Iverson deal is a surprise

Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two first-round draft picks.

That’s what it took for the Denver Nuggets to acquire Allen Iverson on Tuesday from the Philadelphia 76ers, and some in the Clippers organization privately expressed surprise that that’s all it took.

General Manager Elgin Baylor and Coach Mike Dunleavy declined to comment on their efforts to acquire the four-time scoring champion, but team sources said the Clippers apparently made every player available to Philadelphia except Elton Brand, Chris Kaman and Shaun Livingston.

Moreover, the Clippers were willing to trade their own first-round draft pick this season and the lottery-protected first-round pick they received in the Sam Cassell trade. Many in the front office acknowledged Corey Maggette was the centerpiece of the Clippers’ final proposal, which also probably included Cuttino Mobley, Zeljko Rebraca and the draft choices.

If the Clippers get Minnesota’s pick for June’s draft, both could be higher than the Nuggets’ two first-round picks, projected to be in the 20s.

The Clippers figured Philadelphia would come back to them before trading Iverson, sources said, because the Clippers’ offer was considered better than Denver’s best bid.

Philadelphia might have focused on completing a deal with the Clippers if Livingston was available, but Dunleavy wasn’t interested in any proposals, including potential three-team trades, that involved the 6-foot-7, third-year point guard. And to make it work for them financially, the Clippers had to send Mobley and his $7.7-million salary to Philadelphia as part of any deal to acquire Iverson.

Cassell was among the players who expressed concern that the ongoing Iverson trade speculation had become a distraction for the team. And what’s the mood in the locker room now that Iverson is playing for one of the many teams ahead of the Clippers in the Western Conference?

“We can’t worry about where guys are going, what guys are doing on other teams or what might happen in the future, we just have to concentrate on getting this basketball team back to playing the way we know we can play,” Cassell said. “We’re not where we want to be, we know we’re not playing great basketball right now, but we can fix that.”

Sidelined recently because of a painful heel injury, Cassell said the Clippers must correct their problems from within.

“We have the guys here to win basketball games and get back to where we should be,” he said. “There’s no doubt about that in my mind.”

TONIGHT

vs. Toronto, 7:30, FSN Prime Ticket

Site -- Staples Center.

Radio -- 710.

Records -- Clippers 10-13, Raptors 10-15.

Record vs. Raptors (2005-06) -- 2-0.

Update -- The Clippers have lost four in a row. Toronto forward Chris Bosh has sat out the last six games because of a bruised left knee.

jason.reid@latimes.com