Iverson-Billups

When I first heard about this trade, I legitimately could not believe it for a couple of hours. I can't remember this much of a blockbuster this early in a season not only in the NBA, but in major pro sports in general. In terms of who got the better end of the deal, I can't definitively offer up an answer. I can see positives on both ends. Iverson gives the Pistons another scorer with championship experience, while Billups gives the Nuggets more of a glue guy who can defend the perimeter and distribute the rock.

If forced to give an answer at gunpoint however, I would have to say that the Pistons are going to be better off in the short-term, mainly because the Nuggets will have a harder time contending in general. Detroit loses their point guard, but they have another answer in addition to the original "answer" in Rodney Stuckey. Stuckey got plenty of quality experience during Motown's playoff run last year, making Billups slightly expendable. Now, they add someone who like teach said, averaged more assists than Billups last year, yet adds a legitimate threat to go off and get 30 every night. This team has always lacked a true go-to guy who can be unstoppable. They went with almost the basketball version of a "closer by committee," where any number of guys, whether it was Rip, Billups, Sheed, or Tayshaun went off and carried the load offensively. Now, they have a true number one option, allowing the others to do Detroit Piston things like rebound, defend, and score when their number is called. They do lose McDyess, their starting 4 last year, but its not even certain if he's going to even end up playing for Denver. They can give more minutes to Amir Johnson, and Jason Maxiell anyway, softening this blow.

Denver barely made the playoffs last year, and by getting rid of Camby, lost their only true post presence. They weren't going anywhere with the way the team was currently constructed anyway. Bringing in Billups brings a much better perimeter defender, as the team has put an emphasis on this all preseason. He seems to be more of a leader than Iverson, who was more worried about trying to get more shots than Iverson anyway. Now, Carmelo can piggyback off his successful run in the olympics this summer and be the true Numero Uno scoring option. I look for him to average 28-30 points now. If they can bring in McDyess as well, they get another proven low-post defender who takes away minutes from Nene, and the Birdman, which can only be a good thing. Now JR Smith should step in and take up some of Iverson's scoring. If they land McDyess, I'd expect them to be in the hunt for a 7 or 8 seed.

So if your a Piston fan reading this, I would be encouraged by the fact that you traded for a legit top-notch scoring threat, who albeit is an aging one, can still put the ball in the hoop. Dumars said he would shake things up, and I don't think chemistry will be an issue in the long-run. I'm guessing that's why the deal got done this early. Now they have 79 games to get used to each other. They'll be more of a threat in the East now, and with Stuckey ready for bigger minutes, they'll be in the mix as one of the favorites getting out of the East. This trade benefits both teams, and it will make an already competitive NBA season even better.