The Answer to the Pistons
It's being reported that Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess are being sent to the Nuggets for Allen Iverson.
Apparently the Nuggets are going to buy out McDyess, and I'm guessing he would then immediately return to the Pistons. I like this trade a lot more if he stays; you're a fool if you think Nene and KMart are going the whole season without missing time for injury. Since they lost Camby for nothing this offseason, having McDyess as a backup would be a good move for the Nuggets.
Honestly, I have no idea what the Nuggets are trying to do since last season. Giving Camby away for nothing seemed to signify that the Nuggets were going to rebuild; it seemed only a matter of time before Iverson and his expiring contract was dealt. However, instead of using Iverson--still a great (though not elite) player--to offload one of your bad contracts (the aforementioned Nene and/or KMart), you've instead added a good (not great) point guard who has four years left at $11 mil per on his deal. Not only have you not used Iverson to improve your cap space, but you've hurt it, especially when you consider that Billups is most certainly on the downside of his career. This seems like a deal meant to win now, though the Nuggets really have no realistic chance to win now. As far as I've heard, no draft picks are going from the Pistons to the Nuggets, either, making this even more of a head scratcher. The Nuggets franchise is really floundering right now.
As for the Pistons, my thoughts are, "Sure...why not?" This team was going to get third in the conference and lose in the second round again. Why not roll the dice on a star like Iverson and take a shot? If it fails, they're actually in better of a position then they were at the start of the season: instead of being stuck with a fading Chauncey the next three years, they have both AI and Rasheed Wallace coming off their books, giving them tons of cap space. They have a good nucleus of young talent (Rodney Stuckey, Jason Maxiel, Amir Johnson) and a veteran with several good years left in Tayshaun Prince. If they spend their money wisely and continue (Darko not included) to draft well, then this team could rebound in a year or two--especially if they use that cap space in 2010 to grab one of the players they didn't draft in 2003.
So for the short term, I think the Pistons still get in third place and still lose in the second round of the playoffs, but at least they're interesting now, and they're set for the long term. Whereas the Nuggets aren't really any better in the short term, and are definitely screwed in the long term.
Advantage: Pistons.
Apparently the Nuggets are going to buy out McDyess, and I'm guessing he would then immediately return to the Pistons. I like this trade a lot more if he stays; you're a fool if you think Nene and KMart are going the whole season without missing time for injury. Since they lost Camby for nothing this offseason, having McDyess as a backup would be a good move for the Nuggets.
Honestly, I have no idea what the Nuggets are trying to do since last season. Giving Camby away for nothing seemed to signify that the Nuggets were going to rebuild; it seemed only a matter of time before Iverson and his expiring contract was dealt. However, instead of using Iverson--still a great (though not elite) player--to offload one of your bad contracts (the aforementioned Nene and/or KMart), you've instead added a good (not great) point guard who has four years left at $11 mil per on his deal. Not only have you not used Iverson to improve your cap space, but you've hurt it, especially when you consider that Billups is most certainly on the downside of his career. This seems like a deal meant to win now, though the Nuggets really have no realistic chance to win now. As far as I've heard, no draft picks are going from the Pistons to the Nuggets, either, making this even more of a head scratcher. The Nuggets franchise is really floundering right now.
As for the Pistons, my thoughts are, "Sure...why not?" This team was going to get third in the conference and lose in the second round again. Why not roll the dice on a star like Iverson and take a shot? If it fails, they're actually in better of a position then they were at the start of the season: instead of being stuck with a fading Chauncey the next three years, they have both AI and Rasheed Wallace coming off their books, giving them tons of cap space. They have a good nucleus of young talent (Rodney Stuckey, Jason Maxiel, Amir Johnson) and a veteran with several good years left in Tayshaun Prince. If they spend their money wisely and continue (Darko not included) to draft well, then this team could rebound in a year or two--especially if they use that cap space in 2010 to grab one of the players they didn't draft in 2003.
So for the short term, I think the Pistons still get in third place and still lose in the second round of the playoffs, but at least they're interesting now, and they're set for the long term. Whereas the Nuggets aren't really any better in the short term, and are definitely screwed in the long term.
Advantage: Pistons.
Labels: NBA trade
posted by Michael Pondrom at 12:01 AM
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