Over the past few months it looked as though the Allen Iverson Era was over in Philadelphia. Numerous teams were rumored to have contacted 76ers GM Billy King about the ten-year veteran, and a prospective deal that would have sent Iverson to Boston seemed to be halted just hours before completion.
My last column highlighted a few possible destinations for A.I. and I received a great deal of responses from readers who had also come up with plausible deals to move Iverson out of the Philly. Even Iverson himself seemed to realize that his days as a 76er might being come to an end.
While all signs pointed to a new home for one of the league?s best players, Tuesday news broke out of Philadelphia that Allen may not be going anywhere after all.
King told a Philadelphia news source on Tuesday afternoon that he fully expects to see Iverson in a 76er uniform this fall. He went on to say that, ?Allen and I have talked about it, and he wants to be here and is excited to be playing for us.?
How Iverson could forgive and forget what has transpired this offseason is beyond me, but Sixers fans are now calling for Billy King?s head. Over the past month or so Iverson trade talks have dominated RealGM?s Sixers? forum with over fifty pages of posts discussing possible deals that involved sending A.I. out of town.
Now King has everyone, fans included, confused. After shopping his franchise cornerstone for the past few months he has now decided to keep his best player. Could it be because King wasn?t getting the kind of players in return that he desired?
Philadelphia will now be saddled with Iverson and his enormous contract through 2009. The contracts of Iverson and Chris Webber will keep Philly above the salary cap through 2008, and that will make surrounding A.I. will complementary pieces quite difficult. This means that Sixers? fans shouldn?t expect to see Iverson contending for a title in Philadelphia until at least 2010.
By then Iverson will be far past his prime, and will be entering his fourteenth season in the league, a long time for a player who has taken the physical beating he has throughout his career. I?m not saying Iverson can?t help a team win now, but by 2010 I?m not sure he?ll be more than an elder superstar who?s best contribute would be deferring to his younger teammates a la Gary Payton.
Therefore by not trading Iverson, King has not only relegated Iverson to another three years of watching lottery balls bounce, but he has also handcuffed the entire Sixers franchise for at least another few seasons.
Webber, another bad decision by King, will become a free agent in the summer of 2008, giving him two more years on the Sixers roster. Over those two seasons he?ll be paid nearly $45 million dollars for his services. Iverson will make around $39 million over the same period of time.
As he stands now King will enter the 2006-2007 season with two of the five highest paid players in basketball, and the second highest payroll in the league. The Sixers finished in second place in the futile Atlantic division last season, something that will be a much harder task next season.
While the Celtics and Raptors have improved through both the draft and trades, the Nets still have their three-headed monster of Kidd, Carter, and Jefferson, which means it may be a struggle for Philadelphia to finish any higher than fourth in their division. If Isiah and the Knicks can finally figure things out, then the Sixers are looking at last place.
In addition to all that their competitors have gained, the Sixers recently lost promising free agent John Salmons to the Kings via free agency. Making their thin roster even weaker.
If trading the Answer wasn?t the best solution then what is?
Andrew can be reached via e-mail at Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com