The question is why does the NBA allow this?  Clearly, it’s collusion, but the NBA only seems to care if you go so far as to blatantly talk about it.  Even admitting it after the fact doesn’t seem to bother the league as Doc Rivers gave this tongue-in-cheek remark about the Z deal: “I have a problem with that.  I loved it three years ago when we did it with Gary Payton if you remember, but now I think it sucks. I think it’s a terrible deal.”  Terrible for Boston maybe, but great for the ratings when the Cavs see the Lakers in the Finals.  But, that would have nothing to do with why you allow this, right Mr. Stern?

For a league that has seemingly constant credibility problems with the refereeing, it might not be a bad idea to actually come up with a clear rule on these situations (you know, so we don’t get the wrong idea that you’d prefer stacking the good teams while the bad teams free up cap space).  Here’s a suggestion: once you get traded, you don’t get to go back to the team you were traded from that season!

But, alas, this is the NBA, so with a wink and a nod, look for Big Z to head back to Cleveland next month.

It’s not often we see a blockbuster trade like this so early in the season.  This has the potential to be a good move for both teams.  As I said before the season started, Detroit might want to “shake things up a bit.”  Well, they’ve done more than shake things up by acquiring Iverson.  I don’t know if this trade will or will not work for Detroit, but it’s a gamble they had to make.  Without making a big move, they just weren’t going to be able to compete with Boston.  Now, they still might not be good enough, but if AI meshes well they could get over the hump.  It’s nice to see AI get one more legitimate shot at a ring, too.  On top of all that, if it doesn’t work for Detroit, AI’s contract is expiring and they’ll have a shot to change directions after the season.

As for Denver, I think it’s a good move as well.  The AI-Melo combination just never completely worked in Denver.  They could have given it another year to see what would happen, but bringing in a more balanced guard like Chauncey is only going to help Melo out.  It’s not like Chauncey can’t score either so now you’ve still got one of the league’s top guards, but he’s probably a better fit with Anthony.

What do you think of the trade?  Who got the better deal?