Chris McCosky: NBA Insider

Don't bash Joe Dumars just yet

Praise Mark Warkentien, Denver's vice president of basketball. Give him credit for peddling the poisonous Allen Iverson to Detroit for Chauncey Billups.

The move immediately changed the culture in Denver, taking the Nuggets from a flaky, offense-oriented team to legitimate threat to the L.A. Lakers in the Western Conference.

So, go ahead and give Warkentien the executive of the year award.

But don't damn Joe Dumars yet.

Yes, Iverson flamed out, taking the Pistons down with him. If you look at it from the perspective of this season, it was one of the worst trades in the history of the league. Nobody will dispute that.

For the Pistons, however, the trade was never about this season.

When the trade was announced Nov. 3, Dumars clearly articulated it was about the future. Iverson's $22 million expiring contract would enable Dumars to rebuild on the fly, without having a couple 20-win seasons while reloading through the draft.

Time will tell

As a fan, you might not want to hear that Dumars, in a sense, sacrificed this season for a brighter future. Judging from feedback, people think Dumars temporarily went insane.

But ask yourself:

• Would you have been satisfied with another 50-win season and another loss in the conference finals?

• Do you really think Detroit would have beaten Cleveland this year with Billups?

That's what Dumars had to answer Nov. 3 -- and his answer was a resounding no.

Public pressure mounted on him to break up the old core since the flameout against Miami in 2006, yet he kept the team intact for two more runs. But when he was given an opportunity to land Iverson -- a player whose talents had long intrigued him and whose expiring contract would ensure financial flexibility -- Dumars pulled the trigger.

He had no delusions about it. He knew Billups, a true point guard and leader, would quickly transform the Nuggets. He knew the trade would probably look bad in the short-term and that he'd take some heat.

Options galore

Now, did he expect Iverson to play better than he did? Of course. Did he expect the chemistry to blow up as badly as it did? No.

The best-case scenario was that Iverson would be the ingredient the Pistons had been missing in the postseason.

That was a long shot and everybody in the organization knew it. Iverson, 33, wasn't close to the player he'd been even last season, and he was bound to feel restrained in the Pistons' team-oriented system.

But Dumars knew he was going to have to reload this summer, and he knew Iverson would pay off one way (on the court) or another (by clearing his salary).

You can't vilify Dumars for this trade yet. If trading for Iverson helps restock the frontcourt either through trade or free agency (Carlos Boozer, Paul Millsap, Amare Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, David Lee, to name random candidates) and maybe adds another scorer (Ben Gordon), then Dumars' vision will be validated.

If that doesn't happen, then we can revisit this conversation before next season.

By the numbers

1 Hornets guard Chris Paul will be the first player to lead the league in assists (11.1) and steals (2.8) in consecutive seasons.

.771 The league's cumulative free-throw percentage, which is on pace to tie the record set in 1973-74.

$35M Amount of cash losses predicted for the Charlotte Bobcats this year and next.

On the rise

Four teams that have improved their win totals every season since 2005-06:

Chris' top five

• 1. L.A. Lakers: Andrew Bynum's return is huge boost for team with the second-best record.

• 2. Cleveland: Nobody's going to come close to beating them in the East.

• 3. Orlando: Sure, it's No. 3 in the East, but still not ready for prime time.

• 4. Boston: Age -- 7 of 15 players are over 30 -- and injuries have cut the dynasty short.

• 5. Denver: Chauncey Billups trade helped turn the culture to a winning one.

Chris' bottom five

• 26. Minnesota: Al Jefferson injury (surgically repaired right knee) torpedoed the season.

• 27. Oklahoma City: Of all the bad teams, this one has the brightest future.

• 28. Washington: Flip Saunders will win 47 games next season; Wizards have won 19 this year.

• 29. L.A. Clippers: Not even a No. 1 pick will save this downtrodden franchise.

• 30. Sacramento: Will finish with the worst record; darkest time in franchise's history.

Single-season spike

The Heat have made a 28-victory improvement under Erik Spoelstra, the biggest one-year jump ever with a rookie coach:

chris.mccosky@detnews.com (313) 222-1489