As spectacle, the signing of Iverson was a clear winner. The Center was the place to be in Philadelphia tonight. Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook, Leonard Weaver, LeSean McCoy and Todd Herremans were courtside. So was boxer Bernard Hopkins. Reporters from Italy, Japan, China and Yahoo overflowed the press tables.
A day after watching Atlanta make its peace with fallen hero Michael Vick, it was just plain cool to witness Iverson running out to midcourt and kissing the Sixers logo after being introduced. Say this about him: Iverson knows how to create an unforgettable moment.
It will take much longer to judge the Iverson signing in basketball terms. Ultimately, that will be what matters. If the Sixers don't win some games, the curiosity-seekers and nostalgia worshipers who showed up tonight won't be back in February and March. They might not be back on Wednesday night.
Denver coach George Karl, who had Iverson for a season-and-a-half after that 2006 trade, was trying to be gracious when asked if he was surprised the Sixers were the team that signed the enigmatic guard.
"Yes, yes," Karl said. "I thought it would be a team trying to win a championship."
Karl didn't intend to point out that the Sixers are not such a team, but then, that's pretty obvious. And the plain truth is that the Nuggets are a team trying to win a championship and they decided they'd have a better chance with Chauncey Billups than Iverson.
Billups, Karl said, "has a little more conformity in his game."
To be fair, Karl also credited Iverson with helping Carmelo Anthony and the rest of the Nuggets develop into a team capable of making a deep playoff run. He just wasn't the right guy to go all the way.
