AI to the Celts???
- Thread starter AceHolla
- Start date
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brova007
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HELL YA , AI & PAUL P IZ A GOOD 1,2 PUNCH 
that rumor is officially over... but after seeing what the celtics INITIALLY offered, it would've been interesting to let that trade take place...
Iverson off trading block
Billy King: Team won’t pursue trade of A.I.
By Joe Juliano
Inquirer Staff Writer
After coming ever-so-close to trading Allen Iverson before last month's NBA draft, the 76ers and Billy King found offers from other teams for the superstar guard to be insufficient or downright laughable in the weeks since then.
So King has decided to end all the suspense over whether Iverson will be going elsewhere after a 10-year run in Philadelphia, saying yesterday that he has taken Iverson's name off of the trading block.
"I expect him to be on the roster at the start of training camp," the Sixers president and general manager said.
Asked if this meant Iverson would not be traded, King replied: "I've pretty much said that I expect him to be with us at the start of training camp. Our conversations with other teams at this point going forward do not include him."
If King maintains that position for the next two months, the Sixers will jet to Spain for the opening of training camp Oct. 1 with Iverson aboard. What Iverson's mood will be like after the rampant trade speculation of the last few months is anyone's guess.
There also is the issue of King's off-season declaration that he wanted to "change the culture of how we play and how we approach things" and how Iverson will respond to that.
"Things are going to be done one way, and it's going to be done my way," King said on the night of the NBA lottery in May. "Anybody who works for me will be on board, or they won't work for me."
During his Celebrity Summer Classic, Iverson said he definitely wanted to be a 76er unless the team didn't want him. He said he didn't see why he had to be the one who was traded, but hoped a decision on whether to move him would be made soon.
Leon Rose, Iverson's agent, said last night that King informed Iverson of his decision yesterday in person and that the two men had "a very positive meeting regarding the future of the team."
"Allen is very excited and looking forward to the season," Rose said. "He's happy that he can now fully focus on basketball, knowing he's going to be here."
The chance that Iverson would be traded during the off-season reached a peak around the time of the NBA draft June 28.
According to reports, the Sixers were ready to deal Iverson to Boston in a three-team arrangement that would have allowed them to move up to the No. 7 spot in the draft and take former Villanova guard Randy Foye. The Sixers supposedly would have received Gerald Green from the Celtics and Carlos Boozer from the Utah Jazz.
But the Celtics backed off of the deal. Since then, Danny Ainge, the team's executive director of basketball operations, has continued to talk with King in an attempt to obtain Iverson but his offers have been rebuffed.
The Denver Nuggets also were believed to have gone after Iverson, offering Andre Miller and one of their big men - Kenyon Martin, Marcus Camby or Nene. But nothing worked out there, either.
Iverson, who will begin 2006-07 needing 885 points to reach 20,000 for his career, is coming off one of his finest seasons. In 72 games, he averaged a career-high 33.0 points and 7.4 assists while shooting 44.7 percent from the field.
But the Sixers finished 38-44 and missed the playoffs. They also left their followers with a bad taste after Iverson and Chris Webber failed to emerge from the locker room on Fan Appreciation Night, the team's final home game, because they weren't playing.
The Sixers have been quiet this off-season. They re-signed restricted free agents Willie Green and Shavlik Randolph, but let John Salmons go to Sacramento after rescinding their qualifying offer to him in the wake of Salmons' change of heart on a sign-and-trade deal with Toronto. They picked up Rodney Carney, Bobby Jones and Edin Bavcic in the draft.
King said he is still working on possible trades and speaking to representatives of free agents, although he acknowledged the group of remaining free agents is not a great one.
But responding to fans impatient that the Sixers haven't yet made a trade or a free-agent signing, King noted the signing period began only two weeks ago.
"We're going to keep working," he said, "but we're not going to do a deal just to say we did something. We're still striving to do something. Signing Willie was a plus, and we're going to continue to see what's out there. The teams that made a big splash in free agency are the teams that had a lot of cap room."
The Sixers are over the salary cap and close to the luxury-tax threshold of $65.42 million.
King, who attended the Rocky Mountain Revue summer league in Salt Lake City, said second-year guard Louis Williams, who averaged 22.0 points, was very impressive.
"I thought he proved that he belongs in this league and that he can play at this level, at a high level," he said.
Iverson off trading block
Billy King: Team won’t pursue trade of A.I.
By Joe Juliano
Inquirer Staff Writer
After coming ever-so-close to trading Allen Iverson before last month's NBA draft, the 76ers and Billy King found offers from other teams for the superstar guard to be insufficient or downright laughable in the weeks since then.
So King has decided to end all the suspense over whether Iverson will be going elsewhere after a 10-year run in Philadelphia, saying yesterday that he has taken Iverson's name off of the trading block.
"I expect him to be on the roster at the start of training camp," the Sixers president and general manager said.
Asked if this meant Iverson would not be traded, King replied: "I've pretty much said that I expect him to be with us at the start of training camp. Our conversations with other teams at this point going forward do not include him."
If King maintains that position for the next two months, the Sixers will jet to Spain for the opening of training camp Oct. 1 with Iverson aboard. What Iverson's mood will be like after the rampant trade speculation of the last few months is anyone's guess.
There also is the issue of King's off-season declaration that he wanted to "change the culture of how we play and how we approach things" and how Iverson will respond to that.
"Things are going to be done one way, and it's going to be done my way," King said on the night of the NBA lottery in May. "Anybody who works for me will be on board, or they won't work for me."
During his Celebrity Summer Classic, Iverson said he definitely wanted to be a 76er unless the team didn't want him. He said he didn't see why he had to be the one who was traded, but hoped a decision on whether to move him would be made soon.
Leon Rose, Iverson's agent, said last night that King informed Iverson of his decision yesterday in person and that the two men had "a very positive meeting regarding the future of the team."
"Allen is very excited and looking forward to the season," Rose said. "He's happy that he can now fully focus on basketball, knowing he's going to be here."
The chance that Iverson would be traded during the off-season reached a peak around the time of the NBA draft June 28.
According to reports, the Sixers were ready to deal Iverson to Boston in a three-team arrangement that would have allowed them to move up to the No. 7 spot in the draft and take former Villanova guard Randy Foye. The Sixers supposedly would have received Gerald Green from the Celtics and Carlos Boozer from the Utah Jazz.
But the Celtics backed off of the deal. Since then, Danny Ainge, the team's executive director of basketball operations, has continued to talk with King in an attempt to obtain Iverson but his offers have been rebuffed.
The Denver Nuggets also were believed to have gone after Iverson, offering Andre Miller and one of their big men - Kenyon Martin, Marcus Camby or Nene. But nothing worked out there, either.
Iverson, who will begin 2006-07 needing 885 points to reach 20,000 for his career, is coming off one of his finest seasons. In 72 games, he averaged a career-high 33.0 points and 7.4 assists while shooting 44.7 percent from the field.
But the Sixers finished 38-44 and missed the playoffs. They also left their followers with a bad taste after Iverson and Chris Webber failed to emerge from the locker room on Fan Appreciation Night, the team's final home game, because they weren't playing.
The Sixers have been quiet this off-season. They re-signed restricted free agents Willie Green and Shavlik Randolph, but let John Salmons go to Sacramento after rescinding their qualifying offer to him in the wake of Salmons' change of heart on a sign-and-trade deal with Toronto. They picked up Rodney Carney, Bobby Jones and Edin Bavcic in the draft.
King said he is still working on possible trades and speaking to representatives of free agents, although he acknowledged the group of remaining free agents is not a great one.
But responding to fans impatient that the Sixers haven't yet made a trade or a free-agent signing, King noted the signing period began only two weeks ago.
"We're going to keep working," he said, "but we're not going to do a deal just to say we did something. We're still striving to do something. Signing Willie was a plus, and we're going to continue to see what's out there. The teams that made a big splash in free agency are the teams that had a lot of cap room."
The Sixers are over the salary cap and close to the luxury-tax threshold of $65.42 million.
King, who attended the Rocky Mountain Revue summer league in Salt Lake City, said second-year guard Louis Williams, who averaged 22.0 points, was very impressive.
"I thought he proved that he belongs in this league and that he can play at this level, at a high level," he said.
tough situation, it's painfully obvious that Philly is nothing more than a 7 or 8 seed playoff team if that much.
I wouldn't mind seeing AI somewhere else. They can't build around him. He would be great on a team with a legit post threat. I bet he is gone around the trade deadline next year.
I wouldn't mind seeing AI somewhere else. They can't build around him. He would be great on a team with a legit post threat. I bet he is gone around the trade deadline next year.
