Iverson for Billups
People were waiting for Joe Dumars to make his big move and he's done it. The question is: does this make Detroit more of a threat or does it make another move more necessary?
The first and most obvious change for the Pistons is defense; Iverson is nowhere near the defender Billups is. Whereas before they could count on Billups to curb the opposition's point of attack, Iverson isn't really stopping (or even slowing down) anyone.
On the other hand, Iverson is going to prevent more of a problem for opposing PG's. I'm far more nervous about Rondo having to defend AI than Chauncey. Cleveland's addition of Mo Williams looks even dicier now that he's going to stuck on one of the best scorers in league history.
But how does AI fit the offense? Will Rip still be effective running off screens when Iverson is running the point? Do you now look to move Rip for a shooting guard who might better complement AI? Do you try to make a Celtics-like All-Star squad by moving Rip in a deal for T-Mac or Vince? I'm not sure you do but it's going to be interesting to see how the Pistons' offense looks now.
For the future, AI's expiring deal (along with 'Sheed expiring deal) gives the Pistons a ton of cap space in the near future. The problem for me though is that I'm not a huge fan of their young guys. Stuckey is good and could be very good (but I don't see him ever being great) while Maxiell and Amir Johnson are solid but nothing special.
As for the Nuggets, I think it's a great deal. They were never getting any cap space so losing AI's expiring deal for Billups's four years isn't an issue. Also, this is a deal that helps shore up their biggest weakness (defense) while letting others on the team expand their offense. AI is an amazing scorer but that was never what the Nuggets needed. If anything, I think he might have hurt 'Melo's offense and he most certainly didn't do much to help JR Smith on the court. A Billups/Smith/Melo backcourt is a much better fit and should help solidify the Nuggets spot in the playoffs. How far they'll go is up to 'Melo and JR.
So judging the deal, the Nuggets just got better while the Pistons definitely got different; whether they are better or not is anyone's guess.
