The Iverson Trade: Making the best of a bad situation.

It has been reported by ESPN.com that Allen Iverson will be traded to the Denver Nuggets for Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two first round picks in next year's draft (the Nuggets also get some guy named Ivan McFarlin). My gut reaction: Embattled 76ers GM Billy King made the best of a bad situation.

The Sixers biggest problem is complete misallocation of resources; they are spending way too much on players that just don't produce. Their current payroll (pre-Iverson trade) is $75.2 million, which is the 4th highest in the NBA. Of that $75 million, more than a third of it goes to the often injured Chris Webber, and the extremely underwhelming Sam Dalembert. This is not a recipe for a championship. To fix this problem the Sixers needed to cut their payroll as much as possible so that they can build a team where the resources are allocated more in line with player production. In an ideal world, they could have traded away Webber and Sammy D., but in the real world they are virtually untradable, leaving the Sixers to trade one of their few assets; even if they get pennies on the dollar in return.

The trade that was executed today, though not perfect in addressing the team needs, when a long way to solving the problem. As it stands, the Sixers simply must eat the final two years on Webber's contract. Joe Smith gives them an expiring contract, and Andre Miller gives them a slightly overpaid, but competent point guard (more on Miller later). Most importantly, the Sixers now possess three first round picks in next year's draft; a draft that most experts say is the deepest in years.

Come next year the Sixers could be looking at a team that includes the likes of Greg Oden or Kevin Durant plus the two late round players via the Nuggets. A year after that, Webber is off the books and the Sixers are back in business.

One last thing on Andre Miller. He has worked with Carmelo Anthony during his development and helped him become an elite player. This be very helpful if the Sixers end up with Durant, who is a taller, more athletic version of Anthony.

All-in-all, this wasn't the best trade in the world, but the Sixers made the best of a bad situation.

~Travis~

One final note: Carmelo didn't just appear in a video with gang members, he appeared in a video with drug dealers who used the video to threaten violence ("a hole in the head") to those who snitch on dealers. No big deal? Hardly.