A.I. is finally gone...traded to the Denver Nuggets, along with Ivan McFarlin, for point guard Andre Miller, the expiring contact of forward Joe Smith and a pair of first-round draft picks.
Here's The Phanatic's take on the deal:
John McMullen - It could have been better but it could have been much worse. When dealing with a general manager like Billy King, you almost have to grade on a curve. The best case scenario in my mind would have been to get a solid contributor, a lottery pick and an expiring deal for Iverson but that's pie in the sky type stuff.
King managed to get two of those things done. Miller is a solid, if unspectacular NBA point guard and Smith's deal will expire at the end of this season. The two first-round picks look good on paper but don't expect much there. Both choices will be late first-round picks and King and the Sixers scouting staff aren't going to uncover the next Tony Parker.
The best deal on the table was from Golden State, which offered Baron Davis, Andris Biedrins and Troy Murphy. That trade wouldn't have offered the Sixers salary cap relief but it would have given the club three solid players to team with the lottery pick that will be coming their way in the offseason.
Jared Trexler: I hate to slightly disagree with my colleague, but the late first-round picks are more valuable in an upcoming draft which may be the deepest in league history. Players available in the low-to-mid 20's could include the high on heart but undersized Tyler Hansbrough from North Carolina, Wisconsin forward Alando Tucker and athletic swingman Acie Law out of Texas A&M. That's prized talent for the late first round.
Miller is a stable fixture, a viable ball handler and perfect point man to surround with young players who love to run the floor. Joe Smith is what he is, an expiring contract here as a four-month rental.
Iverson will be missed. He did great things for this franchise, but it was time to move on. GM Billy King looked for more, but probably waited too long. If Carmelo Anthony wasn't suspended, Denver probably wouldn't have been so desperate and King would probably still be looking for the "perfect" deal.
In the end, the marriage was over. It just took the Sixers longer than necessary to get back in the game.
Michael Rushton: Like McMullen said, this couldn't have been the best offer on the trade, but maybe it was the only one that would actually become reality. Rumors of three and four-team trades sounded as complicated as they probably were, so maybe this was the only trade out there that King understood.
Seriously, the 76ers could have gone two ways. They could have made it a total salary dump, or got a combo of players that would have quickened the rebuilding process when paired with Philly's own upcoming lottery pick. King decided to go down the middle path.
Miller can pass, no doubt. He is averaging over nine assists per game this season, but that number is sure to drop now that he isn't passing to Carmelo Anthony. But he is what Iverson wasn't; a true point guard who only takes about 10 shots a game.
I could care less if Smith every suits up. And by the way, how lucky are Nugget fans. They lose the NBA's leading scorer for 15 games so they go out and replace him with the guy right behind him. Nice.
The two draft picks will be the wild card. They matter less if the 76ers get the No. 1 overall pick, aka, Greg Oden. The other two picks will be mere compliments. And Philly does have one thing going for it. This will be the first draft absent of straight out of high school players. So, no late round gambles on raw talents. Freshman who should come out will, those who fail to adjust at the college level will hopefully stay. Hopefully, there will be some solid battle-test college vets available for the 76ers.
Maybe one of them will be able to shoot.
Tim McManus: The next time a superstar is traded for equal value will be the first. As the Barkley swap taught us, all the role players in the world cannot match the impact that a world-class talent brings.
The only real way to draw a positive from the situation, then, is to at least make sure you put the organization in a position to recover down the road. And to that end, the Sixers fared pretty well.
Andre Miller is a nice player, but the reality is that his contract will be up by the time this club is ready to seriously compete again. Instead the promise lies in the draft picks. Drafting in the NBA is often like shooting blindfolded. Under that premise (and especially with King involved) it's always better to have a few extra rounds to ensure you hit the mark at least once.
The team is healthier cap-wise and in very good position to build a contender via the draft. It is the decisions that are made from here on out, particularly in late June, that will determine whether or not this was a good trade.
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