The Pistons gave up All-Star point guard and former NBA finals MVP Chauncey Billups, top reserve Antonio McDyess and project Cheikh Samb.

"We just felt it was the right time to change our team," Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars told The Associated Press. "Iverson gives us a dimension that we haven't had here and we really think it's going to help us"

Iverson is in the final year of his contract, making $20.8 million this season.

"He was very excited about the trade," Iverson's agent, Leon Rose, told the AP.

Billups is in the second season of a four-year contract worth a guaranteed $46 million with a $14 million team option for a fifth year. The Pistons kept McDyess off the free-agent market by giving him a two-year contract extension, and they would love to have him back if the cost-cutting Nuggets buy out his contract.

The blockbuster deal comes two games into the season for Detroit. The Pistons have been a model of consistency in recent years, but they were determined to transform their core following a third straight exit from the Eastern Conference finals last spring.