Goodbye to the past, Hello to the present, and Hopes for the future

Billy King finally pulled the trigger. AI is now a Denver Nugget, and Joe Smith is once again a 76er. The Sixers also got Andre Miller and two first round picks in the 2007 draft (Denver and Dallas).

Everyone knows what the Nuggets got in the trade: the second leading scorer (ironically behind Carmelo Anthony, who still has 14 games of suspension to go) and an undeniable warrior. Iverson deserves a chance to win, and he got his wish. The Nuggets also got a throw away player in the deal, Ivan McFarlin, a rarely used, young forward from the Sixers.

What the Sixers got: a true point guard, albeit 30 years old, still top 5 in the league averaging nearly a double-double in points and assists. He has also shined for bad teams, and will at least promote the fundamentals of basketball on a young team. An unslefish player, he should also give the raw talent of the Sixers countless opportunities to foster their offensive development. The only catch with Miller is that he's signed for 2 more seasons, which is the same as Iverson, though 10 million dollars cheaper per year.

So the Sixers save 10 million dollars the next two seasons because Joe Smith's contract comes off the books after this year. Smith will play a marginal role in the rest of the 06/07 Sixers team, most likely being the 3rd or 4th guy off the bench, spelling Webber.

The two picks the Sixers receive will most likely both be in the 20s. If Iverson and Anthony can't coexist (or they suffer from not having a point guard...something the Sixers always struggled with), then Denver could potential slip, miss the playoffs, which would give the Sixers two lottery picks, once they get eliminated from the playoffs, which could happen next week. Dallas will be there until the end, so unless Dirk gets hurt, that pick will be a borderline second rounder. With this draft full of talent at the top and bottom because of the recent implementation of the age restriction, the Sixers should be in prime position to net a few good players. Outside of Oden, and maybe the other top 5 picks, I don't trust Billy King to make the right decisions, though. We'll see how the rest of the season plays out. At first glance, though, I like this deal. It's 3 components that the Sixers needed most: cap space, draft picks, and a veteran, unslefish point guard. Iverson will most likely prove to be more valuable over the next few years, but Billy King could have done a lot worse.

I wish Iverson the best of luck, though it's in the Sixers best interest that he fail, and fail miserably. If Iverson needed any other motivation to stick it to Billy King...