An NBA official says that mercurial guard Allen Iverson has been shipped to his third team in roughly three years. On Monday, the Denver Nuggets sent the 33-year old Georgetown product to the Detroit Pistons for guard Chauncey Billups and forward Antonio McDyess (an ESPN News report also says that center Cheikh Samb is headed to Denver as well). The NBA official spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade has not been officially announced.

The Detroit Pistons were determined to shake up a core group of players that got bounced from the Eastern Conference Finals for a third straight year. Most expected a major deal would have come much sooner than this.

Iverson, a four-time NBA scoring champion with a career average of 27.7 points per game, is averaging just 18.7 points through three games this season with the Nuggets. But that can’t be the reason for the deal, this was in the works for quite some time and not dependent on Iverson’s production through three games.

While the Pistons did want to shake up their roster, the real reason could just be cap relief after this year. Iverson is in the final year of his contract, which pays him $21 million this year. Getting that kind of money off the books would free up the Pistons to do a lot of other things.

Richard Hamilton of the Detroit Pistons is ready to play tonight in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics. Detroit needs to win tonight to force a Game 7 back in Boston.

After shooting with the team, Hamilton said he had discomfort in his right elbow, but would play through it.

“Once I get out there and the adrenaline is going, I’ll be fine,” Hamilton said. “I told my teammates, ‘Don’t look at me as handicap.’ … I’m fine. I’m ready to roll.”

It hasn’t been reported yet, but Rip will most likely be wearing a protective mask on his elbow.

The #7 seed Philadelphia 76ers shocked the #2 seed Detroit Pistons Sunday night 90-86. The Pistons have been there done that and their lineup is just filthy. But, the Sixers are young, they play defense and they run all damn day. This could be a problem for the Pistons if the series drags on. The Sixers will wear you out, especially an older team like Detroit.

If you haven’t checked out this Sixer team, it’s worth it. Louis Williams is 21 years old and is growing into a decent player. Andre Iguodala’s athleticism is disgusting. Andre Miller is the veteran glue. Thaddeus Young is a 19-year old rookie that is developing quickly. Rodney Carney – we believe – is in the process of leaving his bust status in the rear view.

It’s official, this series is worth watching.