Asked if it was safe to eliminate the Spurs from the Iverson sweepstakes, head coach Gregg Popovich paused for effect, pulled on his chin, looked at the ceiling as if in deep thought, then said, "Yes."
Iverson has asked the 76ers to trade him and team officials have acknowledged they are working to grant his request. While the Spurs don't have any reason to dramatically reshape their roster, Popovich knows why other teams would be interested in making a blockbuster deal for Iverson.
"He's a gamer," Popovich said. "He's a competitor. He makes things happen, and he's obviously a huge draw any place he is. So I'm sure there will be a good enough number of teams talking to (Sixers president) Billy (King) right now."