I am going to guess you had a similar reaction to me when you first heard that the Nuggets had traded Marcus Camby to the Clippers for a second round draft pick.

Bizarre.

Crazy.

Why?

All seemingly logical trains of thought, all emotions I felt last night. Then, it got even more (if I can borrow one of my above adjectives) bizarre.

The trade was Camby to the Clippers for the right to swap second round picks in 2010----even more weird.

Do the front office executives in Denver think that a former defensive player of the year is worth just a second round selection? On the surface, that is what this trade sounds like, although, with further inspection, it begins to look like the Nuggets aren't that---if I can borrow another adjective from above-----crazy.

The move of Camby off the roster will give the Nuggets some salary cap relief. The team had one of the highest payrolls in the NBA and Stan Kroenke has not seen much return for that investment. The Nuggets were not going to win the NBA title with this current corps of players so if some tweaking is inevitable, then why delay?

The Nuggets had decided to keep Carmelo Anthony, resisting the trade overtures cast in their direction. He is only 24 and has his best years ahead of him. Camby, on the other hand, is 34 years old.

Allen Iverson decided not to test the waters and not opt out of his contract. He is one of five players----along with Anthony, Kenyon Martin, Nene Hilario, and Camby making at least $10 million. Of those five, Camby was the most likely to be traded.

Anthony is far too young and talented to lose.

Iverson had a player option to come back.

Martin has been impressive in his return from microfracture surgery but the size of his contract and size of his temperature rising is enough to scare off most teams.

Hilario is only 26 and in many ways the Nuggets need to keep him, if for no other reason, to compenstate for the void of losing Camby.

Camby had a lot of trade value. He is 34 years old but his defensive abilities are still formidable. The Nuggets will miss his presence on that end of the floor. The Clippers lost Elton Brand to free agency so Camby becomes not a comparable, but instead, a suitable replacement.

The surface level view of all trades is how they cosmetically affect the look of a roster. However, there is a deeper reason this deal works for both teams. Simply said, it's all about money. The Nuggets get cap relief, although, if they feel the need to add an impact individual to replace Camby, they have a $10 million mid level exception, if they do choose to use it. However, signing anyone to those parameters could end up costing them $20 million due to the luxury tax. With that a distinct possibility and the team trading Camby to lower salary payroll in the first place, I would think the Nuggets will choose not to do anything with that mid level exception, but you never know.

Although, one thing I do know is that Anthony and Iverson will most likely not be pleased. Sure, this trade gives the team some flexibility for the future, but those two---especially Iverson, want to win now. The bottom line is that the Nuggets appear to be far better with Camby than without him.

-"z"