Does the Allen Iverson Trade to Denver Make Them a Championship Team?

On Tuesday December 19, Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers was finally traded to the Denver Nuggets. He had been put on the inactive list for conduct detrimental to the team and had been inactive for 11 games. The 76ers approached the Allen Iverson situation in the same way that the Indiana Pacers approached the Ron Artest situation: by waiting out the situation and getting the best possible deal available. That deal was the Denver Nuggets. The 76ers will receive 2 first round picks which are supposed to be two draft picks in the 20s from the Nuggets and via the Dallas Mavericks pick which Denver received in a trade. The draft picks were a must of the 76ers because they, like many other draft experts view this coming draft as one of the deepest and best in recent years. This has to do in large part with the NBA new rules stating that players must go to at least 1 year of college before playing professional ball. That means that great basketball players such as Ohio State's Greg Olden will be one of the top picks of the draft because he wasn't drafted last year.

In addition to the two draft picks, the Philadelphia 76ers also received Joe Smith who has not been playing much for the Denver Nuggets. However, the real reason that the 76ers are getting Joe Smith is because his contract expires at the end of the season which should save the 76ers almost 10 million dollars in cap room. The Philadelphia 76ers is also receiving Andre Miller who led the league in assists 3 years ago. Andre Miller is currently averaging 9 assists per game this season and around 11 points per game. He is still considered to be one of the top point guards in the game will definitely make his teammates better in Philadelphia. Once the Nuggets take on Allen Iverson's contract, the Philadelphia 76erws will have saved around 20 million dollars on the salary cap thanks to General Manager Billy King.

This trade is widely considered by most basketball analysts to be a beneficial trade for both the Nuggets and 786ers. The Nuggets will be without Carmelo Anthony who is leading the league in scoring at 31 points per game. He is currently serving a 15 game suspension for sucker-punching NY Knicks player Mardy Collins in the brawl at Madison Square Garden a few nights ago. The Nuggets will also be without their second leading scorer JR Smith who is serving a 10 game suspension. Lacking a real scoring threat, the Nuggets felt that they hade to do this deal in order to stay in contention in the completive Western Conference. In addition, the pairing of Carmelo Anthony with Allen Iverson should be a dynamic duo.

So the question remains: Will and can the Denver Nuggets make it to the NBA finals with this trade? The answer is maybe and probably not. The Denver Nuggets have struggled in recent years to get out of the first round of the playoffs and this year they will probably get out of the 1st round but I don't see them beating the San Antonio Spurs or the Dallas Mavericks or even the Phoenix Suns with a healthy Amare Stoudamire in the playoffs. Those three teams are too deep and too talented for the Nuggets. With both Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony in the lineup, there is no way that both can maintain their scoring averages and one or both will surely have their scoring averages drop. The Nuggets have no real bench players who can step in and help out and Marcus Camby is injury prone. In addition, Nene has not gotten better quick enough in his overall game and Kenyon Martin is injured and his return is doubtful. Furthermore, even if he does manage to come back this season, there will be questions as to how much of an impact he can make in the game. This is not the first time that Martin has had an injury. The move by the NJ Nets not to resign Martin looks better and better every game he misses.