Interesting Iverson Article

[nickagneta]

Latest IE speculations and news. NBA writer lists a few random spots for him, don't know the writers credentials, but NBA.COM is probably more credible then bleacher report

http://www.nba.com/2010/news/features/fran_blinebury/08/19/allen-iverson-possible-teams/.

and rumors the hornets and magic may have interest in http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22748484/24011781

Just throwing out there for everyone. You can't really argue everyone believes its impossible if cbssports is reporting it as a possiblility. Its not like they run patrick ewing comeback stories.

CBSSports is actually reporting that Marc Stein at ESPN.com refutes the Hornets interest in Iverson and then makes extremely credible arguments why neither team should be showing any interest. They kind of argue that the report makes no sense.

Also, the reports are they were interested in bring him in for a workout. As McGrady's workouts in LA and Chicago show, that means very, very little if in fact the reports are true which Marc Stein refutes and the author at CBSSports makes a good logical case that they could be.

Iverson's people could just be putting out false rumors to get his name being talked about again.

[celticsclay]

Hey no argument from me on anything you said there. I was just pointing out a few sites were talking about him. FWIW Mark Stein doesn't have a lot of weight with me. Most of his rumors are pure speculation and never come true. Has he ever broken a real story?

[the_Bird]

CC and Nick - On the surface, what you say can be taken into consideration, but AI should've never went to MEM. With where he is at at this point of his career, he would've been best able to help a veteran team.

This is the part that I don't think people get.

People really think AI *wanted* to sign in Memphis?  There were plenty - PLENTY of places where AI (with the right mindset) would have been much better off (including here).

Why not sign with a veteran team, like LA or Boston?  Hell, even Charlotte would have been a good fit.

Methinks the most likely explanation is that they wanted nothing to do with him (and nothing's changes in the past twelve months to make him more attractive).

AI got lucky twice - once that Memphis was willing to take a (bad) gamble, and twice that Philly was going nowhere and desperate to at least get one or two sellouts.

This season?  Forget it.  To mix my metaphors, he's burned his bridges and now he's up the creek.  Sans paddle.

[celticsclay]

CC and Nick - On the surface, what you say can be taken into consideration, but AI should've never went to MEM. With where he is at at this point of his career, he would've been best able to help a veteran team.

This is the part that I don't think people get.

People really think AI *wanted* to sign in Memphis?  There were plenty - PLENTY of places where AI (with the right mindset) would have been much better off (including here).

Why not sign with a veteran team, like LA or Boston?  Hell, even Charlotte would have been a good fit.

Methinks the most likely explanation is that they wanted nothing to do with him (and nothing's changes in the past twelve months to make him more attractive).

AI got lucky twice - once that Memphis was willing to take a (bad) gamble, and twice that Philly was going nowhere and desperate to at least get one or two sellouts.

This season?  Forget it.  To mix my metaphors, he's burned his bridges and now he's up the creek.  Sans paddle.

You are entitled to your opinion, but it is kind of hard to say that matter of factly when he actually signed for 3.1 million. If he had signed for the vet min, you could have an argument. However, if a player signs with 3.1 it is usually a sign they are at least bidding against some teams. If the celtics could have gotten him for the veterans minimum we have no reason to think they would not have wanted him. Especially considering the fact Ainge has tried to acquire him in the past and the fact we acquired an undersized gunner with a character issue later in the season (the loveable nate).

PS I know a lot of people are licking their chops with the Wallace is a dumb gm angle, but he did sign a player for about 3 million this offseason that I know a lot of people wanted back and there was certainly a market for...

[nickagneta]

CC and Nick - On the surface, what you say can be taken into consideration, but AI should've never went to MEM. With where he is at at this point of his career, he would've been best able to help a veteran team.

This is the part that I don't think people get.

People really think AI *wanted* to sign in Memphis?  There were plenty - PLENTY of places where AI (with the right mindset) would have been much better off (including here).

Why not sign with a veteran team, like LA or Boston?  Hell, even Charlotte would have been a good fit.

Methinks the most likely explanation is that they wanted nothing to do with him (and nothing's changes in the past twelve months to make him more attractive).

AI got lucky twice - once that Memphis was willing to take a (bad) gamble, and twice that Philly was going nowhere and desperate to at least get one or two sellouts.

This season?  Forget it.  To mix my metaphors, he's burned his bridges and now he's up the creek.  Sans paddle.

You are entitled to your opinion, but it is kind of hard to say that matter of factly when he actually signed for 3.1 million. If he had signed for the vet min, you could have an argument. However, if a player signs with 3.1 it is usually a sign they are at least bidding against some teams. If the celtics could have gotten him for the veterans minimum we have no reason to think they would not have wanted him. Especially considering the fact Ainge has tried to acquire him in the past and the fact we acquired an undersized gunner with a character issue later in the season (the loveable nate).

Or its a sign of horrible management.

Chris Wallace is the same guy that that traded Gasol to the Lakers and Joe Johnson to Phoenix when he could have sent Kedrick Brown. So his past shows a history of doing really stupid things as a manager of a basketball team. Overpaying Iverson can be chalked up as just another stupid decision.

[celticsclay]

I was trying to research this, and with the pick trading its hard to follow. Does anyone know who the grizzlies ended up with as a result of their two first round picks from the Gasol trade? If they are decent players that trade might not be that bad. It will never be great but Marc Gasol has definitely turned into an NBA starting center and the Grizzlies have some nice pieces. Wallace is doing a better then expected job in Memphis right now overall. Although it might be against Celtic blog law to say something slightly positive about Wallace. In case anyone is confused I am not defending his time here at all, it was awful.

[LB3533]

AI WANTED to play ball....he felt he could do it on a Memphis team with squat as stars...he figured wrong.

I believe the owners of the Grizzlies wanted to use AI to sell and market the team...and Wallace did his due diligence to cater to his bosses.

Neither Iverson nor Wallace nor the Grizzlies owners counted on poor communication between player and coaching staff.

[LB3533]

I was trying to research this, and with the pick trading its hard to follow. Does anyone know who the grizzlies ended up with as a result of their two first round picks from the Gasol trade? If they are decent players that trade might not be that bad. It will never be great but Marc Gasol has definitely turned into an NBA starting center and the Grizzlies have some nice pieces. Wallace is doing a better then expected job in Memphis right now overall. Although it might be against Celtic blog law to say something slightly positive about Wallace. In case anyone is confused I am not defending his time here at all, it was awful.

It was and still is an awful trade, didn't matter who they got from the picks.

[celticsclay]

I was trying to research this, and with the pick trading its hard to follow. Does anyone know who the grizzlies ended up with as a result of their two first round picks from the Gasol trade? If they are decent players that trade might not be that bad. It will never be great but Marc Gasol has definitely turned into an NBA starting center and the Grizzlies have some nice pieces. Wallace is doing an average job in Memphis right now overall. Although it might be against Celtic blog law to say something slightly positive about Wallace. In case anyone is confused I am not defending his time here at all, it was awful.

It was and still is an awful trade, didn't matter who they got from the picks.

I also thought about the Gay contract and some other things and have downgraded Wallace's current job in Memphis as average

[nickagneta]

AI WANTED to play ball....he felt he could do it on a Memphis team with squat as stars...he figured wrong.

I believe the owners of the Grizzlies wanted to use AI to sell and market the team...and Wallace did his due diligence to cater to his bosses.

Neither Iverson nor Wallace nor the Grizzlies owners counted on poor communication between player and coaching staff.

The poor communication was between Iverson's ears. His thinking that he would start for a team that had established young starters in the positions he played and just replace them even though the franchise had committed to a youth movement similar to the one in Portland and OKC, was just plain stupid on his part.

He refused to look at the situation intelligently because of his huge ego that thought he makes any team better by starting for them. Long term it was better for the Grizz to stick with their youth movement and have AI come off the bench. The only person who couldn't see that was Iverson. The poor communication was entirely on Iverson.

[GreenFaith1819]

Nick - you are correct. Allen Iverson does in fact have a huge ego.

Just like Kobe, Pierce, KG, Ray, Larry, Michael, etc......

[nickagneta]

Nick - you are correct. Allen Iverson does in fact have a huge ego.

Just like Kobe, Pierce, KG, Ray, Larry, Michael, etc......

Absolutely. And some of those guys have allowed their huge egos to get them in trouble and to do and say stupid things.

Kobe's Denver fiasco.
Pierce's "best player on the planet" comment.
Michael's gambling problems.
Etc.

AI's ego has caused him to say, do and assume some pretty stupid stuff too.

[GreenFaith1819]

Nick - you are correct. Allen Iverson does in fact have a huge ego.

Just like Kobe, Pierce, KG, Ray, Larry, Michael, etc......

Absolutely. And some of those guys have allowed their huge egos to get them in trouble and to do and say stupid things.

Kobe's Denver fiasco.
Pierce's "best player on the planet" comment.
Michael's gambling problems.
Etc.

AI's ego has caused him to say, do and assume some pretty stupid stuff too.

Nick - you are correct once again. But I still think that AI gets a bad rap, though - but that's me.

Also - just wanted to clear the air about that article. I've thought long and hard about it, and while I don't think there is a conspiracy so to speak, there is some bad air out there about AI.

Yes as I've admitted - he has brought some of this on himself, but us as the adoring public has forgiven Kobe, Ron Ron, etc - why can't we forgive AI?

I think, sadly, that there are some that want the "AI Era" to go away. And the man still has game left.

He just needs to go to the right team. I'd rather AI just stay retired, myself, rather than go to a team that's weak.

I know the man would redeem himself in the eyes of his haters if he legitimately thought that he had a shot at winning a title.

[LB3533]

AI WANTED to play ball....he felt he could do it on a Memphis team with squat as stars...he figured wrong.

I believe the owners of the Grizzlies wanted to use AI to sell and market the team...and Wallace did his due diligence to cater to his bosses.

Neither Iverson nor Wallace nor the Grizzlies owners counted on poor communication between player and coaching staff.

The poor communication was between Iverson's ears. His thinking that he would start for a team that had established young starters in the positions he played and just replace them even though the franchise had committed to a youth movement similar to the one in Portland and OKC, was just plain stupid on his part.

He refused to look at the situation intelligently because of his huge ego that thought he makes any team better by starting for them. Long term it was better for the Grizz to stick with their youth movement and have AI come off the bench. The only person who couldn't see that was Iverson. The poor communication was entirely on Iverson.

I don't believe AI would sign with Memphis in a delusional state that he was going to come off the bench behind Mike Conley and OJ Mayo.

I am pretty certain that the Grizzlies used AI (for marketing reasons) just as AI planned to use the Grizzlies as a stage to prove he was not done and still in fact a star or at the very least an NBA "starter" with gas left.

There was no way Iverson signed with the Grizzlies with the plan for him to be a backup...he wouldn't have signed with a losing franchise to do play that way.

This is the same Iverson who didn't want to come off the bench behind Rip Hamilton....a guy who's won a championship and has a ton of more NBA swag than a Mike Conley or an OJ Mayo.



 

 edit - no personal attacks - wdleehi

[GreenFaith1819]

AI WANTED to play ball....he felt he could do it on a Memphis team with squat as stars...he figured wrong.

I believe the owners of the Grizzlies wanted to use AI to sell and market the team...and Wallace did his due diligence to cater to his bosses.

Neither Iverson nor Wallace nor the Grizzlies owners counted on poor communication between player and coaching staff.

The poor communication was between Iverson's ears. His thinking that he would start for a team that had established young starters in the positions he played and just replace them even though the franchise had committed to a youth movement similar to the one in Portland and OKC, was just plain stupid on his part.

He refused to look at the situation intelligently because of his huge ego that thought he makes any team better by starting for them. Long term it was better for the Grizz to stick with their youth movement and have AI come off the bench. The only person who couldn't see that was Iverson. The poor communication was entirely on Iverson.

I don't believe AI would sign with Memphis in a delusional state that he was going to come off the bench behind Mike Conley and OJ Mayo.

I am pretty certain that the Grizzlies used AI (for marketing reasons) just as AI planned to use the Grizzlies as a stage to prove he was not done and still in fact a star or at the very least an NBA "starter" with gas left.

There was no way Iverson signed with the Grizzlies with the plan for him to be a backup...he wouldn't have signed with a losing franchise to do play that way.

This is the same Iverson who didn't want to come off the bench behind Rip Hamilton....a guy who's won a championship and has a ton of more NBA swag than a Mike Conley or an OJ Mayo.

 

. . .

It is in fact baffling to me why AI is a lightening rod. I don't like it and believe that it is unfair to him, but in the end there is always a person's thoughts on it.

My thing is this: Anyone can redeem themselves. Tony Allen was on a freight train out of Boston several months ago, but by maturing and staying healthy he played his way back into one of our favorites.

Same with Sheed - he redeemed himself in the playoffs last year.

Stephon Marbury - while not making a huge impact - played well for us and didn't disrupt the team. He even helped us win a couple of games, like Doc predicted he would.

To me, AI is no different. He just needs the right opportunity.