Allen Iverson may wind up, when his career concludes, his generation’s version of Dominique Wilkins.  Between the two they have accumulated 45,783 points, 16 all-star game appearances, one MVP award (Iverson, 2001), and the most important number (I harp on it every time)…zero
championship rings.

Scroll the local Philadelphia papers online and headlines of negativity are abundant.  They all convey the similar sense the Sixers are immersed in an era of dark, depressing and overt futility.

           
If “A.I.” ever wins an NBA championship it will all but undoubtedly be in another team’s uniform, not a 76ers jersey.

           
We have seen Iverson jettisoned into the midst of trade speculation before.  He would have been the property of the Detroit Pistons in the summer of 2000 along with Matt Geiger had it not been for Geiger citing the no-trade clause agreement in his contract.  Iverson would then lead the Sixers to the NBA finals the following season, only to lose to the Lakers in five.

           
Other big names in the league have been subject to trade rumors in the past.  Kobe Bryant was rumored to be out of Los Angeles before they decided to keep him and trade off Shaq.  Paul Pierce’s name has popped up recently, Kevin Garnett was supposed to be traded this summer and all of a sudden Jermaine O’Neal appears to be out of Indiana.

           
The difference between these players and Iverson?  Iverson’s name is the one constant in trade talks not just this summer, but the last few.  For the last couple years, he always seems to be on the verge of exiting Philadelphia, though he has stated time and again his love for Philly and how much his family enjoys living there.

           
Iverson, a player still capable of scoring 30 points a game and selling out arenas in any city on any night, was not even invited to tryout for the U.S. basketball team.

           
And have you seen the names the Sixers would receive in a supposed trade for Iverson?  They include the likes of Carlos Boozer, Wally Szczerbiak, Gerald Green, and the already traded draft night Duke alum, Shane Battier.

           
Those are nice players, but….COME ON!

           
What happened here?  This nonsense with the salary cap and midlevel exemption this and luxury tax that!

           
How rare is it in almost any sport these days to see one great player traded for another.  In the NBA the salaries have to match up to something like within 10% of each other.  So hypothetically the Sixers could be trotting out on the floor Wally Szczerbiak, a draft pick to be named later and maybe some cash next season as the grand prize for trading Iverson away?

           
Talk about rebuilding.

           
This is the same franchise that is on their third coach since Larry Brown finally took off for Detroit. 

           
Amazingly, after all the criticism Brown took in Philadelphia, it was he who knew how to utilize Iverson the best: surround him with gritty, tough defensive-minded players who don’t really care about scoring points or shooting the ball.

Three years later Billy King has figured that out and has set out to pluck players from the defense tree.

           
Here is one lesson learned for anyone reading that wishes to be a future general manager:

           
Don’t listen to the fans.

In Philly, they cried and cried for 3-point shooters and guys that had an impressive number after
“points per game” on the stats sheet.  The mindset of the Sixers organization had shifted and the result was allowing their opponents to score 101.3 points per game along with no playoff appearance this past season.

Over Brown’s tenure, he had built a roster of guys lie George Lynch, Theo Ratliff, and Eric Snow.  They were hard-nosed defensive players, but the talk radio stations took calls from fans complaining Ratliff needed to develop more of an offensive repertoire, Snow couldn’t shoot, and Lynch would be better off the bench.

After Brown left, Philly got their 3-point shooter (Kyle Korver), their big name to play next to Iverson (Chris Webber), and a young stud developing in the wings (Andre Iguodala).  The Philly-cynic would break those three down as respectively, a guy who cant play defense, a guy with bad knees in his mid-30’s who doesn’t want to play defense, and a guy who stalled in his development his second year leaving him with no mid-range jump shot.

Since the day Iverson was drafted, there have been those who said you can’t win a championship with a 6-foot shooting guard.  The position wears you down by the time playoffs roll around and taller guards can expose you on defense.  Maybe that assessment is not too far off, a little over-simplified, but not far off.

Sixers GM Billy King now finds himself on the hot seat.  Should he trade Iverson?  If he does, what will he get back?  With limited cap availability, who should he sign in free agency?  Is there anyone else worth trading?  Where is the defense going to come from?  All the while the fans and media are hounding him, playing Monday morning quarterback with his past moves, criticizing what he is doing, and telling him what he should do.

Billy King is a nice guy.  A few summers ago, the rumored hot name to be coming to the Sixers was shot-block specialist Keon Clark.  I met King at a radio event where he was serving as a judge in a bikini contest.  I asked him what was up with Keon Clark.

            “We getting’ him or what?” I asked.

            “We’re working on it,” King replied and smiled.