C - Marcus Camby PF - Kenyon Martin SF - Carmelo Anthony SG - J.R Smith PG - Allen Iverson NBA Live fans are having seizures worldwide.
This should be an awesome deal for the Nuggets. Iverson can continue to score while Melo is out and then should become a real point guard. 20ppg and 10apg as someone mentioned above is awesome and he should be extremely pleased with that. The main reason he should be happy to drop a few less points each night for Melo is simple - CHAMPIONSHIP RING! He doesn't have one and the next few years will be his last chance, but he won't get it having a scoring battle with a teammate. <div class="quote_poster">AKIRA Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">This, for me is like a whole new NBA, Iverson in the west? what number do you think he will wear, because i think someone allready has 3?</div> DeMar Johnson wears 3, but would not be suprised if he gives it up. Otherwise I reckon AI will take 4.
I don't think that the sixers got totally jipped. The sixers get Miller who can score and is a real playmaker, he still has guys to get the ball too. (Iggy - Korver) and two first round draft picks (including their own... that's three first round draft picks!) in mind you guys what is a very deep draft and a couple of strong players that will be taken first. They could trade up with those first rounds and have a chance to pick someone like Oden up. both sides benefited.
What does this deal do to Denver's salary cap flexibility? They have A.I., 'Melo, and Kenyon Martin (who still has 5 years/72 million dollars remaining on his contract) all on max deals for the next two years (A.I. comes off of the books in '09). Nene signed a 5 year 60 million dollar deal last offseason. Camby is still entitled to another 32 million for the next 4 years and they have marginal players like Eduardo Najera and Reggie Evans making close to the mid level exception. This deal was financial suicide for Denver. They will be over 35 million dollars over the salary cap next season with this current roster. Getting A.I. is great, but they should have at least included Nene or K-Mart to get this deal done. At the very least Reggie Evans or Najera. Owners have to basically spend double the money for every dollar over the salary cap. They aren't just going to make that up w/ ticket sales from Iverson arrival. From a basketball perspective this was a terrific trade for the Nuggets. From the business side, this move rivals any one move that George Karl's nemesis Isiah Thomas has made. This team has to find a way to dump payroll fast. They need instant results from this move to justify this type of spending. And when I say instant they need to be able to make a push towards the NBA Finals. With George Karl running the ship I can't imagine that happening. Where is Chuck Daly when you need him?
I have'nt seen Kenyon Martin play, is he injured? This is a GREAT roster but they have to find a way to play and they have to wait 15 games. But i think Iverson/Melo combo will work it out because they have to double one of them and Jr.Smith has played very good this season and Camby had a really good game last night. So i think Denver will explode when Melo will be back.
Who is going to pass with Iverson, Smith, and Melo? I feel bad for any of the Nugget teammates, because their shot opportunities will be very few. Also who locks down the opposing teams best wing player? I can't wait to see what happens at the end of games, does Iverson dominate the rock? How about if Melo misses 1 or 2 game winners? What happens if Melo is going off one night, does Iverson continue to share the ball? How about if Iverson is going off, does Melo continue to share the ball? I think this move limits both players 30-40 point games severely. Should be very interesting down in Denver. I'm not sold on this trade yet and I think Philly got a good deal. They got someone who will distribute the ball and they now have 3 firsts. btw, who was the other first in this deal? Were any of them protected? I think it starts off good, but then towards the end of the season there will be turmoil.
Hey now, same situation with Kobe and Shaq. They complained on who's team it was, one was saying the other ball hogged etc. etc. I think this will work. When the time to actually win, when it was playoff time Kobe and Shaq got it together and did what you have to do and that's play as a team to win.
um as far as the number 3 goes. Ivo will get that number if he wants it. but he just may change it for a new start.
I'm reading alot of articles about people predicting problems for the Nuggets now with A.I and Melo, although I dont think that will be the case. I think there will become more of a problem with Melo / A.I taking shots / playing time away from J.R Smith, who will now argubally be pushed aside to compensate for the 2 superstars. I personally think A.I will be willing to be more leniant towards making sure Melo gets his fair share of the ball, he will have to if he wants the championship he's craved for so long.
This could go one of two ways. 1. Chemistry is great between one great player and one great up and coming player. Both sacrifice for eachother and the team. 2. Chemistry is bad like when Webber came to Philly. AI skips practices and/or butts heads with Karl and this move becomes a disaster. I'm hoping from a Warrior's perspective it will be the latter, but I think honestly it will be more than likely the first option. I like the move coming from both sides. Nuggets obviously benefit, especially during this stretch where losing Melo and Smith for 15 games could put a HUGE damper on their win/loss column and hopefully AI can keep them at least around .500 for the time being until they come back. I also think this move will be good for Philly because AI was holding THIS team back. Iggy will be able to blossom under a true PG's touch. Miller will make ALL of his teammates better including Dalembert, Korver etc. Joe Smith is a wash. He has played in Philly so the fans know what to expect there. But the 2 first round picks could be great for a rebuilding franchise in a supposedly deep draft. I like the move. I am kind of glad the Warriors did not get AI, but kind of disappointed in a way too.
If AI REALLY wants that championship, he will defer to Melo. Not to say he still can't get 23-26 PPG, but Melo has to be the #1 option for this to work.
Denver's offense creates plenty of scoring opportunities for both players. George Karl is committed to running teams out of the gym and forcing the opposition to out score his group of players. This is the perfect offense for Iverson, and the fastbreak style Denver uses is going to make them tough to beat. Why has Denver failed in the post season the last few years? 1. Injuries 2. Teams doubled and triple teamed Melo This year teams aren't going to be able to focus their defense on just one player. Having another capable scorer on the floor changes the entire complexion of Denver's offense. Denver also has the perfect frontline role players to compliment Iverson and Melo. The Nuggets have one of the league's best shot blockers in Marcus Camby, and one of the better offensive rebounders in Reggie Evans. These guys don't care about scoring and will get Iverson and Melo second and third chance opportunities on offense. Shotblocking by Camby leads to fastbreak baskets on the other end, and allows Iverson to gamble on defense. Just think back to when he played with Theo Ratliff and Deke in Philly. Iverson was a menace in the passing lanes during that season, because he knew there was a second line of defense behind him incase he didn't come up with a steal. I agree with Shiek, they do need to dump Nene or KMart. They might have to wait until the summer to negotiate a deal. KMart is out for the season so he's impossible to to move, and teams haven't seen enough of Nene to believe he's 100% normal. If everything works out and Melo/Iverson/Karl can co-exist the Nuggets are probably one role player away from making a serious run at the NBA title.
I think alot of people are really underrating iverson in this trade. Iverson Averaging 20 and 10? c'mon he's still going to get his shots, i think at seasons end Iverson will be at around 27 and 8, while anthony will be around 26 pts per game. This team is built for the finals now. I think this team is only 1 good defender away from being the best team in the nba. The playoffs are all about adjustments, and there is absolutely no way a team will shut down iverson in a playoff game, much less iverson AND anothony. Come playoff time, i think there is going to be no stopping the Denver nuggets.
I can't WAIT until January 20th when Carmelo comes back. I personally think they are both going to do fine and be a hell of a duo.
do you guys forget what iverson does when he has talent around him? check out any of the last 7 allstar games. the dude knows how to run the point when the talent is there. now hes got plenty of talent around him the nuggets are gonna be dangerous.
