The Nuggets are certainly making a lot of noise. After that fracas in the Garden, which gobbled up most of the media attention, they go ahead and make the biggest trade of the past 3 seasons. I can’t say I blame them for getting Allen Iverson. With their current roster, they only had an outside chance of toppling Dallas or San Antonio. Now, they’ve upgraded from outside chance to moderate chance just by making the move. Without even playing a single game with Iverson, teams are (or should be) already afraid of the Nuggets just by the thought of them. Whether or not that fear is justified will be known come playoff time.

I like this trade for a couple of reasons:

1. This isn’t trading for Steve Francis when you already have Stephon Marbury. This is trading for Shaquille O’Neal when you already have Dwyane Wade.
2. This isn’t Toronto or Seattle trading for a washed up star like Hakeem Olajuwon or Patrick Ewing like they did early this century. This is Phoenix trading for Charles Barkley when he still has some superstar gas left in his tank.
3. Allen Iverson at 31 years old is not Allen Iverson at 25. I’m sure he knows what it takes to win, having gone to the Finals that one time. He knows he has to sacrifice his game. Heck, I’m sure, after all those years of doing everything himself, he welcomes the chance to lay back a bit, and defer to a budding star like Carmelo Anthony.
4. This team isn’t coached by a fruit like Isiah Thomas. This team doesn’t run an offense that fits the style of its players terribly (like Thomas’ offense with the Knicks. You have two (three if you count Crawford) of the most ball-hungry, prolific scoring point guards in the league and you run a motion-based offense?) This Nuggets team is coached by the same guy who coached Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton into co-existence and a trip to the finals and coached Sam Cassell, Glenn Robinson and Ray Allen to the conference finals. He can handle egos and guys who want to score. He also runs one of the fastest-paced offenses in the league.