76ers trade their disgruntled star to Denver

By David
Kaye

The acquisition of superstar Allen Iverson could not have come at a better time for the Nuggets. After making a mockery of themselves at Madison Square Garden Saturday night, Denver seems to be back on the right path as they dealt for the premier scorer in the NBA.

Scoring is definitely what the Nuggets are in need of because they will be without the leagues leading scorer Carmelo Anthony until January 20th. That will be the day Melo will be eligible to return assuming his 15 game suspension is not reduced.

The defending Northwest champions will also be without guard J.R. Smith for the next nine games. If they had not acquired A.I., their playoff chances would have dwindled as fast as head coach George Karl's mouth has recently been running.

Still, it will take time for Iverson to get accustomed to the Nuggets style of play, but it was evident that after a decade in the city of brotherly love a change of venue was needed. By going to the Mile High city, Iverson will be along side a head coach in George Karl who is used to strong egos and personalities. It was evident by his recent comments about Knicks coach Isiah Thomas that he isn't afraid to put a person in their place when needed.

On the flip side, the 76ers pulled off a very favorable trade for their organization. Currently, the team is going no where and they are in a rebuilding process. By acquiring Andre Miller Philly receives a proven point guard who can help turn around a franchise that is currently in major disarray. Additionally, the two first round picks in next years draft could turn out to be very good players and most importantly they unloaded Iverson's hefty contract.

When Carmelo returns from his suspension the Nuggets will have one of the most feared offenses in all of basketball. At the present time, Denver is averaging 108.45 PPG and that will only multiply with the addition of Iverson. It's ironic that the leagues two highest scorers will now call the Pepsi Center home. When both players are clicking it will be hard pressed to stop them. Their combined scoring of 62.8 points per night will decrease, but the amount of W's that the Nuggets rack up will be sure to increase.

I don't envision both superstars having trouble co-existing and I see this recent trade as a match made in heaven for the city of Denver. The Mile High city is getting introduced to their QB of the future in Jay Cutler as he leads the Broncos to a playoff berth and they will quickly get introduced to the player who hopes to lead the Nuggets to an NBA title. Allen Iverson might not have been the answer in Philadelphia, but he will be in Denver.