Christmas came early for Allen Iverson owners in the world of fantasy basketball thanks to the Philadelphia 76ers finally trading their disgruntled point guard to the Denver Nuggets along with rookie SF/PF Ivan McFarlin for PG Andre Miller, PF Joe Smith, and two 2007 draft picks.  Yes, there was much joy and merrymaking since AI, who had not played since December 6 against the Chicago Bulls, will now take to the hardwood instead of getting the much hated DNP, the very bane of fantasy hoops owners.

So, the question now is, what will be the fantasy impact for the players involved in the trade be?  Here’s the Answer, literally and nicknamedly – this is a word, right?  Subsequent players are listed in terms of degree of fantasy impact.

Allen Iverson, PG, Denver Nuggets
2006-07 Stats – 15 G; 42:42 MPG; 31.2 PPG; 2.7 RPG; 7.3 APG; 41.3 FG%; 88.5 FT%; 12 3PTM; 2.2 SPG; 0.1 BPG; 4.4 TOPG

The first thing one has to wonder is – will there be enough basketballs for Iverson and Carmelo Anthony when he returns from suspension (please hold the vitriol)?  Can two 30-point scorers exist on the same team?  Well, it’s only happened once since the formation of the NBA in 1946 and it was when the Los Angeles Lakers’ Jerry West (30.8 ppg in 75 games) and Elgin Baylor (38.3 ppg in 48 games) did it during the 1961-62 season.

So, yes, two 30-point scorers can exist.  But in today’s ego-riddled, “I have to be da man” NBA, can they CO-exist?

In the case of Iverson and Melo, I don’t think it’s going to happen.  It’ll be close, but it won’t happen.  Having two 30-point scorers is historically close to impossible as it’s only happened exactly once in the history of the NBA.  But, having both AI and Anthony average about 28 points won’t be far-fetched.  Maybe even one of them still averages 30 points a contest by season’s end.

Here’s why.

Anthony is primarily a post player and he does a ton of damage down in the box, utilizing his quickness and strength.  Iverson is equal parts slasher and shooter.  AI’s ability to penetrate into the lane and attack the rim like it called his mother names is almost legendary.  And we all know that there isn’t a shot given to Iverson that he never took.  So while both are prolific scorers, they basically do it different ways, so they shouldn’t get into each other’s work area.  Add the fact that the Nuggets system is to run, pass, and shoot, both players who are excellent transition players, should continue to pad their scoring production quite effectively for their fantasy owners.

So, don’t look for much to change for Anthony and if I were a betting man, I’d say Melo had the better chance of averaging 30 for the season.  Why?  Simply because I think that Iverson will be happy to not be playing for the Sixers, but instead on a winning team with a solid chance to win and he’ll buy into George Karl’s system.  Maybe even Karl’s good friend and Iverson’s old coach, Larry Brown will help out with the transition.  Whatever works.  I’d also expect Iverson’s assists average to remain about the same as he’ll be able to pass off to Melo and J.R. Smith primarily.  Smith will really benefit with AI on board since Iverson will draw a lot of defenders, leaving Smith open to continue bombing from downtown or just straight up stroking it from anywhere along the perimeter.  Melo, AI, and J.R.  That’s a strong trio of scorers and it could get them far.

Of course, we will just need to wait until after the New Year, but it’ll be worth it.  Until then, pick up Earl Boykins who should play the one with Iverson at the two while Melo and J.R. serve their suspensions.

Andre Miller, PG, Philadelphia 76ers
2006-07 Stats – 23 G; 35:42 MPG; 13.0 PPG; 4.5 RPG; 9.1 APG; 47.2 FG%; 72.9%; 4 3PTM; 1.6 SPG; 0.2 BPG; 3.0 TOPG

Poor Andre Miller.  He goes from a team that was made to run and put up points on the board – the second ranked offense of the Nuggets (108.8 PPG) – to a team in disarray in every way in the Sixers and their 23rd ranked offense (94.4 PPG).  And note that Iverson accounted for almost one-third of that team points total before being sent packing.  Will Miller take up the mantle of “scorer.”  As Whitney Houston once said, “Oh hell to the no!” 

While Miller is an adequate scorer for a point guard (14.1 career points average), he is not the Answer.  He’s not even a half-answer like the one you would give on every essay question during high school – or was that just me? 

In any case, Miller is all about dropping dimes as his third ranked 9.1 assists per game attests to.  Can he continue that total in an offense that just lost their leading scorer and significantly scores less than the team he was just traded from with Melo and Marcus Camby finishing on breaks and in the post and Smith and Earl Boykins hitting jumpers from the perimeter?

No disrespect to Andre Iguodala as I have a bit of a man-crush on him or even Samuel Dalembert and Willie Green, but the answer is no.  While they can take the ball to the rack and shoot pretty good percentages, the Sixers simply do not have the offensive chemistry or philosophy that makes the Nuggets such a great offense.

My arm twisted, I’d say Miller will probably increase his scoring a tiny bit out of necessity and have his assists totals go down about a deuce per game since the remaining AI (Iguodala) has the ability to find the open man (4.5 APG) and we can’t forget Chris Webber (3.4 APG) as much as Philly fans may want to.

I’d expect Iguodala to really excel and work his way to being the face of the Sixers and your fantasy teams moving forward.  Iggy has the ability to score, board, dish, hit triples, and rip rocks.  Basically, he’s a jack of all trades type player like a Shawn Marion or Andrei Kirilenko (before this season anyway; how disappointing AK47 has been).

Also, this will open up the door for Green to do his thing and he would make a nice pick up as he’ll be counted on to score more for the Sixers.

Joe Smith, PF, Philadelphia 76ers
2006-07 Stats – 11 G; 13:30 MPG; 5.1 PPG; 3.6 RPG; 0.3 APG; 47.9 FG%; 83.3 FT%; 0 3PTM; 0.5 SPG; 0.6 BPG; 1.2 TOPG

Smith will continue to enjoy the type of production he was giving the Nuggets on his new team, the Sixers.  Unfortunately, by “enjoy” I mean “nothing will drastically change and things will remain more bland than an episode of ‘Project Runway.’”

Ivan McFarlin, SF/PF, Denver Nuggets
2006-07 Stats – 11 G; 3:47 MPG; 1.4 PPG; 1.0 RPG; 0.1 APG; 38.5 FG%; 71.4 FT%; 0 3PTM; 0.0 SPG; 0.0 BPG; 0.1 TOPG

McFarlin will make a fine trivia question/answer one day, sure to appear in every quiz show, board game, or media guide the league over.  His fantasy impact will be like Gilbert Arenas’ uniform number – zero.

On the Nuggets’ side, fans and fantasy owners have to be ecstatic that Iverson will be joining a high scoring offense and the inside-outside combination of Anthony and Iverson will be putting up points like they were playing an NBA game on Xbox.  Be happy if you’re a J.R. Smith owner too! 

For Philly fans and Miller owners, there aren’t too many feel good moments right now, but there’s always the upcoming “Rocky Balboa” movie to lift you up.  Okay, go ahead and cry.