Iverson is a Denver Nugget

[GangstaBoogy]

The Denver Nuggets have reached an agreement in principle with the Philadelphia 76ers to acquire Allen Iverson, according to NBA front-office sources.

The trade, pending league approval, some two weeks after Iverson demanded a trade in Philly, would send Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two 2007 first-round picks to the Sixers for Iverson and perhaps another minimum-salaried player or two. It was expected to be completed later Tuesday barring any snags.

The Sixers had been hoping to take back only expiring contracts in any Iverson deal, unless they were receiving a top-flight young player like Minnesota's Randy Foye or Shaun Livingston of the Los Angeles Clippers.

But with Philly and Denver struggling to find a third team to join in to make the deal more financially enticing for the Sixers, they decided to end an auction that began in earnest when Iverson's demand to be traded was confirmed by Sixers chairman Ed Snider on Dec. 8.

This deal will bring Philly a former league assist leader in Miller, Smith's expiring salary of nearly $7 million and those two first-round picks in June -- projected to be in the 20s -- to go with their own lottery pick. Miller is averaging 13 points and 9.1 assists per game -- third-best in the NBA -- while Smith, an 11-year veteran, has played little this season, averaging only 13.5 minutes and 5.1 points per game.

The Nuggets' interest in Iverson dates to last February and has only increased since the Sixers made him available to the whole league earlier this month. Their chief motivation is pairing Iverson with Anthony in coach George Karl's up-tempo attack, but acquiring Iverson now -- just a day after Anthony and J.R. Smith were suspended for 15 and 10 games, respectively, for their roles in Saturday night's fight with the New York Knicks -- gives a much-needed jolt to Denver's depleted roster.

The former teammates from the 2004 U.S. Olympic squad won't be able to play together until Anthony is reinstated for a Jan. 20 game at Houston.

Miller, who led the NBA in assists with 10.9 per game for Cleveland in 2001-02, makes $8.7 million this season and has $19.2 million left on his contract over the following two seasons.

It's apparent, though, that the Sixers decided it was better to absorb Miller's contract now -- along with the opportunity to have three first-round selections in what scouts are calling the deepest draft in years -- as opposed to dragging out the Iverson saga further.

Iverson has been in exile for the past 11 days, languishing on the Sixers' inactive list while still accruing his per-game earnings of $156,218.

Iverson, 31, is averaging 31.2 points per game -- second only to Carmelo Anthony's 31.6 ppg -- in 15 games this season. He has a career 28.1 ppg scoring average in 11 NBA seasons, all in Philadelphia. He led the Sixers to the 2001 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in five games, but the team has seen little playoff success since.

He was Rookie of the year in 1997 and MVP in 2001. He has led the NBA in scoring four times, most recently in 2005, finishing in the league's top three every year since 1999, and twice led the league in steals.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2702501

["THE" MoSav]

great another beast in the west 

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

great another beast in the west 

Well see...I believe it'll take more than half a season together to become a "beast". Hell, they were probably even better off keeping the less ball-dominant Andre Miller, who suited Melo's game just fine...I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this plays out...PeACe

[Halu Sination]

i'm not sure if melo and ai can co-exist, it'll be interesting to see what their stats will look like in the future now, since they're the two leading scorers in the nba. but now denver does have two players with extremely high trade-value, so if they plan on trading someone some time soon, they may have gotten the better of the deal.

the expiring joe smith contract will help philly a lot, not to mention the two first round picks. but as someone who has been following andre miller's career since he came in, i think its safe to say he'd do little to help the current 76er squad. then again, it seems like they plan on rebuilding the team completely, so who knows.

["THE" MoSav]

great another beast in the west 

Well see...I believe it'll take more than half a season together to become a "beast". Hell, they were probably even better off keeping the less ball-dominant Andre Miller, who suited Melo's game just fine...I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this plays out...PeACe

real talk...I think AI can win tho, in the right situtaion, we will have too wait and see. Plus this will take the pressure off of Melo in the playoffs, But shots could be a problem when you have the Number 1 and 2 leading scorers in the league

[GangstaBoogy]

the expiring joe smith contract will help philly a lot, not to mention the two first round picks. but as someone who has been following andre miller's career since he came in, i think its safe to say he'd do little to help the current 76er squad. then again, it seems like they plan on rebuilding the team completely, so who knows.

I actually think Philly is getting the better end of the deal in the long run. They now have 3 first round draft picks (and a better shot at Greg Oden), a lot more cap room, and a pg who can set up the young talent they already have (Andre Iguodala, Kyle Korver, etc). It all just depends on how serious they are about rebuilding that team.

Denver is obviously getting a huge upgrade, but like NIK said, I think they would've been better with Andre Miller out there. He's a true pg who looks to pass first. Not saying Iverson can't be a distributor, but I don't know how him, Carmello, and J.R. Smith are gonna get enough shots.

[Don Jacob]

i don't know how i feel about this trade. AI going to denver does a lot of things. it throws off the 'balance' between the east and the west. the nuggets get rid of a true point guard (in a league where those are scarce), makes the nuggets one ExPENSIVE ass team. plus add on the fact we DO NOT know how well Melo and AI can play together, you got the number 1 scorer with the number 2 scorer, melo or AI will have to defer to the other, at this point either one would be right NOT to defer to the other. melo has taken over and this has been his team for 3 years now and he's only getting better, Allen Iverson is one of the greatest players ever and is probably one of the top 5 scorers ever and he hasn't lost a step. If you're George Karl what do you do?

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

^^I bet you anything he's gunna try getting Iverson to play like vintage Payton. That's probably what they have planned in their head.

[The Kryptonian]

I hope that this works out for AI.

[Don Jacob]

the problem with that thogh is, gary payton is more of a natural point guard than iverson. physically iverson can pull it off...maybe even better, but mentally iverson is ascorer not a distributor. that move to put iverson at sg and have eric snow at pg was a great one that paid off in philly back in the day. iverson is twice the player marbury is now,but  i see denver to a lesser extent being  another phoenix/new jersey/new york if they make iverson a scoring point guard. iverson in denver will help the nuggets for the 15 games melo is out but when melo gets back ...??  i could be wrong and this could be the greatest combo ever...who knows but i personally don't think this could work without a TRUE point guard on the team like andre miller...should have given up nene or camby

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

^^Payton was very ball-dominant and loved to score along with his tremendous passing abilities...I think it all has to do with whether Iverson is willing to take on that role and mentality, cuz we all know he's physically capable of it...PeACe

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Phily got the better end of this deal. They acquired a passing pg and now have 3 first round picks. On top off young talent in Iggy and Krover. Things will be fine for them. There are going to be some crazy times in Denver. Will be an exciting team, but the trade doesn't garuntee any wins. It'll be interesting how these 2 players mesh. I think AI can redeem himself now, becuase he got a really bad rep from demanding a trade. With something to prove I think AI won't mind sharing the ball, but don't expect him to stop jacking up shots.

[7even]

this is gay, denver could be a real threat come playoff time. fine now we got like 7 potentially great teams in the west, so gay

[WC Iz Active]

I dont know what to think about this trade, I guess we will have to wait and see. I like the deal for the Sixers alot though and they look like they will have the best shot at landing Oden in the draft.

[Don Jacob]

^^Payton was very ball-dominant and loved to score along with his tremendous passing abilities...I think it all has to do with whether Iverson is willing to take on that role and mentality, cuz we all know he's physically capable of it...PeACe

exactly.

payton matured with kemp and was more willing to share the rock with him, afterall it's not like they were both averaging over 30 points like melo and iverson are, 20 and 20  is alot different then 30 and 30. also gary payton was a little more balanced with his passing/shooting mentallity in his career iverson has always been more lopsided in that aproach, sure iverson can average 8-9 assists in denver but it's the itch to score that's going to be the problem in denver....plus you got jr rider maaaaaaaaaan. denver needs someone to step up and be a strong distributor