Allen Iverson has left the Philadelphia 76ers due to personal reasons. This might very well end his time with the Sixers. Iverson has played in 25 games (24 starts) for the Sixers this season and he was averaging 31.9 minutes, 13.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. A.I. leaving the team will likely get Lou Williams back into the starting lineup. Williams has played in 43 games (27 starts) for the Sixers this season and he is averaging 30.3 minutes, 14.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Williams was the starting point guard for the Sixers when the season started but he got injured and when he came back they decided to start rookie Jrue Holiday in his old spot. Willie Green will also see a bump in P.T. without Iverson around. Green has played in 50 games (15 starts) for the Sixers this season and he is averaging 21.4 minutes, 8.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

The 76ers have acquired 22-year old shooting guard Jodie Meeks and 33-year old center Francisco Elson from the Bucks for 28-year old guard Royal Ivey, 30-year old center Primoz Brezec and a 2nd round pick. Meeks has played in 41 games (0 starts) for the Bucks this season and he is averaging 11.9 minutes, 4.1 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Despite only shooting 36.2% from the floor in his rookie year Meeks does have by far the largest upside of the players involved in this trade. Elson has played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Bucks this season and he is averaging 5.6 minutes, 0.9 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Elson has now played in 404 games (148 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 16.3 minutes, 3.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.

Royal Ivey played in 26 games (0 starts) for the 76ers this season and he averaged 9.1 minutes, 2.7 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.7 assists per game. Brezec played in only 7 games (0 starts) for the Sixers this season and he was averaging 5.1 minutes, 0.7 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.

The Sixers didn’t give up much and they got the best player in the trade (Meeks) and a expiring contract (Elson) so I give them a small win here.

The 6′11″, 250 lbs. Samuel Dalembert may not ever be an offensive force, but he really does a great job rebounding and anchoring the 76er’s defense.  Dalembert is only averaging 7.5 points, but he plays just 26 minutes per game and averages 9.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks.  His 2.2 blocks per game is 3rd best in the league, behind only Dwight Howard (2.7 bpg) of the Orlando Magic and Josh Smith (2.22 bpg) of the Atlanta Hawks.  He has also been playing with a very heavy heart lately, as Dalembert is a native of Port-Au-Prince, Haiti which was devastated by a 7.0 earthquake on January 12th.  The 76ers give up 100 points per game, and without Dalembert it would be a lot more.  So, I don’t think the 76ers should trade Dalembert, as he is one of the few players on the Sixers’ roster that plays good defense.  They do need some more scoring from the low post though, so I understand why they would put him on the trading block.

Allen Iverson is no doubt a future Hall-of-Famer and the 34-year-old still has a lot of game left, but he is past his All-Star days and definitely does not deserve to be a starting guard on this year’s Eastern Conference All-Stars.  Iverson was voted in by the fans because of his popularity, but his numbers are not worthy of his selection.  Iverson has only played in 21 games this season, averaging 14.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 31.2 minutes.  There are plenty of guards in the East that are more deserving, like Joe Johnson, Stephen Jackson, Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Mo Williams, and more.  This has been Iverson’s worst season and he has barely played half of it, but the fans are still showing the 11-time All-Star love.  Still, I think the classy thing for Iverson to do is to not accept and let a more deserving player take his spot.

The Philadelphia 76ers (5-14) fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder (10-8) last night for their 8th consecutive loss.  The Sixers shot the ball well and had five players score 13 or more points.  They went 50% from the field and were red hot from three, hitting 61% of their threes.  Andre Iguodala played great, finishing with 28 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 blocks.  The Sixers did not play well defensively and did not rebound well.  The Thunder shot 51% from the field and had 14 more rebounds than the Sixers.  Kevin Durant lit them up for 33 points and Russell Westbrook dropped 15 dimes on them.  The only good news for the 76ers is that Allen Iverson signed with them this week and will be in the line-up Monday against Denver.