Pistons: AI
Denver: Billups and mcdyess
DETROIT, Michigan, Nov 3, 2008 (AFP) - Allen Iverson was traded from Denver to the Detroit Pistons on Monday in a major National Basketball Association deal that could improve the title chances of both clubs.
The 33-year-old guard, in the final year of a contract worth 21.9 million dollars this season, went to the Pistons while guard Chauncey Billups, forward Antonio McDyess and Senegalese center Cheikh Samb were sent to the Nuggets.
We are pleased to welcome Allen Iverson to the Pistons organization,'' said Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said. Allen has proven he is one of the elite players in the league and we like what he adds to our roster at the guard position.’’
Iverson, in his 13th NBA season, has played for Denver since being traded from Philadelphia in December of 2006 alongside Carmelo Anthony but the dynamic duo has never made the team into a contender.
The switch would send Iverson to a perennial title contender. Even though the Pistons last won the crown in 2004, they were in the 2005 NBA Finals and lost in the Eastern Conference final each of the past three seasons.
Detroit was ousted in the playoffs by Dwyane Wade-led Miami in 2006, LeBron James-sparked Cleveland last year and reigning NBA champion Boston last year as superstar talent overcame the Pistons’ team-based, defense-minded philosophy.
Iverson, a four-time NBA scoring champion, is averaging 18.7 points and 6.7 assists after three games of the new season. He boasts career averages of 27.7 points and 6.3 assists a game.
Iverson was named the NBA Most Valuable Player in 2001 when he helped lift Philadelphia to the NBA Finals, where the 76ers lost to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Denver-born Billups, 32, is averaging 12.5 points and 7.5 assists this season, his 12th in the NBA and seventh in Detroit.
McDyess, 34, began his 13-season career with the Nuggets, although this is his fifth campaign with the Pistons.