According to everyone and their grandma, Denver has traded Allen Iverson to Detroit in exchange for Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess. Here's what they're saying out in the ether about the bold switcheroo ...

Denver Stiffs: "... if George Karl knows what he's doing, he has a chance to replicate the success of the recent era of the Pistons by starting Billups and J.R. Smith together a la Billups and Rip Hamilton, with Nene and Kenyon Martin taking on the Ben Wallace/Rasheed Wallace undersized but effective front court and Melo playing the Tayshaun Prince small forward position. Of course, this requires preaching defense which will be a tall order over the entire season. One thing that perplexes me is that if the Nuggets were intent on making this deal, why not do it before the season started so the new guys could acclimate during training camp?"

The Sporting News: "The question is, can Detroit handle this? I see why Denver's dealing AI. Sure, on a visceral level, it's an insult to beauty, the underdog, and the emotional investment in the NBA of anyone under thirty that Iverson's getting passed around like this. But plain and simple, he's a scorer who dominates the ball and flips off assists casually, once things have broken down. The team desperately needs a sense of order, and a calm hand on the tiller — that's what Billups brings. Oh, and the salary cap implications are enormous — no way they want to shell out max money for such an imperfect match, especially an aging one. Between Carmelo and the re-signed J.R. Smith, the Nuggets have firepower for days that doesn't clog the offense in the same way. This saddles them with Billups till at least 2010-11, but he's cheaper, a better fit, and makes for a more logical core. Oh, and he's a hometown hero. So it's good for Denver. As for Detroit, the key is the huge salary cap relief Detroit gets when Iverson's deal expires this summer. If this experiment doesn't work out, they can try Rodney Stuckey at the one, look elsewhere ... from a contracts standpoint, Dumars hit a home run."

The FanHouse: "This deal isn't about tomorrow or April, though: it's about July. Iverson is a pending free agent, while Billups and Antonio McDyess will take up $19 million of cap space next season. If Dumars lets A.I. flee and fails to re-sign aging forward Rasheed Wallace, the Pistons will be looking at upwards of $20 million in cap space in the summer of 2009. The free agent crop is solid -- not replete with superstars, but solid. Lamar Odom, Shawn Marion, Hedo Turkoglu, Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur, Ben Gordon ... there's a chance Dumars could pick up two of those guys with all his space. (UPDATE: Rip Hamilton could also opt out this summer, if he wants to pass up $11 million in exchange for long-term security. That'd give Dumars more than $30 million to play with.)"

Pickaxe and Roll: "It has been obvious that the Nuggets were in need of a point guard even since they traded Andre Miller to Philly in exchange for Iverson. AI has always been more of a shooting guard than a point and while they received some great effort from Anthony Carter, he left much to be desired. My number two offseason priority for Denver was finding a point guard. I guess three games into the season is close enough to the offseason where we can say they got the job done. When I laid out the specifications after last year that I would like to see in a point guard Chauncey Billups is almost a prefect match. He is unselfish, knows how to set up his teammates and can run an offense, he has the size and willingness to play defense and he can shoot it from downtown. He is nearly a perfect fit. Keeping that in mind the question is does Billups accomplish what AI could not and make the Nuggets a contender? I think this trade clearly makes the Nuggets a better team right now, and probably next year too, but I have to say at this point they are still not a contender at the level of the Lakers, Hornets and Jazz."

SLAM: "Detroit is going to love A.I. The little guard’s hard-nosed play will quickly anoint him a king. But this trade also makes something else official: This is the Pistons’ last chance for an NBA Title ... at least for a while. Iverson’s contract goes off the books after this season. He’s likely not coming back, unless the Pistons can land a championship this season. Rasheed is also coming off the books, and he’s shown no desire to do anything next year other than chill on the beach and call it a career."

Empty The Bench: "Pistons fans have to be pumped right now. Iverson is a legit superstar and Chauncey was looking increasingly creaky. AI is coming off one of the finest seasons of his career in Denver and despite being a 33-year-old has plenty left in the tank. Billups is a year younger, but broke down last season and it’s been a few years since he’s shown Mr. Big Shot form in the postseason. McDyess’ steady play and veteran leadership will be missed up front in Detroit, but the Pistons have two young bigs chomping at the bit in Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell. Both of them, along with free-agent acquisition Kwame Brown, will now be leaned on heavily for the remainder of the season. If either J-Maxx or Amir is available in your fantasy leagues, scoop them up ASAP."

NBA Noise: "How Iverson will mesh in with this team will be interesting. The Pistons have largely played within the team concept, catering to several players who can be considered "stars." But Iverson is a different beast altogether. He is a volume-shooter, and he has been for his entire career. Still, Iverson did show that he could co-exist with another volume-shooter in Carmelo Anthony, and I'm sure the Pistons will be able to integrate him into their system. I view this as a last-ditch effort for the Pistons to win a championship with this core group. They know their window is beginning to close, so bringing in a still highly capable Iverson should give them a boost. This is also a somewhat low-risk deal for the Pistons, as if it doesn't work out Iverson's hefty contract will be off the books at the end of this season, and they always have the up-and-coming Rodney Stuckey to fall back on."

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