76ers trade unhappy Iverson to Nuggets

~ Philadelphia received Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two first-round draft picks.

PHILADELPHIA -- Allen Iverson got the new team he wanted, and the Denver Nuggets got the new superstar they suddenly needed.

The four-time scoring champion was traded Tuesday by the Philadelphia 76ers to the Nuggets for Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two 2007 first-round picks. The Nuggets also get Ivan McFarlin.

The deal came just as NBA scoring leader Carmelo Anthony began serving a 15-game suspension for his part in a weekend brawl between the Nuggets and New York Knicks.

Iverson now takes his 31.2-point scoring average to Denver and ends 10 turbulent seasons with the franchise that made him the No. 1 overall pick in 1996.

"Our personality is going to change. It's going to be different. That will take some time," Nuggets coach George Karl said.

"All trades shake your team a little bit," he said. "I hope that they realize that we're doing this to be better, we're doing this to be special, we're doing this to contend."

A seven-time All-Star, Iverson transformed the 76ers from lottery losers to contenders, though he couldn't bring home an NBA title to this championship-starved city. He came close in 2001, when the 76ers lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA finals. Since then the team has fallen from the elite, missing the playoffs twice in the last three seasons.

This year has hardly been an improvement, with the 76ers on an 11-game losing streak. Only Memphis (5-19) has a worse record than the 76ers (5-18), who are winless since Nov. 24.

Iverson, 31, is due the rest of his $18 million this season, and a combined $40 million through the 2008-09 season.

Iverson is averaging 28.1 points, 6.1 assists and 2.3 steals in 697 career games. He scored a career-high 60 points against Orlando on Feb. 12, 2005.

The Nuggets and 76ers each have home games tonight and hope to have their newest players in the lineup.

"If it's logistically possible, it's going to happen," said Mark Warkentien, Denver's vice president of basketball operations.