Write On Sports LLC - "Not a Pun about Answers" by Andrew Berg

Not a Pun about Answers

2006-12-16 16:46:23 | By: Andrew Berg

It’s not because we went to the same college, even though we did. It’s not because he has spent his entire career in the city where I now live, even though he has. It’s not because his controversial personality touched off a semi-revolution in NBA culture, even though it did. I consider myself a good sports fan, and the team winning always comes first, meaning that I would happily put up with Barry Bonds if it meant a World Series ring for the Twins. In the case of Allen Iverson, the peripherals are far more appealing, but the fundamental calculation remains the same: the best chance to bring the Larry O’Brien trophy to Minnesota in the next five years is to do whatever it takes to acquire, nay, seize Allen Iverson from the 76ers.

Before considering Iverson’s fit in the Midwest, which I assure you is snug as a glove, think about the conditions leading up to his entry into the trade market. The public perception of Iverson has always been rife with mischaracterization, especially older generations mistaking his cavalier individuality for nonchalance and a lack of dedication. As much as I hate to use war rhetoric in describing sports, Iverson truly does battle on the court night in and night out. Is it any surprise that the hardest working in-game player in the NBA, who also happens to be one of the smallest, wants to save himself rather than continue punishment on his off days? A very stereotypical 50-something South Philadelphian at my gym commented earlier this week that Iverson is a whiny diva who continues refusing to practice at the detriment of the team. The event which he referenced occurred earlier this season, when Iverson skipped a posh bowling fundraiser for uber-rich season ticket holders at night, then left the next morning’s optional shoot-around at its scheduled ending time rather than hanging around to shoot with Kyle Korver while being badgered by newspaper reporters. Iverson ought to be uncomfortable in such situations; if he grew to relish them, I would think of him as a sellout who had compromised the culture that motivates him in order to satisfy the team’s corporate interests. Iverson is not the same type of player as Milton Bradley, whose performance comes at a discount because of difficult aspects of his personality. Iverson has a winning personality that outsiders misperceive, causing his value to slip without warrant.

Additionally, Philadelphia’s incompetence has diminished Iverson’s value by forcing the front office’s collective hand on the rest of the league. The day the team traded for the decrepit and morose corpse of Chris Webber, it became apparent that the Sixers were in a slow and steady crawl toward catastrophe. With pre-existing dead weight in the form of Kyle Korver and Sam Dalembert, the Sixers needed to start thinking about a way to shimmy out from under bad contracts in order to find the particular complementary parts that Iverson needs rather than taking on more burdensome players that cannot help him. Sure, Korver is the type of outside shooter who can benefit from teams doubling Iverson, and Dalembert is nominally the shot-blocker who allows Iverson to gamble on defense, but both players are so bad at what they do that the only option would have been to blow up the team and try to make one more run before Iverson starts his decline. Instead, Billy King locked them both up long term for enough money to make them immovable, then added Webber to compound the problem when he realized it was not getting any better. Now, the team has nowhere to go but down, Iverson is sick of the incompetence, and King has no remaining bargaining chips. He has to trade Iverson for less than his real value, and the team is locked into crappiness for another two years with Webber until they can even start to rebuild.

These two factors have made me as giddy as a little kid leading up to Christmas, treating online rumor mills and message boards for updates like I shook boxes, trying to get any clues about my presents before the moment of truth. Ever since McHale did his own version of the incompetence dance, trading Sam Cassell for Marko Jaric, and throwing in a first-rounder for good measure and picking up luminaries like Ricky Davis and Mark Blount to make a run at the playoffs. Now, McHale can use one of his few positive qualities as a GM- assertiveness in the trade market, as in the Cassell and Spreewell trades- to unwrap the gift that has fallen into his lap. Even if it takes Randy Foye, Mike James, Eddie Girffin, and a future number one pick, the Timberwolves absolutely must make this trade, for the good of Garnett, the franchise’s future, and the fans in Minnesota.

Kevin Garnett remains an elite player in the NBA, fifth in Player Efficiency Rating behind only Duncan, Nowitzki, Wade, and Zack Randolph. He’s also right on with his career numbers, averaging 21.5, 12, and 4 per game, clearly still on the superstar level, even if the team’s record is not as hot as it was a few years ago. Also, pairing Garnett with Iverson is pretty close to the perfect NBA union, since Iverson needs to have somebody big and athletic to help him on defense and the boards, but agile and versatile enough to keep the offense moving while he creates for everyone else. He improves on the best qualities that made Sam Cassell mesh so well with KG- creating layups and midrange shots for himself, drawing double teams, taking shots at big times. The supporting cast would not be perfect with Mark Blount standing in for a good defensive center, and a few questions about perimeter offense aside from AI. Still, Jaric answers the question about size on perimeter defense, and Ricky Davis could become an exceptional third option on offense if he learns how to fill that role. They may be able to use Iverson as a tutor for Rashard McCants once he returns from micro-fracture knee surgery, especially since Iverson seems to be aging relatively well, and compares favorably to Isaiah Thomas and Tim Hardaway, both of whom remained productive into their thirties.

Finally, the offensive distribution may concern some, as Garnett and Iverson have both grown accustomed to offenses running through them, and Garnett thrives in pass-heavy offensive sets with lots of ball movement, while Iverson improvises and makes shots out of nothing. Difficult as it may be to measure how offensive parts would fit together, John Hollinger’s Usage Rating gives some insight. Iverson is the most “used” player in the NBA, accounting for shots, assists, or turnovers on 34.3% of his team’s possessions. For a superstar, Garnett is used rather sparingly, accounting for only 23.9% of the Timberwolves offensive possessions when he is on the court, ranking him 29th. If they paired up and continued using exactly the same amount of possessions- unlikely, since they would probably adjust the offensive to share more, probably with Iverson using less possessions due to the presence of at least one good alternative- they would only rank 3rd in combined offensive usage, behind the Yao/McGrady pairing at number one and the Duncan/Parker tandem in second. If nothing else, the pairing can work, and I believe that considering the players strengths makes it fairly likely that it would work.

More than anything, I want the Timberwolves to be relevant. Kevin Garnett is my favorite player, and watching him fade into oblivion- or LA- is an incredibly depressing thought. Whatever the team can do to get back into contention is a good idea in my mind, so the team should stop trying to be good enough to prevent Garnett from demanding a trade, and start trying to win a championship. Trading whatever they’ve got for Iverson is a good first step, and close to a final step.

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