May 21, 2013

Iverson for Billups Rumored Close

November 3, 2008 by 20 Comments

Chauncey BillupsAccording to those ubiquitous “sources” that seem to be quoted so frequently in the media, the Nuggets and Pistons have agreed in principal on a trade that would really change the landscape of the Cavs’ division and the East overall.

According to ESPN: 

The Nuggets and Pistons have agreed in principle on a trade that would send Allen Iverson to Detroit and Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb to Denver, sources have told ESPN.

The deal has not been finalized.

I am not sure exactly how I feel about this yet.  My initial reaction is that it might actually be good for the Cavs.  Chauncey Billups is a really good player.  So is Allen Iverson, but I suspect that stylistically he is easier for the Cavs to deal with than an all-out team concept that Billups contributes to in Detroit today.  The story of this trade will probably not be evident until we see how guys like Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, and Tayshaun Prince play after the trade.  

All I can say right now is that the Pistons must have great faith in Rodney Stuckey and Jason Maxiell if they truly are saying goodbye to Billups and McDyess.

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  • Swig

    I think Detroit will be a solid regular season team (and more fun to watch), but this is conceding the East championship to either us or Boston. No way are they a playoff team anymore (especially with wallace’s guaranteed missing one game do to suspension).

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com Scott

    I was amazed to see that ‘Sheed wasn’t ejected once last year, FWIW.

    Sounds like a three-headed backcourt monster to me.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com RockKing

    I just don’t get it. If Detroit is going to use AI as their PG, they are in SERIOUS trouble. If they are going to start Stuckey at the point and bring Hamilton off the bench, well, I can’t wait to see what that does to their chemistry.

  • Lyon

    I want to know what their rotation will be now? Realistically they can’t have AI at PG like Rock said. So that means either Prince or Hamilton doesn’t start. Seems to me like Dumars made the move w/o thinking of the chemistry. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them move Wallace before the deadline either since Dumars doesn’t seem to be too huge on him anymore.

    Overall, doesn’t affect the Cavs too much since we have to worry about our own problems before we can even begin to worry about other teams

  • Lyon

    and by our own problems i mean Mike Brown

  • david

    this is an outstanding trade for the pistons. with sheed and AI coming off the books they are going to have a lot of cap room to work with their young guys stuckey, johnson, and maxeil, not to mention tayshaun and rip.

    furthermore, the pistons are good enough defensively that they can take the hit of losing chauncey and adding the answer. This gives the pistons a scorer who can absolutely take over games even at this stage of his career. this is the best situation allen has ever been put into, i think he is ready and understands this is his last best chance at a title. being with carmelo was never right- the pistons are a veteran team and rip will be able to co-exist with AI.

    this isnt good for the cavs, who are still probably a little bit better than the pistons- assuming sczerbiak’s contract delivers an al harrington type post presence

  • Kevin Bill

    I read that the Nuggets might buy out Mcdyess contract. I think he would be a huge pick up for the Cavs if they could sign him.

  • Ricky

    This is awesome, AI is over the hill, not good enough to demand the amount of shots he is going to take. He cannot take over games anymore, unless he gets hot which doesn’t happen very often anymore. He isn’t a good distributor and if he plays PG then Rock is right, they are in trouble. Billups was a leader on that team and AI is not a leader at all. This hurts their defense too, Billups was a solid defender and AI is not at all. The Cavs are now clearly the 2nd best team in the East in my view.

    Detroit is looking at a lot of salary cap flexibility right now though, maybe that is what they are going for

  • swig

    Duh, they made the move to sign LeBron in 2010. How stupid of me to miss that…
    http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-36-1/Joe-Dumars-Strikes-Again.html

  • http://farmersonly.com Jordan

    How long does Ray Lewis need to be up in the banner?

  • The Bambino

    I don’t know what Dumars is doing but there is a reason for it, that I am certain. Guy makes good moves. And I do think Stuckey is ready for prime time action, the guy was really coming on at the end of last season. Yes, AI is in the twilight of his career, but so is Chauncey. He’s older than you think (33 years old)

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com RockKing

    Dumars is making a run at any of the big free agents in 2010. And I gotta say, if I were LeBron, I wouldn’t want any part of the mess that’s in NY, but Detroit would be an intriguing option. I’m just saying.

    Oh, and Jordan, it will be up until next Sunday……unfortunately. I really hate it, but a bet is a bet.

  • http://www.jrosen.wordpress.com Jacob Rosen

    Chauncey Billups was the best player on the Detroit Pistons for the last several years, and his absence will be missed greatly. In addition, one cannot underestimate the impact of McDyess. As a big body and solid rebounder he continued to be an above average all-around contributor well into his old age.

    I have always been skeptical of Iverson’s complete potential as a team player and all around wins contributor. Unlike Billups, he has never been that reliable in terms of anything else besides bulk scoring, but he is much less efficient in that category than most players. This brings the Pistons down a notch in the East, if for no other reason then for their short-term chemistry.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com/ Rick

    The worst kept secret in sports right now is that Detroit expects Antonio McDyess to refuse to play for Denver, who will cut him, and he signs with the Pistons again. Detroit radio is talking about it, and I have received several emails about it.

    Look David Stern, if you are really concerned about the image of your league, then this kind of thing has to stop.

    We saw it last year with Sam Cassell, and we saw it with the Jason Kidd trade. If a GM (ahem..Dumars) is able to get away with this kind of stunt how is that worse than what Donaghy did? Isn’t this just as damaging to the integrity of the league that teams can circumvent the rules whenever they feel like it?

  • TampaBrett

    This is crazy.

  • Ike

    As a Cavs fan, I love this trade. If there was one thing Larry Hughes did for the Cavs, it was lock up Chauncey Billups. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but without Larry Hughes the Cavs would have much more trouble vs. a Pistons team headed by Billups.

    McDyess performed relatively well against Cleveland as well. This is another guy I’m glad I won’t have to see come April.

    I definitely think this helps the Cavs.

  • The Bambino

    Rick-

    Yes, is it horsefeathers.
    However, it is in a MUCH different catagory than officials making calls that influence the outcomes of NBA games. I hope that was a kneejerk reaction…lol

  • P@

    I have to agree with the majority of the comments out there… this is definitely good for the Cavs. Iverson is actually a more efficient player as far as shooting percentages go than he was during his prime, which leads me to believe he has been more selective in his shot-taking since he went to Denver. He may not have technically been a point guard in the past, but he seems capable of that role posting around 6-7 assists per game v. 3-4 turnovers per game over his career. I don’t think assist/to ratio is a very good indicator of anything though and 4 TO per game is too high for a PG in my opinion. Also, I don’t really remember the Cavs ever having a terribly hard time guarding Iverson. So my gut tells me that Iverson is a better option for Mo, Boobie, and Delonte to face v. the bigger/stronger Billups.

  • doug1121

    Can’t say I’m thrilled about this, even though Iverson’s older and his presence could disrupt the Pistons’ chemistry. Answer’s always capable of dropping 40 on a team, and he’s had his share of torrid shooting nights against the Cavs. I’ll feel better about this trade (if it does go thru) once our own offense gets going. I’d like to see a big road W against the Mavs 2night before some winnable games at home.

  • bridgecrosser

    Great deal by the Pistons…. Very interested to see what happens to McDyess who will be bought out by Denver – poss going back to DET. What about CLE (and cut Lorenzen Wright or Jawad)?