By trading for Allen Iverson on Monday, the Detroit Pistons have added a player as hungry as any in the league for an NBA title.
You have to hand it to Joe Dumars.
As he demonstrated with the blockbuster deal that sent Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess, and Cheick Samb to Denver for Allen Iverson, the Detroit Pistons general manager is not afraid to make changes that have a major impact on his team.
People may not always believe what you say but they will believe what you do.
Joe D put all the Pistons on notice after another loss in the Eastern Conference finals last spring and as witnessed, it wasn’t just lip service.
After Dumars adapted the "no excuses, we didn’t get it done and we have to look at new ways of doing things" mantra, it looked like the extent of the house cleaning would be a new coach as Flip Saunders was fired at the end of the Pistons’ season.
The interesting revelation for many fans was that while Saunders lived up to his reputation as a gifted offensive coach, he had trouble managing the locker room at times. It had always been a guarded fact about Saunders until Richard Hamilton came out and articulated some of the issues that had previously been kept out of the public eye.
So with Saunders gone and no significant player moves made, it looked as if this season Detroit would make a run at another title with the tried, true and playoff tested core that won it all in 2004.
But not so fast as the trade Monday suddenly drastically changes the makeup of the Pistons.
Gone is Billups, the closest thing they had to a true point man as he has led the Pistons in assists since the 2002-03 season. He is one of the last of the "power" guards who can play in the post while combining quickness and strength on the perimeter.
The move is a gamble from Dumars, albeit a calculated one that could pay off in the long term as well if this approach does not work. Detroit is trying to do something difficult that doesn’t always work in the NBA and that is keeping a legitimate title hope in the cross-hairs while rebuilding. It looks like, at least in the short term, Dumars has accomplished both.
Detroit has added flexibility as Iverson’s contract comes off the books at the end of this season and that will give the Pistons some $20 million to spend this summer and, if you factor in Rasheed Wallace, who will also be a free agent this summer, Dumars will have close to $33 million to spend.
In the meantime, both Wallace and Iverson are veterans that understand what it takes to win and Iverson is particularly hungry for a title with his career in its late stages.
This is arguably the most talented group of players that Iverson has been with and many times a player in the twilight of his career suddenly starts to make sacrifices to try and win.
It’s not about the money or individual awards any longer for Iverson. It’s about a ring. Iverson’s injection into the lineup will give Detroit a boost as pound-for-pound, no one plays harder every night than Iverson and he has done it for 12 seasons averaging almost 42 minutes per game.
He may not practice all the time, but when the lights go on, he gives you everything.
Dumars has the long term covered as well with a young core of Rodney Stuckey, Jason Maxiell, and Amir Johnson (who looks like the second coming of Ben Wallace at the moment) while maintaining cap flexability for the next two seasons.
In Denver, they will save a little money and receive a point guard who will be a better fit with Carmelo Anthony. Billups, a local guy who went to high school in Denver and played at the University of Colorado, brings experience, a championship resume and his defense will be welcomed in the Mile High City.
The Nuggets have a bigger hill to climb in the west but with Billups, Anthony, Nene, and Kenyon Martin under contract for the next three seasons, they have a good foundation.
It is a deal that will see its final judgment passed some time in the future.
There is an old adage that says the team that received the best player wins the trade but as always in the NBA, with significant players changing teams, debates will rage.
Who received the better player?
What will the long term results be?
Let the deliberations begin.
