Hebrews 11:1

After last season ended without a trip to the NBA Finals, Detroit Pistons president Joe Dumars promised there would be no “sacred cows” and that everyone on his roster would be available.

When no moves were made during the summer, Pistons fans and players breathed a collective sigh of relief that the main core of the team would return for their chance at a seventh straight trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Turns out this was a bit premature because two games into the 2008/98 season Dumars pulled the trigger on a blockbuster deal which will see Allen Iverson head to Detroit in exchange for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb.

This isn’t the first time Detroit has traded for Iverson as Dumars was close to obtaining Iverson back in 2000 when the deal fell through at the last moment. According to Detroit Bad Boys, the initial deal for Iverson was so close to being completed Dumars had already called Roundball One to warmup on the runway.

Speculation that something might be brewing regarding Iverson started when he was stripped of his captaincy at the end of the preseason and then only averaged 13 shots per game over the Nuggets first three games of the season.

Since Denver is looking to build around young players like Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith, having those players sacrifice shots and playing time to Iverson didn’t make sense. By taking Iverson’s shot attempts out of the mix and replacing him with Billups in the backcourt, Denver will now be able to start Smith at shooting guard for the remainder of the season.

Denver will also have the benefit of an all-star caliber floor general which is something they’ve been lacking since they traded Andre Miller to Philadelphia.

Even if this gamble doesn’t work for the Pistons on the court, it may still pay dividends off the court because swapping Billups for Iverson provides Detroit with the financial flexibility it needed to pursue a youth based makeover next summer. The team has Rodney Stuckey and Jason Maxiell as the focal point of any youth movement, but will also have Tayshaun Prince as an experienced veteran signed to a conservative contract through the 2010/11 season.

As Henry Abbot pointed out earlier today, with over $40 million in contracts coming off the books by the summer of 2010 it’s not too far of a stretch to consider two elite players inking max deals that summer in Detroit.

The duo Abbott floated out as possibilities for signing with Detroit was LeBron James and Chris Bosh. While that idea should send shivers down the spines of fans and opposing general managers around the NBA, keep in mind Toronto is currently paying Bosh close to a max contract and will have Jermaine O’Neal’s deal worth more than $22 million coming off the books as well. While he’ll be a free agent, it’s doubtful he looks to sign anywhere besides Toronto considering they locked up Jose Calderon this summer and will be able to use O’Neal’s contract to ink another prominent free agent in the summer of 2010.

While the idea of Dumars inking two prominent free agents is something to get Pistons fans excited, countless other teams around the NBA will find them in similar financial positions to that of Detroit and it’s unlikely they will be able to match what Orlando achieved during the summer of 2000.

Photo Credit: ICON Sports Media

A big thank you goes out to Kristen Wise from adidas for helping to organize interviews with Josh Smith and T.J. Ford this weekend for Hoops Addict. You can read the interview Austin Kent conducted with Smith here and look for his interview with Ford to get posted later this month.

Even though Kristen’s already been a great asset to Hoops Addict this month, she dropped yet another dime to Hoops Addict tonight when she sent a bunch of pictures from the adidas Nations camp which recently wrapped up in Dallas. Thanks once again Kristen, you’re amazing!