32 replies to this topic

[Los Pollos Hermanos]

Here we go.

[2nd&8]

The Denver Nuggets are expected to trade Allen Iverson to the Detroit Pistons for Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess, Pistons team sources told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith.

The deal has not been finalized.

This would be the second time Iverson has been traded in two years. He was dealt by Philadelphia to Denver in December 2006, kicked out of Philly over irreconcilable differences as part of a package that brought Andre Miller to the 76ers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you could delete the thread I posted earlier about this trade, I'd appreciate it.

I believe this really helps the Denver Nuggets. Iverson will most likely be a one year rental for the Pistons, as they groom Rodney Stuckey to take over the starting PG spot next year.

However, for Denver, they get two good (although on the wrong side of 30) players who can make an immediate impact. Chauncey has a new contract with I believe four years remaining, and Antonio McDyess goes back to Denver once again. If this trade does indeed become official, Denver can rework their lineup vastly.

Billups can be the starting 1, and perhaps Karl inserts J.R. Smith into the starting 2 guard spot. This allows Anthony Carter to come off the bench, and McDyess provides solid big man bench support for Nene & Kenyon Martin.

*Edit* Sounds like McDyess might get bought out by the Nuggets, as he was only needed to match the contract of AI for the trade to occur. I know he's 34, but I still think he can provide some good scoring and rebounding. I guess we'll have to wait & see.

[Dom]

I like the move for the Nuggets

[Los Pollos Hermanos]

Interesting trade. Was Billups or Iverson asking to be traded?

[2nd&8]

I don't believe either one were asking for a trade, but it seems like a move that Joe Dumars of the Pistons would want to do.

They're comparing it to when the Pistons got Rasheed back in 2004 and won the championship. AI has yet to win a championship obviously, so I imagine the Pistons believe adding a new guy the caliber of Iverson will light a fire within the team.

I think a starting lineup of Iverson/Rip Hamilton/Tayshaun Prince/Jason Maxiell or Amir Johnson/Rasheed Wallace can end up being pretty damn good if they develop good chemistry before the playoffs this season.

It'd be interesting however if the Pistons do make a run to the Finals and see what they do with Iverson in the offseason, since he only has this year left on his contract. I'd imagine they'd still let him walk, so that they have the cap space in 2010 for the LeBron/Wade/Bosh sweepstakes, but who knows with Dumars. After all, he did make the statement after they got eliminated last year how the whole roster was up for trades besides Stuckey.

[Los Pollos Hermanos]

I always felt like Billups was what made the Pistons work so good together.

But if they were going to contend with the Celtics, I guess they needed to do something.

[2nd&8]

Yeah, Billups certainly meshed well with the rest of the team, especially the starters. However as you said, it definitely seems like they are looking for more firepower come playoff time to go up against Boston.

Iverson will most likely need some time to adjust (assuming he's going to be playing PG instead of SG), but I think when he gets to know his teammates better, it will lead to a good deal of success.

Will that be enough to overtake the Celtics? I think we'll have to wait a little further into the season to see how the Pistons play together, as well as how the Celtics play D without James Posey (their defense looked great the first two games, but didn't fare as well in their most recent vs. the Pacers)

[2nd&8]

Tonight will be an interesting match-up between Boston & Houston. Boston got blown out by the Pacers in Indiana a couple days back, so I imagine they are going to go into the Toyota Center looking to bounce back quick.

As for the Rox, Yao's minutes have been managed pretty poorly so far this season. He's played 39, 40, 41 minutes in each of the three games, and that is exactly what he was playing last season when he got hurt. I don't know why they aren't pursuing Mutombo until the All-Star break, since he could easily be getting spot minutes at C right now.

As well, the offense has not been consistent at all in three regular season games. I hate to see one guy just try and dribble the ball out (whether it be Artest, T-Mac, or Alston), and then just loft up a contested 18 foot jumper at the end of the shot clock..But there's been a lot of that so far. Just have to hope that the team can grasp Adelman's coaching concept sooner than later and get some team ball movement going.

[2nd&8]

Not a surprising result in Houston..Yao was eventually going to run out of gas after 3 straight games of 39+ minutes. It's just bad that Kendrick Perkins made him look like a chump.

But the plus is Yao did dreadful, Artest went 3 of 16 from the field, and Battier wasn't there, yet they only lost by 4. I guess that's one thing to hold onto in a losing effort.

[ryno]

What a finish to the Houston/Portland game last night! Talk about just an amazing series of events. Watch it for yourself here:

[Los Pollos Hermanos]

ryno, on Nov 7 2008, 09:40 AM, said:

What a finish to the Houston/Portland game last night! Talk about just an amazing series of events. Watch it for yourself here:

That was awesome.

[Jaydaholmes31]

Just plain WOW. Can we please get an NBA team in KC!!!

[2nd&8]

Obviously this will sound bitter from a Rockets fan, but I still have no idea how a man, unless he is the Flash, can catch a pass, pivot his foot, and fadeaway on a 30 foot shot in 0.8 seconds. Looking at the replay, it's evident that the clock did not start when Roy caught the ball and started going when he made his pivot step, but that's the disadvantage of the Rockets being on the road.

But in all honesty, a team that gets out rebounded by 12 has no business being in the game in the first place. Yao is as cold as ice, sans his final shot, and this team needs to learn to rebound if they want to get anywhere. Tracy McGrady with a bum knee shouldn't be leading the team in rebounding when there's a 7'6 Chinaman on the squad.

*Edit* I forgot to convey my thoughts on how good Rudy Fernandez for the Blazers really is. If anyone saw the whole game, you saw him run around the court like a madman. I think he is going to be one of the best international players very soon, and Portland is very lucky to have such an asset. His ability to move without the ball is tremendous, and that definitely helped him evade Ron Artest at times last night.

[Dom]

That was hell of a game last night... Brandon Roy regardless if it was a lil longer than .8 to shoot hit a CLUTCH shot.... simply amazing

[ryno]

2nd&8, on Nov 7 2008, 11:23 AM, said:

*Edit* I forgot to convey my thoughts on how good Rudy Fernandez for the Blazers really is. If anyone saw the whole game, you saw him run around the court like a madman. I think he is going to be one of the best international players very soon, and Portland is very lucky to have such an asset. His ability to move without the ball is tremendous, and that definitely helped him evade Ron Artest at times last night.

By the end of the season I think the Blazers could be one of the deepest teams in the league. Add a healthy Oden (eventually?), Jerryd Bayless (eventually for a different reason) and another import in Nicholas Batum and you have a legit 10 deep team.

[Dom]

A healthy Oden could be an overstatement

[2nd&8]

A weak performance from the Rox last night. Yao simply seems to be out of touch right now. Tracy is evidently in a slump shooting 2 of 16 in the past two games. And Ron Ron is playing Jekyll & Hyde with a great performance one night, and a sub-par game the next.

However, even with these three problems hurting the team currently, I still think there can be improvement as the season goes on. Having this west coast road trip will be good for the beginning of the season, rather than the latter part.

Ron Ron is a big dude, and even though his defense is stellar, it's not geared towards guarding the Kobes & Roys of the NBA. More so, he likes to defend bigger players like LeBron or Paul Pierce. Shane Battier is more ideal for guarding the kind of guys that can run around screens like Kobe & B-Roy. Hopefully the team defense will improve when he makes return soon.

As for Yao & T-Mac, it's obvious they're struggling to fit in with Adelman's offense. RA's offense requires plenty of motion and cuts...something any basketball fan can tell you T-Mac & Yao are not suited for. T-Mac is more of an iso player, and Yao isn't exactly Vlade Divac when it comes to being a passing big man and playing the high post. Hopefully the coaches will realize this sooner than later so that they can work something else out.

The 2nd unit is what gave the Rockets the big lead in the 2nd quarter over the Lakers, but they're also the ones that allowed LA to open things up early on in the 4th after only being down 72 - 65 going into that quarter. The 22-10 run really clinched the victory then for LA.

It's obvious the Rockets have the talent..It's just that the players and coaches have to work on schemes fitted to each player's strengths. The only players currently that work with RA's offense are Aaron Brooks, Carl Landry, & Brent Barry (all 2nd unit), so a change is definitely needed in order for the first unit to play better.

[2nd&8]

Rockets showing off their brittleness right now...Of course right before the Mavs come into town.

Hopefully Artest is ready to go to try and contain J-Ho. I assume Dirk will get his share of points as he usually does against the Rockets.

It'll be interesting however to see what Carlisle does with Dampier in the game on Wednesday. Dampier, although not a gem on the offensive side of the ball, has generally held Yao in check when the two face off. This is usually because Dampier knows how to front Yao in the low post properly, not allowing him to get comfortable down there.

Last game, I was surprised to see Diop & Bass get a lot more time than Dampier on Yao, as Yao was able to shoot over both of them very effectively. I guess we'll have to wait and see if Carlisle tries out Dampier more on Yao.

And of course, Rocket fans have to hope that Tracy doesn't tweak his knee again while attempting a pump fake like he did against the Thunder.

[2nd&8]

The Rockets must've said something about Jason Terry's mother in the past because it seems like ever since Yao came around, he always has a big game vs. Houston.

Jump shots the entire game rarely equals success

[ryno]

Dom, on Nov 9 2008, 01:46 AM, said:

A healthy Oden could be an overstatement

Don't look now, but Oden is looking healthier every game. Last night he played 31 minutes and scored 11 points (on only 4 shots) with 13 rebounds and 3 blocks.