<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The hot topic in the NBA this weekend was the demand of Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson to be traded. The Kings appear to be part of that conversation. Since Friday, the Kings have been added to the short list of teams that are said to be -- according to various reports -- discussing trade options with the 76ers. On Sunday, a league source confirmed to The Bee that the Kings are involved, though it is not known whether they are pursuing Iverson or perhaps part of a deal involving more than two teams, or what they are offering. The source declined to be identified because he was not authorized to discuss the deal. At the Kings' game against Atlanta on Sunday, Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie would not say if he was in discussions involving Iverson. "As a matter of rule, we do not discuss possible trades," he said. Kings co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof were also tight-lipped, even beyond the question of whether they're pursuing Iverson. "Talk to Geoff, because I don't know," Joe Maloof said by phone. Gavin Maloof paused before answering. "Hmmm," he said. "You're going to have to ask Geoff." Asked if he was a fan of Iverson's game, Gavin wouldn't comment. "Well, I don't want to say, I don't want to say," Gavin said. "Check with Geoff." Kings swingman John Salmons, a teammate of Iverson last season, was shocked by the news of Iverson's demands -- and owner Ed Snider's approval to pursue a deal. "Just having been in that situation, I wanted to know what was going on," Salmons said. "I was surprised that he said it, that he actually said it." If the Kings were, in fact, trying to land Iverson in Sacramento, the most obvious deal would likely involve the swapping of point guards. Kings point guard Mike Bibby -- who has an early termination option on his contract that would allow him to become a free agent after this season despite two seasons being left on his deal -- is owed $12.5 million for this season. Including the $18.2 million Iverson will make this season, his deal has three seasons and approximately $59 million remaining. The Kings would have to add a piece or two to make the deal work, as the players' salaries in a trade must be within 125 percent of each other. They also have five players with expiring contracts that could be attractive to Philadelphia, allowing them to clear up salary cap space for next season: Corliss Williamson, Jason Hart, Vitaly Potapenko, Ronnie Price and Maurice Taylor. The Kings also have a glut of younger players with promise to offer, from the seemingly untouchable Kevin Martin ($1 million this season) to second-year swingman Francisco Garc?a (approximately $1.1 million) and rookie Quincy Douby ($1.2 million). The interesting subplot would be in the history between Iverson and two of the current Kings players. Former 76ers Kenny Thomas and Salmons were both relieved to leave Philadelphia and have often spoken of the difficulties that come with playing with an offensive star who dominates both the opposition and the ball.</div> Source I don't know if Musselman has a strong enough reputation to handle both Artest and Iverson at the same time.
^ That's a long the lines of what I was thinking when I initially read that the Kings were in this thing. I'm sure that Artest is a better teammate than I imagine he is, but how maturely would he handle the addition of a guy who is a true superstar on his team? He's already showing frustration with the Kings not running their offense through him, how would he respond to Iverson dominating the ball? Musselman is another matter to consider. He's had some trouble already this year, and with Artest mad and talking to the media I can't imagine he'd react well to Iverson jumping on board. The Artest acquisition last season didn't blow up in the Kings' faces like many thought it might have, but getting Iverson could add more fuel to a potential explosion. I just don't think he's worth the risk. The Kings have some talented young players, and if they made any deal at all, especially a high-profile one like this, I would think they would want a big man far more than AI.
