Was It Worth It?: The Allen Iverson Trade Revisited

It was the game-changing move that many had expected the Detroit Pistons President and General Manager Joe Dumars to make during the summer following another dissappointing loss in the Eastern Conference Finals.  Dumars had said that there were "no sacred cows" in Detroit.  He essentially put his entire team on notice; lackadaisacal and unworkmanlike basketball would not be tolerated anymore on his watch.  Coach Flip Saunders was fired due in large part to a perceived rift between the veteran core and the coach.  Many believed that Saunders lacked the strength of character to lead a group that had accomplished more than he had.  To combat this lack of strength, Dumars hired former small forward and then-assistant coach Michael Curry as Saunders' successor.  The move seemed to be aimed at lighting a fire under the veteran starting lineup, and to implement Dumars-mandated decisions like giving additional playing time to young combo guard Rodney Stuckey and ... (link)