In all the fuss about Kevin Pritchard not getting votes, I forgot to comment on this. Denver’s Mark Warkentien, a former Blazer guy, was named the winner.

How silly. They ignored the guy who engineered a deal that turned one team from an also-ran into a legit contender. That guy, of course, was Joe Dumars, the once-respected genius running the Detroit Pistons. Yeah, I know it was all about cap space. Sure. But look, the guy gave up Chauncey Billups, a player still good enough to, by himself, turn Denver’s season around. And Dumars, for that kind gift, also took A.I. off the Nuggets’ hands — a player who was pretty much useless.

Sorry, cap space be damned, that’s just a ridiculous trade. Fans who bought tickets to see the Pistons play this season deserve a refund along with a written apology from Dumars. That deal cut the heart right out of the Pistons.

And so Warkentien wins the award? For what, agreeing to a lopsided trade that ANYBODY would have agreed to do? I don’t think so. Give it to Joe for getting the Nuggets, who arguably weren’t going to be good enough even to make the playoffs in the Western Conference, into the conference finals.

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The general manager of the Pistons certainly knocked the Northwest Division out of kilter when he gift-wrapped Chauncey Billups for the Nuggets and allowed them to flush Allen Iverson.

I was one of the few people who picked Portland to win that division, believing the Blazers to be deeper, bigger, better-shooting and just overall more talented than the Utah Jazz. The Nuggets, with A.I. floating around gunning up shots, weren’t really a factor in my mind. Oh, a decent team, but I doubted they would make the playoffs.

Since the trade, I haven’t seen Denver in person. But on the tube, they look pretty legit with Billups scoring, spreading the ball around and getting them organized at both ends of the court. This was a serious leadership boost for the Nuggets. I’ve always felt George Karl needs a commanding presence at point guard more than a lot of coaches. He kind of lets his teams go on offense and gives the point guard a lot of responsibility for the outcome.

Billups is fully capable of accepting that task. And now, as well as the Blazers are playing, it’s going to be tougher to win the division with two good teams to beat. I believe Portland is still better than Denver — again, bigger, stronger and deeper. But it’s going to be a real war now.

Thanks again, Joe. I mean, it’s OK to mess up your own team but why did you have to put your fingerprints all over our season out here?

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Yes, I was remiss in not mentioning that Allen Iverson is in his contract year. The Pistons figure on having some major cap room when Iverson walks. Henry at True Hoop does a nice job of summing it all up here, with plenty of kudos for Piston GM Joe Dumars.

Sorry, I never get as juiced up over that as everyone else does. Go ahead, look out there at all the big-time players who will be available as free agents in two seasons and dream to your heart’s content. But will they still be there two years from now? And can you play in that market? Can you go up against that player’s current team and whoever else may have cap room that season and win?

I’m a little more pessimistic about that stuff than most. The system is designed these days to keep most players with their current team. They don’t always stay, but most of them do. And making a lopsided trade that changes the nature of your team just for some perceived future payoff is a bit risky, don’t you think?

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