Allen Iverson: What's the best deal? Nuggets are serious

It seems like the trade for Iverson until hasn't have the best deal until now?

But I think i heard a lot of rumors about the Nuggets are very much serious in dealing Allen Iverson Lottery Trade.

According to league sources, the Nuggets have quietly but steadfastly worked to close a deal for the 31-year-old star, who was put on the block last week after he demanded a trade.

With a marketable big man in Nene, a hefty expiring contract from Joe Smith that Philadelphia likes for salary-cap flexibility and the two picks Denver owns in the first round of the 2007 draft, the Nuggets have the resources to compete with Indiana, Minnesota or any other league rival to land Iverson.

"We're trying to make our roster better every day. That's our job, to find ways to make the Nuggets better," Denver vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien said Wednesday. "We're sitting here today with a winning record, and I'm here to say we like our team. But here's the simple deal. You look for ways to try to get better, if you can."

Watch the TNT Insider: Aldridge on Iverson and the Nuggets Video

Denver has expressed keen interest throughout 2006 in acquiring the guard with seven appearances in the NBA All-Star Game on his résumé, only to be disappointed at the trade deadline in February and again during the summer.

The Nuggets need to get Iverson. Now. The clock is ticking.

With Iverson on paid leave from the 76ers, his locker cleaned out and his nameplate removed from the Philadelphia dressing room, the Nuggets are operating under the assumption the Sixers want to end their relationship with A.I. quickly.

Consider it a high-stakes game of poker and consider Denver ready to go all in, hoping to land the prize, according to an NBA source familiar with Sixers owner Ed Snider's desire to deal Iverson.

The price might never be lower to acquire Iverson, who has averaged 28 points per game in 11 NBA seasons. The Nuggets have no intention of including either forward Carmelo Anthony or center Marcus Camby in any trade with Philadelphia. While the names J.R. Smith and Eduardo Najera have been floated, so has a deal that would include no current member of Denver's starting five.

Why could pleasing the Sixers be so difficult? Complicating matters is the number of folks the Nuggets must deal with in Philadelphia, where Snider, franchise president Billy King and former Sixers coach Larry Brown are all involved in the decision to trade Iverson, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.

The Nuggets, directed by a management team of Warkentien, player personnel executive Rex Chapman and adviser Bret Bearup, have worked nearly nonstop to determine if a trade for Iverson would make sense, even before Philadelphia sent shockwaves through the league by announcing it would part ways with the mercurial star last week, when King was publicly given orders to do a trade ASAP.

While sipping on that first cup of morning coffee on Dec. 7, my telephone rang. Warkentien was on the line. "Sorry, wrong number," he said. "I couldn't sleep and I've been working the phones since 5 a.m."

Warkentien explained he had taken a break to call his daughter, Kreigh, and had hit the wrong speed-dial button for his listings under "K" by mistake.

Days later, Warkentien remained apologetic for the error.

"No problem. I figured you were probably trying to reach King. K-I-N-G. In Philadelphia," I told Warkentien on Wednesday.

"That's an excellent comeback," said Warkentien, laughing.

The interest in Iverson, however, is dead serious.

The Nuggets have never played in the NBA Finals.

No player for Denver has ever been named MVP of the NBA. At 6-feet, A.I. has been honored as the league's best player once, same as 7-1 Shaquille O'Neal.

Iverson packs a suitcase stuffed with risk, without a doubt.

He's not going to start loving practice anytime in this lifetime. The little man dominates the ball and would have to be sold on the idea that giving up the rock to Anthony is his best ticket back to the Finals. A Denver backcourt of Andre Miller at the point and Iverson as the hired gun would be unconventional, to say the least. If insomnia were the worst thing A.I. caused George Karl, the coach should consider himself lucky. The Answer might sell oodles and gobs of tickets to the Pepsi Center upon his arrival, but drive those same fans away from the arena before he left town.

But look at it this way.

On one hand, Denver has a chance to get Iverson for 75 cents on the dollar, maybe less.

In the other hand, the local NBA team holds the credit card of Stan Kroenke, a billionaire franchise owner who wants to win a title so badly he can taste it.

The Answer? Iverson plays every game like there's no tomorrow. He would be one of the five greatest players in Nuggets history, the first time he stepped on the court.

It's time for Denver to go all in, and take a shot at greatness.

Other teams that has the interested in joining Allen Iverson Loterry Trade are:
Nuggets
Heat
Minnesota
Boston
Sacramento
Clippers