The Denver Nuggets have reached an agreement in principle to
acquire former MVP Allen Iverson from the Philadelphia 76ers,
according to NBA sources.
Denver would send Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two 2007
first-round picks to the 76ers for the high-scoring Iverson, along
with perhaps another minimum-salaried player, an ESPN report citing
NBA front-office staff revealed on Tuesday.
Two weeks ago the 31-year-old Iverson demanded the 76ers trade
him with Sixers chairman Ed Snider agreeing to the request.
The team cleared out Iverson's locker and have benched him.
Philadelphia haves lost 11 straight games and has a 5-18 record --
the worst in the Eastern Conference.
Miller, the NBA assists leader in 2002 when he was with
Cleveland, is averaging 13 points and 9.1 assists this season while
Smith, an 11-year veteran, is scoring 5.1 points per game.
Iverson, is averaging 31.2 points in 15 games this season and
has a 28.1 career scoring average in 10 NBA campaigns.
He has led the NBA scoring rankings four times, most recently in
2005, and was the league's MVP in 2001.
The NBA's top scorer this season, Denver's Carmelo Anthony, was
suspended on Monday for 15 games after his role in the Nuggets'
brawl with the New York Knicks on Saturday night.
Anthony is averaging 31.6 points this season for the Nuggets,
who are second in the Northwest Division with a 14-9 record, and
will require Iverson's scoring to keep pace with front-running
Utah.
The trade will be completed pending league approval, ESPN
concluded.
(China Daily via Reuters December 20, 2006)