Should Allen Iverson Play For The Celtics?

I agree. If Iverson lands in Boston, Pierce is gone, whether it's to Philly or somewhere else. They can't co-exist there.

AI can't really co-exist with any other player. That is his biggest problem. He is a warrior by himself, but he does not understand it takes a team to win the championship.

There's no chance of Pierce going for AI. If Boston pulls the trigger on this trade it will be so that the team can win this year. They want to build a team around Pierce because he could maybe only have two or three more seasons in his prime. They will either trade Pierce for young players with upside (absolutely not AI) or trade their young players for (a) seasoned veteran(s), like AI. I'm not saying that Pierce and AI would coexist, just that Ainge wants to build around Pierce instead of trade him away for an aging superstar.

Yes, they are better off going for Big Ben. The C's haven't had a dominant big man in years and they wouldn't have to give up their young players of the future as they would with AI. Plus, Big Ben won't take away from Pierce's talent on offense like AI would do. Big Ben would also be a great mentor for Jefferson, Gomes and Perkins and can be a bridge to keep the team successful now and in the future. Unfortunately, it would take a lot of money and it looks like he's going to be a Bull right now.

You're off-base there. People often say Iverson is selfish, but like Kobe Bryant, he just doesn't have the right parts. If Iverson had Shaq, you'd be talking about Kobe right now and question what Iverson can do w/o shaq. If anything, Iverson has some of the biggest Jewels around and I respect him for that. He doesn't want to leave Philly, people like his hard nose attitude (at least during the game, but we're not talking about practice), but he and the city know that he needs to move on, as do we.

OK, maybe he's not useless. OTher than that you can't argue, though.

Iverson was given Chris Webber in his prime and it hurt both of them. What makes us think he'd be able to coexist with a different superstar?

Trading away a promising young player for a guy who's only going to be there a few years and might not be all that helpful is a terrible idea. If Ainge traded West or Jefferson for Iverson, I'd call for his resignation, even if they won an NBA Championship out of it. ONE championship (and that's the best AI could manage in a four or five year career in Boston) is not worth the future of the franchise.

(A) He would be a disaster in Boston, and (B) it's not going to happen.

Those suggestions are absolutely terrible. Trading two of our best young players for a guy who's going to be a constant problem and only be there for a few years? Awful idea. I'd much rather have Delonte West and Al Jefferson on the team than Iverson any day of the week; they're going to be stars, and the Celtics have to focus on the future at this point. Hopefully Ainge realizes that and won't sell off the franchise prospects for one playoff run.

I think the Celtics would have been better off trading Pierce to move up in the draft or acquire some really good young talent. They should be building a dynasty, as you said, and not just try for one great season in 2006-07. However, Ainge seems to want to build a team around Pierce to win right now. I understand where he's coming from because the average Celtics fan is getting fed up with a team that will "win in 2-3 years". If Ainge doesn't get the team turned around fast, it could mean his job.

I'm not sure about that last; I think the management is solidly entranched behind his long-term rebuilding plan. I agree that he should trade Pierce for draft picks, but it shouldn't have been for picks this year. They were already high this year at #7, and it was a pretty weak draft. They were more than able to get the players the team needed this year; again they had a good draft day. Trading Pierce for young talent and future high picks might be a good idea.

If the rumors are true that both sides are getting close to a deal for Iverson, there's no way that it doesn't include some of Boston's young players (maybe not exactly West and Jefferson, but something like that). Even though Philly has made some questionable moves in the past they aren't stupid and wouldn't trade Iverson for Wally Sczerbiak, Theo Ratliff and Brian Scalabrine. This leads me to think that if Ainge really does want to do this deal, he must be willing to part with some of his youth core. Personally I don't think it would hurt that much to lose Jefferson, as we already have Gomes to play the 4, but I agree that West is a good player I wouldn't want to give him up. Next year's draft looks great with Oden, Noah and Durant leading the way. Maybe they could make a run this year, then try to trade up, using Iverson, Pierce, or both to get one of those guys. Ainge needs to make the team better this year, because C's fans are sick of waiting "a couple more years" to have a great team. Ainge's job could be on the line if they don't make the playoffs and make a run next year.