Denver, Philadelphia remodeled by Iverson deal

By Chris Tomasson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Allen Iverson believes the Nuggets got the better end of the deal: “I know (Philadelphia) didn’t get enough” in exchange, he said.

Barry Gutierrez / The Rocky

Ansime Bahti, 6, a resident of Denver's Warren Village, a housing complex that helps single parents move toward self-sufficiency, watches as Allen Iverson delivers holiday meals Monday.

They call it the City of Brotherly Love. Seems a lot of the love has gone to teams that acquire a star player from the Philadelphia 76ers.

There was Wilt Chamberlain, traded in 1968 to the Lakers for Jerry Chambers, Archie Clark and Darrall Imhoff. Chamberlain helped the Lakers to four of the next five NBA Finals, winning one, while, by 1972-73, the 76ers had the worst record in NBA history at 9-73.

There was Charles Barkley, dealt in 1992 to Phoenix for Jeff Hornacek, Tim Perry and Andrew Lang. The Suns immediately went to the Finals, with Barkley as the league's Most Valuable Player, while the 76ers nose-dived.

Then there's Allen Iverson, traded one year ago Wednesday to Denver. The Nuggets still are finding their way with the 6-foot guard, but he sure is talking as if the 76ers again got fleeced.

"I know they didn't get enough," Iverson, 32, said. "In my heart, they know they didn't get enough. The fans in Philadelphia know they didn't get enough. . . . (The 76ers) just wanted me out of there."

For the 2001 MVP, the Nuggets, who also acquired, then waived, Ivan McFarlin, dealt Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two first-round draft picks. Smith departed after last season, his expiring $6.8 million contract aiding Philadelphia's salary-cap situation.

The 76ers used the No. 21 pick they got on Daequan Cook, whom they traded with cash to Miami for No. 20 selection Jason Smith of Colorado State. With the No. 30 pick the 76ers received, they drafted Petteri Koponen, then dealt him to Portland for since-waived second-round selection Derrick Byars and cash.

Billy King, the 76ers president who made the deal, was fired Dec. 4. Philadelphia is 10-14 this season and next to last in the NBA in attendance, with a 12,126 average.

"If I was still in Philadelphia, I don't think they would be in the predicament that they're in right now," Iverson said. "The way the East is, I would think that we would be right there in the hunt. . . . I look at (Philadelphia's) games right now, and it looks like a rec league game or an AAU game when you see the attendance there. It just looks dull."

Dull does not describe the recent play of Iverson, who says he has become "so comfortable" in Denver. He's averaging a team-high 25.9 points, including 33.2 in the past six games when he said it's been "easier to score" due to playing more shooting guard than point guard.

While life is better for Iverson, there remains ample room for improvement. In the 83 regular-season games since he showed up, the Nuggets are 45-38.

Their record in the 83 regular-season games before his arrival? At 46-37, it was one game better.

There are mitigating circumstances. When Iverson was traded, forward Carmelo Anthony had 14 games left on a 15-game suspension for fighting.

Last season, the Nuggets were without injured Kenyon Martin, and they have had more injuries this season. Then again, the Nuggets also had many injuries in the year before Iverson's arrival, the most notable being Nene missing all but one game in 2005-06.

"Did we have a special year? No," said Nuggets coach George Karl, who nevertheless calls getting Iverson an "impressive move."

"Did you expect that in the first year with A.I.? Some people could," Karl said. "But this could be a special year."

The Nuggets (14-10) are optimistic Iverson's impact will soon really be felt. Players set a preseason goal of winning 60 games and Karl one of winning 55, although they're now on pace for only 48.

ESPN analyst Jon Barry likes the trade but said "the jury is still out." So when will it reach some kind of verdict?

"It will be judged in the playoffs," TNT analyst and longtime NBA coach Mike Fratello said. "If they go out in the first round, people will say they're the same team. If they move on in the playoffs, people will say they're a better team."

For four straight seasons, the Nuggets have been ousted in the first round in five games. But vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien said the Nuggets, with Iverson, had a much better showing in a 2007 loss to eventual champion San Antonio than in a 2006 Clippers setback.

"We like the recipe," said Warkentien, who said the Nuggets are "evolving" with Iverson. "Does that mean, as we're going along, we might add salt? That's something you're finding out. . . . We like this team."

Warkentien played a key role in the Nuggets' 10-month process to land Iverson. He was director of player personnel when the Nuggets began talking to the 76ers just before the February 2006 trade deadline, and he was acting personnel head when talks heated up in the summer before being named to his current position in September 2006.

"In February '06 . . . at best, it was at midfield," Warkentien said. "In the summer, we were both in the red zone, and it didn't happen. They decided not to play anymore. And, obviously, it got into the end zone."

Karl was hoping the deal could be made without giving up Miller, a point guard who Karl thought would be ideal alongside Iverson. But after weeks of haggling, the Nuggets pulled the trigger Dec. 19, 2006, a day after the NBA announced penalties for a Dec. 16 brawl in New York, with the Nuggets' J.R. Smith getting a 10-game suspension to join Anthony in dry dock.

"(The suspension) probably made the decision (on the deal) easier," Warkentien said. "But the impetus for it was long before that."

Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke stepped up to take a contract with more than $50 million left on it. Iverson is making $19 million this season, sending the Nuggets' payroll soaring to more than $83 million.

"Stan challenged us to get Iverson and find out," Warkentien said. "We're still finding out."

When Iverson arrived in Denver, he hadn't played since Dec. 6. The 76ers, who Iverson said "forced" him out and that he didn't directly ask for a trade, had sent him home after a meeting he had with management.

"I always said I wanted to end my career as a Sixer," Iverson said. "And I wanted that so bad for my fans. . . . We had lost a lot of games. . . . I came into a meeting and I told them that I didn't think, the way we were going, we could win. And I voiced my opinion on what I thought we could do to help us win. And they didn't care what I thought."

King didn't return several messages. He recently told the Philadelphia Daily News, "It was time, for him and the organization" that Iverson to be traded after 10-plus seasons with the 76ers, and the Nuggets offered the best deal.

Iverson didn't think it was prudent to rebuild around him and felt the 76ers were improperly using Andre Iguodala at point guard. After his opinions weren't heeded, Iverson figured he'd "rather be somewhere else," and the 76ers eventually shipped him to Denver. Iverson said he was "ecstatic" because it was his first choice.

Iverson showed up Dec. 22 in a blizzard-ravaged city. After arriving at Centennial Airport in a private plane, it took one hour, 45 minutes though crawling traffic before Iverson arrived at the Pepsi Center, 11/2 hours before a game against Sacramento.

"When I got here, it's like, 'Man, it's snow,' " Iverson said. "I had jet lag and I was carsick and I came in and met with (Karl) for like 15 minutes and he gave me the game plan."

Iverson sat out the game's first 8:35, which he grumbled about, at first. But he played the rest of the way, totaling 22 points and 10 assists, and realized it was the greatest thrill possible coming off the bench to thunderous applause.

"It was like God drew it up," Iverson said. "It was great. . . . When (Karl) calls me off the bench and I walked to the table, it was like, 'I'll never forget it.' I'm hoping this is my new home."

Iverson wants to make Denver a long-term stay. While he has a 2008-09 player option worth $20.8 million, his preference is to opt out in the summer and sign a six-year deal, although that could be difficult because of financial reasons.

Iverson shrugs off the Nuggets' unimproved record with him. While he won't use injuries as an excuse, he said the Nuggets have blown too many winnable games.

"I'm going to say honestly, in my heart, that I believe we have everything we need (to win a title). . . . I'm thinking about trying to win a championship and making them want to keep me here," Iverson said.

One guy who has won three rings believes the Nuggets have what it takes.

"(The trade) was a great move," Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said. "It's a matter of them developing together. It takes time to jell. You have to stay healthy, and that's (been the Nuggets') problem."

The Iverson-Anthony combination has appeared to mesh well, even though some were skeptical whether the two scorers could coexist. At 50.2, they make up the NBA's highest-scoring duo.

"It's worked out pretty good," Anthony said. "It's only going to get better. We have proven we can play together. We've proven we can win games together."

Before the Nuggets have a chance to win big, most observers believe they must get healthy and solidify their point-guard situation. Iverson has played both guard spots, but Karl wants him mostly at shooting guard, which has happened recently because of point guard Anthony Carter's return from injury.

"I'm a huge Allen Iverson fan. It's the other guys who need to find a way to pick up their games," said ESPN analyst and Hall of Famer Bill Walton, naming Anthony - whose scoring average has dropped from 28.9 to 24.3 this season and his field-goal percentage from 47.6 to 44.1 - as one culprit.

Walton said "history bears out, every time a team loses a franchise player, things collapse." Perhaps that is happening to the 76ers, with Iverson saying it will be a "long healing process" without him.

But can the Nuggets have the success the Lakers and Suns did after plucking away 76ers to players?

It remains to be seen how much love Philadelphia will end up bestowing upon Denver.

Iverson's impact

Home Franchise National W-L attendance avg. value * TV games**

Year before arrival 46-37 16,966 $309 million 14

Since Iverson's arrival 45-38 17,204 $321 million 17

* * Nuggets value according to Forbes Magazine. * ** Games scheduled for ABC, ESPN and TNT at the start of the past two seasons .

• December 18, 2007

  6:18 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  ColoNative writes:

  Don't all of you remember the joke the Nuggets were before Iverson and 'Melo? I only follow Colorado teams, and this is now one I'm not embarrassed about. FIX THE BRONCOS. I'm stuck in brown territory and have to suck it up this year, but can gloat about the Nuggets to all of the cav fans here.