IVERSON TRADE RUMORS

As predicted in this space, there's a ton of interest in Iverson now that he's officially been put up on the trading block. For the people who think you can't win with him, you might be right--but I feel like he's never really had a chance to show he can play with other stars (and don't give me Webber; you know I love C-Webb (ever since he apologized for wrecking UM's basketball program), but the Philly Webber is *not* a superstar).

Nobody thought Jerry Stackhouse could be a valuable role player, and look what he's done in Dallas. Iverson's obviously a million times better than Stack, but the point is, I think there's a good chance Iverson can also fit his game in with other talented players. I could be wrong; I just hope we get a chance to see it. Love him or hate him, Iverson's an all-timer and deserves a chance to show what he can do.

By the way, the stuff about including Webber in this deal is hilariously misguided--*nobody* is taking Webber's contract off Philly's hands, Iverson or no.

Anyway, sizing up the contenders for AI's services:

Charlotte

Once thought to be a frontrunner, they now appear out of the mix as Iverson flat-out doesn't want to play there. Understandably.

LA Clippers

Always one of the usual suspects when Iverson's name comes up, they appear to be out of the mix now. Any rumor involving Shaun Livingston is probably baseless--the Clippers just won't give him up, period.

Minnesota

Another team thought to be an early frontrunner, their interest looks to be waning as well. I wonder if this means Garnett is more likely to be dealt--you don't trade for Iverson if you're getting rid of Garnett, and conversely you probably don't hang on to Foye over Iverson if you're going to keep KG around. Or they could just have no fucking clue what they're doing, yet another team caught between hanging on to an aging superstar while trying to rebuild at the same time and neither winning now nor setting themselves up for the future.

Sacramento

Possibly the new frontrunner, rumors are swirling about a Bibby-Kenny Thomas package. It makes sense from a $$$ perspective, but Bibby is already 28 and while he's a good player, he's hardly a superstar. Meanwhile Kenny Thomas is on the hook through 2011. He makes reasonable money, but he's not exactly a highly coveted piece of a rebuilding project in Philadelphia. Seems like the 76ers can do better.

But everyone thought the Lakers could do better when they were dealing their aging--but still damned good--superstar too...and they couldn't. Sports teams are *extremely* conservative, and as good as Iverson is, he's a huge gamble. It's a gamble whether you can win with him, whether he'll cause chemistry problems, whether he can stay healthy another three years, whether he'll be worth $60M over this and the next two years--it's a gamble. My personal opinion is that I wouldn't disrupt a situation that's already working in order to get him--if the Lakers made a deal for him, for example, I'd be irate--but it's worth it for someone who's going nowhere fast. Like the Kings. And Bibby is probably the biggest name of all the players being thrown around in trade rumors. If I were Philly, I'd be looking to roll the dice on young up-and-comers and draft picks, but I can see how they'd be enticed by the prospect of getting a biggish name in return for their franchise guy.

Indiana

The Pacers are supposedly hot and heavy in all this, but the only rumors involving them that I've seen include the names Jamaal Tinsley and Stephen Jackson. But none of the articles explained why, exactly, Philly would be interested in an injury-prone so-so PG and a psychopath gunner, both on the payroll through 2010. I'd guess Granger would have to be in the mix, Indy doesn't really have anyone else the 76ers would covet--and I've read that Granger is specifically off the table. I just don't see this as a real possibility. It would make Indy an instant contender in the East if they could pull this off, but Philly can and will do better.

Golden State

Golden State is considered a major player here, but there's a lot of smoke about GS trying to be a party of the third part in an effort to shuttle Iverson through to someone else along with one of their terrible contracts (Troy Murphy, Adonal Foyle). But it's pretty hard to foist one of those kinds of guys off on someone who isn't named Isiah.

Anyway, if the Warriors did get involved and kept Iverson, well--can you imagine Iverson in a Don Nelson offense? Maybe they wouldn't contend for a title, but they'd be a hell of a lot of fun to watch. Nelson supposedly loves Iverson, but wants to pair him with Baron Davis in the backcourt. And if Davis isn't part of the deal, and the highly promising Monta Ellis is off the table, and an undesirable contract needs to be included to make the money work out...well, then what are they going to put together that'll interest Philly? I suppose Jason Richardson is a possibility, but his knee injury puts a major kink in that plan.

Denver

I've seen Denver mentioned a lot as a darkhorse candidate, but with conspicuously little speculation on what players might be involved in the deal--so I'll have to do a little guesswork here. I don't see how anyone in their right mind takes Kenyon Martin and his gimpy, gimpy knees, so strike that right there. Andre Miller would almost certainly be a part of the deal--Iverson can play point, and Miller's a good, solid veteran who makes reasonable money. Nene would most likely be in the mix too, but he's a huge gamble at $12M a year through 2011. He's got a lot of upside, but not much of it is realized, and he's almost as injury-prone as Martin. Furthermore, Denver has no other promising young players to offer Philly, nor a good 2007 1st round draft pick. Denver might really, really want this to happen--they're almost certainly not a true title contender out of the West as is, and it'd be fun as hell to watch Carmelo and AI scoring 115 a game, but I just don't see this working out.

Boston

This is a great example of a team who could put together a really nice package--but might not want to. They have a ton of good young players. Assuming Al Jefferson is off the table, Philly can still take its pick from Sebastian Telfair, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, Gerald Green, Delonte West, Ryan Gomes, and Tony Allen. Plus Boston will have a high draft pick in the loaded 2007 draft. They also have big expiring contracts in Theo Ratliff and Wally Sczerbiak to make the money work out. They can probably put together the most attractive package of any of the contenders.

But with all those young players, it might make sense just to stand pat. Pierce and Wally are still under 30, Al Jefferson has come on strong lately, Gerald Green shows major flashes of potential, one or both of Telfair/Rondo will probably pan out down the road. Add a Yoakim Noah to this group and you might really have something in a couple years.

But on the other hand, Boston's obviously a flagship NBA franchise and they've been bad for a while. I sense some real impatience with this franchise, and that's what could drive an Iverson deal. I could see Ainge being frustrated with all the kids and pulling the trigger just to make a splash.

So I'm predicting, for better or for worse, Iverson ends up in Boston. You hate to trade a guy to one of your rivals (and with Iverson, virtually guaranteeing he'll go off on you the next 20 times you play him), but it's what makes the most sense for the franchise in terms of getting quality young talent.