IVERSON FOR BILLUPS
The Detroit Pistons acquired guard Allen Iverson from the Denver Nuggets for guard Chauncey Billups, forward Antonio McDyess and center Cheikh Samb.
What does it give the Detroit Pistons
In Iverson the Pistons are bringing in an element they haven't had for years: true clutch scoring. While Billups has his moments as a go-to scorer, Iverson is one of the top clutch point-getters in the NBA and he can simply take over games when it matters. Iverson is also a highly underrated passer (with a career 6.3 assists-per-game average, which is higher than Billups' 5.5). Moreover, Iverson is in the final year of his contract, which will give the Pistons more flexibility moving forward (since Billups had four seasons left on his). Overall this is an interesting move for Detroit, which had to do something in the scoring department to have a chance at another title with its aging core.
What does it give the Denver Nuggets
Billups gives the Nuggets a more fundamentally-sound, more traditional point guard than Iverson. When Iverson struggled, so did the Nuggets (since he dominates the ball so much). Billups makes far fewer turnovers than Iverson and doesn't take as many shots, so this move should really boost the value of Denver's other top scorers (Carmelo Anthony and probable new starting 2-guard J.R. Smith). Denver is locked into the aging Billups for three seasons after this one, but he doesn't seem in decline. The additions of McDyess and Samb seem to be primarly about making the money add up, although if McDyess stays with the Nuggets this season he will probably be a regular rotation player.
Fantasy impact
