AUBURN HILLS, MICH. — The Detroit Pistons almost acquired Allen Iverson from Philadelphia entering the 2000-01 season. Then, they watched Iverson lead the 76ers to the NBA finals and become the league MVP.
Eight years later, Detroit is hoping The Answer was worth the wait.
Iverson does, too.
“I want to be the piece that gets us over the hump,” he said Tuesday at a packed news conference, where the Pistons unveiled Iverson’s name on a No. 1 red-white-and-blue jersey that he may or may not wear. “I’ve done so many things in this league, being an All-Star and scoring champion and things like that, but I haven’t accomplished my No. 1 goal and that is to win a championship.”
The Pistons acquired Iverson on Monday in a blockbuster trade for All-Star point guard and former finals MVP Chauncey Billups, top reserve Antonio McDyess and project Cheikh Samb.
Detroit is desperate for another shot at an NBA title after winning its third in 2004, falling just short of repeating and getting eliminated in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals the past three years.
“We think he is going to fit with exactly what we stand for here,” Pistons executive Joe Dumars said. “It’s all about winning and being in the big dance at the end of the year. Those are his goals along with ours.
“I don’t think we’re going to sit here today and make any grand promises, but everybody knows our goals.”
If Billups completes a physical and paperwork in time, Iverson will play Wednesday night in Toronto. Barring injury, the 33-year-old Iverson will make his home debut Sunday night against the Boston Celtics in a game as intriguing as one could be in early November.
The Pistons have reached six straight Eastern Conference finals — the longest such streak since the Los Angeles Lakers’ dominant run in the 1980s — and won the 2004 title without a player expected to be in the Hall of Fame.
Their lack of a superstar seemed to hurt them the past three seasons, exiting the playoffs against Boston’s Kevin Garnett, Cleveland’s LeBron James and Miami’s Dwyane Wade.
Iverson brings plenty of star power to Detroit.
The deal also clears a lot of salary-cap space for the Pistons because Iverson is making $20.8 million in the final year of his contract while Billups is in the second season of a four-year contract worth a guaranteed $46 million with a $14 million team option for a fifth year.
Iverson said during training camp he wanted to finish his career in Denver and was disappointed he wasn’t offered a contract extension. But, he acknowledged being excited about being a first-time free agent next summer.
Iverson’s agent, Leon Rose, said he is not negotiating a contract extension with the Pistons for his client and they are not pushing to get a deal done to keep him around beyond this season.
“We’ll see how it goes and how it unfolds,” Dumars said.
