Ever since Allen Iverson announced that he wants to be traded and that the Sixers would accommodate his request, I always checked the sports news everyday to see if he got traded yet and to where. All the time I was”disappointed” to see just trade rumors about teams being interested and a possible deal getting close and closer. Well, it finally happened. Allen Iverson got traded to the Denver Nuggets, the team that was reported to be the closest in the A.I. days before the actual trade.

The trade, which comes almost two weeks after Iverson demanded a trade in Philly, sends Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two 2007 first-round picks to the Sixers for Iverson and Ivan McFarlin. It was completed Tuesday and sent to the league for approval.

ESPN 12/19/06

My first reaction to this news was: Who’s Ivan McFarlane? I guess he’s just someone put in there to make the trade work and will just be waived soon.

My second reaction is that the Nuggets are giving up a huge thing in Andre Miller and especially the picks. A.I. better stay healthy and be productive down the road or it might end up like the Kenyon Martin scenario. Martin was acquired by the Nuggets from the Nets for 3 first round picks. At the time it seemed like it was cheap but when the Denver Nuggets became injury plagued (Martin included) and starved for youth it seems like those 3 picks would have been better for them.

The picks will definitely be great for the Sixers’ rebuilding needs and Andre Miller is a solid play maker. But without the scoring punch that A.I. brings to the table, Andre Iguodala will have to carry the team. This could be his breakout year in becoming a star or just more bad news for the team. I’d go with the latter though.

A.I. arrives at Denver at an important time since their two leading scorers in Carmelo and JR Smith were suspended because of that brawl in New York. A.I.’s services will be much appreciated by the Nuggets and the fans.