Allen Iverson is a team player...

[RAcker]

Practice?   

[moiso]

If Iverson is on the Piston's roster, I'd much rather play them than anybody else that comes out of the bottom 4...Except the Heat.  They picked up O'Neal, another malcontent coach killer.

Don't get me started about Oneal...ha.  Yep, and its unbelievable how GMs keep trading for these guys thinking they are winning players.

[makaveli]

Allen Iverson is one of the most overrated players I've ever seen.

I remember when the Iverson-to-Boston rumors were floating around... I hit this forum hard with lots of posts calling Iverson a "6 foot shooting guard who shoots 41%".   I even suggested that Boston would be better off with a guy like Stephon Marbury, because at least Marbury got some assists and shot a slighty more respectable 44-45%... I went as far as to say that Iverson was the product of old basketball politics and entitlement (much like Walker getting to jack up shots in Boston despite shooting 39%) and that if you gave a random scrub like Sebastian Telfair the freedom to jack up 24 shots a night... he too would be able to muster a 20 point average.   Ok, that last part was taking it too far, but still...

I wasn't surprised at all that Denver got worse after they dumped Andre Miller for Iverson.  Get rid of a true pass-first point guard for a ballhog 6 foot shooting guard who shoots 41% and you get worse??  Shocking!   I wasn't surprised at all that Philly got better once Iverson was gone.    I wasn't surprised at all that Denver suddenly improved with the arrival of Billups.  And I'm not surprised in the slightest that Detroit has been a mess since Iverson's arrival.

But I still don't want to deal with them in the 1st round.

Great post, I gave you a tp, but the last sentence isn't smart. Right now, IMO any team in the NBA would like to play the Pistons in the first round more than any other team that is in the playoffs.

[QuinielaBox]

I'd like this team's future a lot more if Stuckey showed some improvement this year.  Subracting Wallace would help too.  There are times that Wallace makes POB seem like a highly motivated player in comparison.

OUCH, Moiso! Wallace making POB look like a highly motivated player??? POB makes Blount look highly motivated!

Iverson is a team player only if you can find the letter "I" in the word team. His future is likely to be on a bad team like the Clippers (Would be able to get Baron Davis and Chris Kaman of Mich St in a sign and trade - good for Detriot). Vintage Iverson could pick off a good team once in a while. 

[RockinRyA]

I'd like this team's future a lot more if Stuckey showed some improvement this year.  Subracting Wallace would help too.  There are times that Wallace makes POB seem like a highly motivated player in comparison.

OUCH, Moiso! Wallace making POB look like a highly motivated player??? POB makes Blount look highly motivated!

Iverson is a team player only if you can find the letter "I" in the word team. His future is likely to be on a bad team like the Clippers (Would be able to get Baron Davis and Chris Kaman of Mich St in a sign and trade - good for Detriot). Vintage Iverson could pick off a good team once in a while. 

only if you spell team T-"I"-M

[Drucci]

Well, now Iverson is "shut down for the season" (reminds you of somebody, huh?) and apparently not coming back even for the playoffs (if Detroit obtains a spot).

ESPN :

Allen Iverson will miss the remainder of the season, Detroit Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars announced Friday afternoon.

Iverson, who had been coming off the bench since returning from a back injury, will be shut down for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs. The Detroit News was the first to report the developement, which came days after Iverson complained of his new role.

The all-star guard missed 16 games between Feb. 27 and March 28 after leaving a game at New Orleans with a sore back on Feb. 25.

"After talking with Allen and our medical staff, we feel that resting Allen for the remainder of the season is the best course of action at this time," Dumars said in statement. "While he has played in our last three games, he is still feeling some discomfort and getting him physically ready to compete at the level he is accustomed to playing this late in the season does not seem possible at this point."

Iverson returned March 29 against Philadelphia and scored eight points with two assists and two rebounds in 21 minutes. In his three games back since the initial injury, he has averaged 7.7 points, 1.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 18.7 minutes a game.

Leon Rose, Iverson's agent, insisted Iverson's health was the only factor in the decision.

"There's nothing else going on," Rose said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

The Pistons began Friday as the seventh-seeded team in the Eastern Conference. They lead Chicago by a half game and Charlotte by two with less than two weeks left in the regular season.

Detroit plays Saturday in Philadelphia, where Iverson was an MVP. The 76ers traded him two years ago to Denver. The Nuggets then dealt him to the Pistons for Chauncey Billups in November.

Iverson averaged 17.4 points, 4.9 assists and 3.1 rebounds for the Pistons, who struggled to integrate him and his preference to control the basketball on offense.

While he did not contribute much on the court, his $20-plus million contract that expires after this season gives Detroit a lot of salary cap space to potentially make major moves this summer and next.

Iverson said the right things when he was introduced as a Piston, but didn't always do the right thing.

"One thing is for sure, I'm going to do whatever the coach wants me to do," Iverson said at a packed news conference on the day Dumars presented him with a Detroit jersey.

Less than a month later, however, Iverson was the only player who didn't show up for a practice coach Michael Curry wanted to have on Thanksgiving and was fined.

[celticinorlando]

iverson is done is detroit

[moiso]

He was far more disgruntled than many here chose to admit.

[davemonsterband]

Once the trade was made this is what we knew.

1. It was a contract move
2. They were done for this season
3. They would not win and AI would complain about it to the media
4. Allen Iverson will never win a championship
5. Rasheed should take a pay cut and come to Boston this offseason.

[Txusberg]

Since AI is done for the season, does his absence make the Pistons an easier potential match-up for the 1st round of the Play-offs?. Or will Rip Hamilton and Co. play better not having AI around?. Either way, if we face the Pistons this year I think it will be easier than last year 1st round against the Hawks.

[moiso]

I'd rather play against a Pistons team with AI.  Rondo just blows by him like he's not there and he won't stick to House either.

[makaveli]

I'd rather play against a Pistons team with AI.  Rondo just blows by him like he's not there and he won't stick to House either.

Yup, I'd rather have AI playin'