A big question

It’s an end of an era.

And maybe that’s a good thing.

Allen Iverson has informed Philadelphia 76ers GM Billy King that he wants to be traded. Finally, a great player who deserves a ring but doesn’t have one will move out of the prolonged mediocrity of Philadelphia and try his luck winning that elusive championship with another team.

Let’s face it, the Sixers aren’t going anywhere in the next two to three years and are going to waste what’s left of Allen Iverson’s prime (if they haven’t wasted it already). After playing with another failed sidekick experiment (Chris Webber) and a couple of overpaid role players (Sam Dalembert, Kyle Korver, Kevin Ollie), AI gets a chance to play for a contender. Or, at the very least, he can turn a team on the cusp into a bona fide contender like Rasheed Wallace transformed the Detroit Pistons. Well, hopefully.

This trade might be Iverson’s last shot to win a title as superstar. So if for any reason it doesn’t pan out and he ends up past his prime and still ring-less, he has to opt for the Gary Payton Method – attach himself to the most dominant player in the game (in Payton’s case, Shaq) and ride his coattails to a title. I don’t think AI wants to be remembered that way. He’s too much of a competitor.

The tricky part is that there aren’t many good teams with enough assets and cap room to take on Iverson’s contract. Philadelphia would surely want some combination of young talent, expiring contracts and draft picks in return for a superstar of AI’s caliber.

Stephen A. Smith of ESPN and the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that those teams that are viable trade partners with the Sixers for Iverson are Dallas, Boston, Golden State, Memphis, Minnesota and Sacramento. Teams like Atlanta, who have a surplus of young players, also make sense. Word also has it that Iverson was about to be shipped to the Charlotte Bobcats before AI vetoed it. It’s pretty obvious AI doesn’t want to end up in a team that isn’t even thinking playoffs.

The team that makes the most sense to me is the Boston Celtics. They can package a couple of their young players, though they’ve said that they are reluctant to part with both pivot Al Jefferson and swingman Gerald Green. They can still ship a combination of Delonte West, Rajon Rondo, Tony Allen and Kedrick Perkins. Add in the contract of Theo Ratliff, who might retire, or Wally Szcerbiak and maybe a draft pick and I think it could work. It would be allowable money-wise, since Ratliff’s or Szcerbiak’s contract is big enough facilitate it. It makes sense for the Celts because they’ve wanted AI to team up with Paul Pierce since the off-season, believing it would catapult them into contention. The Sixers in return, get a couple of promising young players, draft picks, and maybe Ratliff’s contract that may be bought out or covered by insurance since he is unlikely to play again.

Another team that could make it out with Iverson is the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors have a lot of big contracts and young talent that make the trade for AI very plausible. They could very well send either Jason Richardson or Baron Davis and they would still look pretty good. The popular trade scenario involves J-Rich along with either Troy Murphy or Mike Dunleavy for Iverson. This would make Don Nelson’s small-ball team even smaller, and maybe more lethal.

Allen Iverson will probably land in a team like the Celtics or Warriors – teams that are deep, talented and on the verge of being a legitimate force but are young and inexperienced. AI would turn a team like that into a force to be reckoned with. Does Paul Pierce and Allen Iverson sound exciting? How about Baron Davis and Iverson? Kevin Garnett and AI?

Where will Allen Iverson get his shot at a title? "The Answer" will have to wait.