots. He'll be commanding the ooohs and ahhhs and ovations in Denver. Iverson will come to town on a mission, play with peerless purpose and temporarily turn these Nuggets into his own. The NBA's No. 2 scorer will quickly overtake Anthony to be No. 1.
And when 'Melo finally returns, everyone will be asking this unavoidable question: Whose team is this?
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For the desperate straits that the Denver Nuggets found themselves in this week, it is still startling how little they had to give up for Iverson. Joe Smith was a contract dump, Andre Miller has steadily regressed and the two first-round draft picks will probably be somewhere in the 20s. No Nene Hilario, no Marcus Camby, no J.R. Smith had to leave town. It's a coup that Denver had to sacrifice not only nothing of its core but also nothing of its future.
With the way Philadelphia 76ers general manager Billy King has mismanaged his team into irrelevance, the way he banished Iverson and bottomed out his leverage, you could see a dismal deal coming for Philadelphia. Around the league, teams were unwilling to trade their starry young prospects for Iverson. Beyond that, King still couldn't bring back a major expiring contract. Bottom line: To trade Iverson and get so little is a complete embarrassment for the 76ers. It might be the ultimate unraveling of the King regime.
As it turned out, perhaps Larry Brown's consultant's role on the trade with the Sixers was his way of paying back Nuggets coach George Karl for the disaster last Saturday night borne out of Karl trying to avenge Brown's firing by Isiah Thomas. Maybe now Brown can score himself a consultant's job in Denver, advising his North Carolina Tar Heel buddy on coaching Iverson.
To start, Iverson will be on his best behavior. Only he has never shown staying power in his life. Why would it start at 31 years old? Kenyon Martin never wanted to practice with the Nuggets (nor the Nets, to tell the truth) and that's something that was a source of trouble between him and his coach. By next season, if Martin returns, those two game-night warriors will be faking it together through practice, leaving Anthony and Smith to ask each other "So why are we bothering again?"
Karl has made compromises with his coaching style in Denver, running freer and looser with discipline, with his style, and there could be some short-term benefits with Iverson. Sooner than later, there will be issues on the floor. Anthony returns Jan. 20 at Houston, and problems could start as soon as he takes the floor with Iverson that night. That's when everyone will be asking the nagging question that will keep chasing the Nuggets: "Whose team is this?"
In this age, the answer is no longer, "ours," and that assuredly will never be it in Denver. The dynamic of Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets changed dramatically on Saturday night in New York. Once again, Anthony showed himself to be a flawed franchise player with that sucker punch, a grave mistake compounded with the way he swung and started running back on defense in a sight never seen in his basketball career.
It will stay with the public and the players, and it's created a vacuum for A.I. to come to Denver and make the Nuggets his own. Here comes Iverson with all that been-there, done-that wisdom for Anthony, a twisted reality that will find this suddenly anointed thirtysomething sage thrilled to play the part in public.
No, 'Melo isn't going to like fit into Iverson's game. This was Carmelo Anthony's ball, his franchise, until he gave Iverson the opening to come take it all away.
Adrian Wojnarowski is the national NBA writer for Yahoo! Sports. Send Adrian a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
Billy King is a dumbass. This trade makes Isiah's work in NY look decent.
Excuse me? That list has only two names on it and both have ties to Detroit.
How do you trade a top ten talent for scraps? Philly Fan must be going ballistic right about now.
wow, welcome to the west
Hey Cuban you hear that!! Webber is on the market you dumb piece of . The missing piece in becoming a POWERHOUSE champion is right there for you to land and you dont even ing recognize it!!
DAMN IT!
It will be funny to watch Melo and Iverson in the same team.
Dude it is getting old about your love crush for Webber. He's not the same player he used to be and not even close.Hey Cuban you hear that!! Webber is on the market you dumb piece of . The missing piece in becoming a POWERHOUSE champion is right there for you to land and you dont even ing recognize it!!
one thing for sure.
King didn't act very smart from the beginning.
Sixers would never have made the PO this year anyhow, so there was no need to hurry or to panic.
I'm sure the Sixers could have got more, if they would have been more patient amd would have tried some more option with a third team.
they neither got a premium talent, nor a high pick back, so they are the looser of this trade, no matter how Miller will do.
but I also don't want to call this a total wrong decision. the direction was right IMO.
it was mentioned, that Miller is an asset, who will be easyer to trade again. maybe this was the major intention when aquiring him.
Miller is a bit overpayed, but not by far. he has the kind of contract many teams are willing to swallow, if they think he is the missing piece.
even if he isn't a top 5 PG this days, he would still be a significant upgrade for some teams back-court.
especially for some PO teams that might miss a final piece for becomming contenders.
namely: Cavs, Heat, Rockets, Lakers.
all those teams could return some more expiring contracts, picks (no lottery picks though) and some young talent.
Heat: they have been desperatly looking for help at PG
they could offer Posey (expiring contract at 6.4 m + D. Wright and/or their pick 2007, likely 15-18)
Lakers: Mihm+S.Williams (2 expiring contracts that combine for 6 million) + Farmer (+Lakers pick, likely 22-26- if necessary)
Houston: can't offer as much expiring contr. like the others. maybe Sura (expires 2008, 3.8 per year) + Head + Hayes + filler
Cavs: don't have a pick 2007, could offer the 2008 pick.
+ expiring contracts of Newble and Pollard (5.5 mill) + Varejao.
however, if the Sixers manage to trade Miller in such a scenario, they could have finally traded AI for 3 first rounders + a young talent (Farmer?, Vareao?, Wright?) AND have saved 40 million in salary for AI (considering the fact that they are deep in lux tax territory they save much more, likely 50-60 million)
this scenario is far from being a desaster.
remember the Orlando rebuilding scenarion when they traded t-mac. in fact they traded t-mac for only cap-space.
now they are back as a PO team and have a bright future.
omg, steve kerr quoted me
Would be just about the worst thing the Mavs could do unless you think Webber would be happy backing up Dirk at power forward.Hey Cuban you hear that!! Webber is on the market you dumb piece of . The missing piece in becoming a POWERHOUSE champion is right there for you to land and you dont even ing recognize it!!
I don't see Webber accepting a 12-15 minute bench role and that would be the only way he could possibly fit in with the Mavs.
I don't think Sixers will be able to get for Miller both a young good player and a late first round pick.
Maybe I underrate his trade value but, to me, Miller isn't worth more than expirings + a late first round pick.
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