The first mega-deal of the 2008-09 season sure didn’t take long, huh?
While the league has yet to confirm what ESPN is reporting, it seems that Allen Iverson’s heading to Detroit in exchange for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb (solid name, right?).
I have to say that at first glance, off the top of my dome, I think Detroit got the better end of it. Here’s why:
Why does this matter to the Lakers, you ask?
To be honest, I’m not sure that it matters at all in the grand scheme of the Western Conference playoff picture. I think this helps the Nuggets win a few more games this season – enough to sneak into the playoffs – as well as saves them some luxury tax money, but does it give them enough to beat L.A.? Houston? New Orleans? San Antonio? Utah? Not on paper.
One thing I’d bank on – especially for you fantasy owners out there – is that Carmelo Anthony will have a huge statistical season … He just jumped like 15 spots in the rankings to just outside the top 10, if you ask me. Fighting for shots with A.I. is no longer an issue, meaning George Karl’s offense is going to feature ‘Melo almost more than any offense in the league features its star. And remember, FGAs transfer into fantasy points. Off the bench, J.R. Smith will huck them up while ‘Melo gets a breather, but the Syracuse National Champ just won’t be getting that much rest.
I’ll try and get a few of the Lakers to weigh in on the deal at practice today in an odd week where we’ll only see the purple and gold on the floor once, this Wednesday against the Clippers, before the Rockets come to town Sunday.
