The pairing of Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony is at an end, closing out a chapter in Denver basketball history that lasted less than two years and will be mostly remembered for its 1-8 record in playoff games.

So with Iverson moving east to Detroit in exchange for Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess, are the Nuggets getting over on the Pistons, or vice versa?

Well, the deal does fit the Nuggets’ biggest priority: Salary reduction.

The Nuggets save some $8 million in the short term; Billups ($11.1 million) and McDyess ($6.8) represent more than $4 million in savings over Iverson’s cost ($21.9 million), which is doubled because the Nuggets are — even with this cost-cutting move — slated to go several million over this season’s luxury-tax threshold of $71.15 million.

The deal could get even sweeter if the team is able to negotiate a favorable buyout with McDyess, who reportedly won’t play anywhere but Detroit.

But unlike Iverson and his soon-to-expire deal, Billups is on the books for another $25.2 million in ’09-’10 and ’10-’11 combined (there’s also a player option for $14.2 million in ’11-’12) and McDyess — unless a buyout is reached — will pull down $6.8 million next season.

So, in exchange for some short-term relief, the Nuggets have cast their lot with a 32-year-old point guard who has never led an up-tempo attack before in his life.

As Rod Tidwell told Jerry Maguire, “Well, this was another way to go.”

On the positive side, this deal means the Nuggets won’t have to play Anthony at power forward nearly as much, something I’ve advocated against. And it could very well make them better, at least for this season.

But does anyone really see a Billups-Anthony duo getting any farther in the Western Conference playoffs than the Iverson-Anthony-Marcus Camby trio did in 2007 and ’08?

No, me neither.

For the Pistons, this deal makes great sense, since Detroit — as I reported back in June for the Contra Costa Times — has been looking to get rid of Billups for months to clear the decks for Rodney Stuckey’s ascendency.

If the Pistons are able to re-sign a bought-out McDyess later on this season, that would make it pretty much a Billups-for-Iverson straight-up deal. (Yes, the Nuggets will also get young center Cheikh Samb, but that’s

If Iverson works out and leads Detroit back to the NBA Finals, the Pistons would love that, obviously. But even if he doesn’t, the Detroit…