Allen Iverson is a team player...

[Roy Hobbs]

... or not.  His quote about being a sixth man:

When a reporter asked him how he was feeling in his second game back after missing 16 games with a sore back, he responded: "How many minutes did I play?"

Told 18 minutes, he said, "[dang]."

When asked to clarify his feelings he said: "Nah, it felt way, way less than that.

"Eighteen minutes, c'mon, man. I can play 18 minutes with my eyes closed, with a 100-pound truck on my back. That's a bad feeling.

"I'm wondering what the rush was to get me back. I mean, for that?"
...
"This is a bad time for me mentally," Iverson said. "I'm just trying to get through it without starting a bunch of nonsense. ... I'm just trying to laugh as much as I can man to stop from crying."

Link.

For anybody hoping we sign Iverson in the off-season to provide scoring off the bench, let the above be a lesson to you.  The ironic part about that whole rant is the charge that the Pistons "rushed" him, when he was out for something like a month despite there being no tangible medical evidence that he was injured.  I guess nobody is mistaking AI for KG or Kevin McHale at this stage of his career.

I'll be very interested to see what team offers Iverson a contract in the off-season.  Whoever it is better be prepared for the same prima donna he's always been.

[Hoyo de Monterrey]

Stupid Pistons... Acquiring a player with a suspect team orientation mentality to use off the bench. They should have gone after a more proven teammate... You know, like Marbury.


HAHA the best part is Marbury seems to be working out great.

[JSD]

What a fool... AI is as selfish as he is clueless. The guy does not get it! It's as clear to me now as it was when the deal took place, the main incentive for the Pistons was cap relief.

I can see a team like the Clippers trying to bring him in. Not sure what their cap situation in like next season but a "sign and trade" would probably be the scenario.

[moiso]

Iverson is going to be in for a rude awakening when he sees what his market value is going to be this offseason.  He really shouldn't be a starter at this point.  He can still put up big numbers but I think its pretty obvious that he doesn't help a team win games.  He is horrible defensively, not a pure point guard, and he dribbles too much for a shooting guard.  He is absolutely in his correct role now- 6th man scoring machine.  We had a thread on Gary Sheffield yesterday, and that's who Iverson reminds me of.  The guy is going to be a below average old player some day, and he's still going to think he should play 40 minutes and take 25 shots a game.  And if he doesn't get that, he's going to blame everyone else but himself.

[Redz]

Makes you respect Marbury for the team player he is.

(gulps down the green soft beverage)

[Celtic]

I kind of disagree with everyone else here. Iverson is way too good to be coming off the bench, it's not his fault the Pistons made an incredibly dumb trade. Anyone could have told you that having him and Rip was a dumb choice, and that there was no way to avoid the problem with minutes that they have now. Of course AI isn't a top name anymore but he still is a premier scorer in the NBA, and to a lot of teams/fans that's all that matter. He needs to be on a team where he is the number one option with a good low post player and build around them, Minnesota comes to mind.

[Bankshot]

Makes you respect Marbury for the team player he is.

(gulps down the green soft beverage)

Agreed.  Marbury's attitude has been great.

Iverson needs to embrace his bench role to at least appear like a team player.  I understand his frustration about last night's game though.  He was the only one playing well against the Cavs and still didn't get more than 18 minutes. Curry did a terrible job with his rotations last night. 

[JSD]

I was just looking around the league... Based on teams situations I can't see anyone bring him in! Could AI be out of the league!?  

I think it would come down to the Clippers, Bobcats or Rockets for the MLE? Is that possible?

[MVP]

I kind of disagree with everyone else here. Iverson is way too good to be coming off the bench, it's not his fault the Pistons made an incredibly dumb trade. Anyone could have told you that having him and Rip was a dumb choice, and that there was no way to avoid the problem with minutes that they have now. Of course AI isn't a top name anymore but he still is a premier scorer in the NBA, and to a lot of teams/fans that's all that matter. He needs to be on a team where he is the number one option with a good low post player and build around them, Minnesota comes to mind.

He's not good enough to be the #1 option anymore. And he has shown no ability to adapt and by his quote no willingness either. Earlier in the season, I was thinking that it was a possibility that we would target Iverson during the off season seeing how we almost traded for him a few years back and for him it would be a good chance to win a title. But he has shown that he isn't able to adapt to a team game with the Pistons and isn't willing to make the sacrifices to win either. Marbury might be the better choice if he continues to progress and plays well during the playoffs.

[bostonfan23]

Sign with Charlotte, AI. Perfect fit.

[moiso]

Any team that uses Iverson how he would like to be used is going to be a bad team.  Any team who's leading scorer shoots 42% is going to be a bad team. 

[illantari]

Makes you respect Marbury for the team player he is.

(gulps down the green soft beverage)

Man that Kool Aid's good stuff isn't it?

I have to admit being pleasantly surprised with Marbury. (So far).  Interesting that some would now keep him over signing AI.

[crownsy]

Makes you respect Marbury for the team player he is.

(gulps down the green soft beverage)

Man that Kool Aid's good stuff isn't it?

I have to admit being pleasantly surprised with Marbury. (So far).  Interesting that some would now keep him over signing AI.

i wouldnt go that far.

But there's no question steph has , to quote the rock, known his role and shut his mouth.


bu tim not sure he'd be happy to be a 6th man for the rest of his career. my intrest in signing him going forward is pretty low.

[indeedproceed]

There used to be a show on Sirius radio...its been off for like a year so I can't even remember it anymore

Anyways, Kenny Smith used to host some of them (rotating hosts, one a basketball guy like Rick Kamble, then a former player like Kenny Smith or Greg Anthony)...and he said something I thought was pretty special..im paraphrasing but..

"I went through the same thing when I turned 30. First, you realize injuries take way longer to heal, then you realize 40 mins is a long time to be playing basketball each night, and you see that maybe that first step isn't as quick as it used to be. But that is all secondary. For really good basketball players the primary thing in your head is "I can still do this like I always could.", and it takes a while for the mind to catch up with the body. It happened to Nique, it happened to Jordan, and its happening to Shaq."

Iverson despite not being the best role model has always been one of my favorite players, and we always harp on Garnett's competitive nature...Iverson is competitive about Iverson. He'll never step the court scared, or thinking anything other than he's the best player on it. If he wants to be a part of winning, or even get a chip, he'll come around. His mind though, has to catch up with the realities of his body.

[celticinorlando]

if they would have kept billups they would be a 4 seed right now....