1-Year after the A.I. Trade: Was it the "Answer"?
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by Highlite15
Allen Iverson doesn't seem to think so:
"If I was still in Philadelphia, I don't think they would be in the predicament that they're in right now," Iverson said. "The way the East is, I would think that we would be right there in the hunt. . . . I look at (Philadelphia's) games right now, and it looks like a rec league game or an AAU game when you see the attendance there. It just looks dull." - Rocky Mountain News
Exactly one year from the worst day in the history of me being a Philadelphia 76ers fan I got to thinking: was that trade the answer? Was trading the most beloved basketball player in Philadelphia since Dr. J the right move to turn around the Sixers' plummeting attendance and unbearable performance? Let's take a look...
Sixers got:
Andre Miller,
Expiring contract of Joe smith and
2 first round draft picks - Jason Smith and the since-waived Derrick Byars (this kid was sick at Vanderbilt; I would take him over Rodney Carney any day of the week)
Nuggets got:
Allen Iverson
Ivan McFarland (not even worth mentioning)
Fast forward to December 19 th, 2007 what is the state of the Sixers one year later? Here are the top 5 positive outcomes of the trade:
- Billy King fired
- Billy King fired - and someone that actually knows how to spell basketball was hired
- Billy King fired - we won't have a GM with the brain of a chimpanzee spending the money
- We have enough money to aggressively go after Elton Brand this summer
- Andre Miller is a solid veteran pass-first PG to distribute the ball (if only he had anyone really worth passing to!)
And the negatives:
- Allen Iverson 2007 #s (I thought he was declining and couldn't keep up this pace?) :
- Best FG% of his career - 46.6%
- 2 nd best APG of his career - 7.5 (wait that's better than Andre Miller)
- Taking less 3pt shots and shooting the 4 th best % of his career - 32.8%
- On Dec. 5 th while the Sixers were getting handled by the Celtics in front of a half filled arena A.I. was preparing to drop 51 on the Lakers (I am crying as I type this!)
- No superstar worth paying to watch play
- Sixers record: 10-14 including the 5 th worst scoring offense (at least if they were high scoring they could be exciting to watch)
- Sixers average attendance: 12,126 (second worst in the NBA)
Bill Simmons says it best, "The lesson, as always: Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER trade a superstar for less than 75 cents on the dollar."
With that said I believe the jury is still out given the change in GM. The feeling in Philly now that Ed's the man is a sense of confidence and hope. I believe this summer will be the defining time for this franchise given the circumstances explained in the previous posts ( 1, 2). It will either be the changing of the tide for the Sixers or the continued agony of their fans.
http://reclinergm.wordpress.com/2007/12/19/1-year-anniversary-of-the-ai-trade-was-it-the-answer/
