The "Trade Allen Iverson" rumors are starting to become a summer time tradition, kind of like hearing the ice cream man's music for the first time. Once you hear Philly half-heartedly trying to trade AI, its safe to run through sprinklers, drink lemonade and swim in your neighbor's pool when they aren't home because they won't let you swim there anymore because for some reason they think you ruined their pool the one time you were there, even though you didn't really do that, it was like that when you got there....ah, where were we?
Oh, right - Iverson. Every year now, it seems, the Sixers aren't very good, so Philly claims it wants to ship the face of the franchise out of town. But there are a couple problems with this:
1) He isn't getting any younger. Iverson turns 31 in a couple of months, and with the way he plays - just throwing his body recklessly, almost carelessly into high risk situations - that age is higher than it looks. It makes you wonder how long he can keep that up.
2) His attitude. This is well documented, but showing up late for Fan Appreciation Night seems to be if not the final nail in the coffin, one of the last. Billy King was pissed. If a team is going to take him on, they are going to get an insane amount of hustle, energy at both ends and one of the greatest scorers ever, period. But they also get a borderline headcase. Iverson just plays by different rules, period, and that can be infuriating, but that's just the way he is. That isn't changing now.
3) You have to revolve your entire offense around him. And this seems to be the real hang up. Because if you are already a contender, you have guys who you are running your offense through, and if you bring in AI, its unlikely the two can coexist. There simply aren't enough basketballs for AI and any other top-flight player. And if you are in the building phase, bringing in AI means blowing up the rebuilding process.
So Iverson seems screwed. And he probably is. But we think we found a situation that could work. It isn't exactly ideal, but after looking over the rosters, it seems like the most viable move. Ship The Answer to Orlando. Trade him for Grant Hill, straight up.
Clearly, Philly just needs to start over. They should take whatever they can get for Iverson. And with one of the five-highest payrolls in the NBA, they need to start saving money too. Iverson makes 16 mil and change; Hill makes 15 mil and change, so the money works out. But Hill's contract expires at the end of next season. Getting Iverson's salary of the books should be enough incentive for Billy King to pull the trigger (on the trade, not on the gun that King has pointed at this temple). Plus, as a bonus, what if Hill gets healthy? What if he plays 70 games? When Hill is healthy, he's an All-Star, plus he has a great attitude. So roll the dice, Philly. And if you can find an option better than this, take it.
But why would Orlando make this trade? First of all, it gives them a chance to make a deep playoff run right away. Remember that Philly team lost to the Lakers in the finals? Iverson running around, shooting whenever he wanted - hey, kinda like now - but he had Mutumbo underneath to grab all his misses? Well, Orlando has The Man Child that is Dwight Howard underneath and guess what: he's second in the NBA in both overall and offensive rebounds. Dwight should be salivating at the chance to go get all those boards.
This really has a chance to work in Orlando, we think. They need to get a defensive stopper on the perimeter, and they can be a hell of a team. Having Iverson shifts defensive focus from Howard, who every time we see him, has three defenders just draped all over him. If Darko and Ariza continue to emerge, and they can convince Arroyo that "Orlando" is English for "Puerto Rico" so he plays like he does in the Olympics, and this is an automatic contender in the East. Plus, Iverson would look sweet in the shiny little starts. Do it, Orlando.
This may not be ideal for either team, but its close enough and its the best thing they are going to find. Pull the trigger, fellas.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Pull the trigger, Billy (not that one, though)
What if there were no conferences...
In case you were a fan of the Let's Get Rid of Conferences idea from yesterday, here's what the playoff matchups would be if all the playoffs consisted of what a 16-team bracket. And yes, we are aware that if there were no conferences, schedules would be different. The one thing that surprised us the most: 9 teams from the West got in, 7 from the East. We thought the discrepancy might be a little higher, like, you know, 14 from the West and 2 from the East. Guess we were wrong.
And another reason the NBA's current playoff system was designed next to a jungle gym and probably in crayon: the Nuggets and Kings both had 44 wins. Nuggets are a 3 seed, Kings are the 8 seed. The Nuggets are the worst team in the West's playoffs, and they are a 3 seed. Think about that for a second (but only for a second).
Couple of notes: NJ and Memphis tied for the 7 and 8 seeds with 49 wins apiece. We gave Memphis the 8 seed for no reason other than to see them play the Clippers again, to see if any franchise felt the need to tank a playoff game. Should be fun. Also, Indiana, Chicago and Utah all had 41 wins to earn the last three playoff spots. Our tiebreaker for those three team was win % against eachother. Indiana (14) was 4-2, Chicago (15) was 3-3 and Utah (16) was 1-3. Not exactly the most fool proof tie breaker, but what do you want from us? You got a better idea, let us know.
OK, enough babble. Here's the matchups, bracket style.
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(1) Pistons
(16) Jazz
AK 47 can think of no better time to take his wife up one her offer, considers using his one free pass. See's Detroit groupies. AK 47 reconsiders.
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(8) Grizzles
(9) Clippers
Hey, we can lose playoff games, too! Vin, put the bottle down, you're in!
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(5) Heat
(12) Nuggets
D-Wade vs. Melo in the playoffs. Wipe the drool of our faces (could these match ups be any more perfect?).
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(4) Suns
(13) Wizards
Probably a low-scoring, defensive affair.
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(6) Cavs
(11) Kings
Can Artest lock up LeBron (Good God, these storylines just write themselves).
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(3) Mavericks
(14) Pacers
Except for this one. Pacers are boring. Although Bill Walton said last night that Jason Terry "can single handedly win any single game he is playing in." Swear to God.
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(7) Nets
(10) Lakers
Rematch of the Finals from a few years back. Both teams were good then, though.
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(2) Spurs
(15) Bulls
The next great dynasty knocks off the last great dynasty.
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Wow, was that fun. So much fun, in fact, that we'll be back with the Elite Eight just in time for the NBA's second round. Until then, enjoy.
