Manager: Allen Iverson has Turkish offer

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Allen Iverson is poised for a revival -- in the Middle East.

Iverson, after short-lived stints with the Memphis Grizzlies and Philadelphia 76ers last season, is closing in on a contract to play with the Turkish team Besiktas Cola Turka, according to his business manager.


 
Iverson
 
The one-season deal could net Iverson as much as $2 million, Yahoo! Sports has reported, citing unnamed sources.

"We are in very serious negotiations with [Besiktas]," Iverson's manager Gary Moore told Yahoo! Sports. "Istanbul is beautiful from everything we've learned. It's not that far from the U.S., and the competition is good, which makes it all attractive.

"Allen wants to play basketball."

One hangup in the agreement over the weekend had been Iverson's insistence on a limit for what the team can fine him, the Yahoo! Sports report says.

Iverson sought a cap of less than 1 percent of a $1.5 million salary for each fine, the report said, citing a European source. Iverson on Monday was sent a contract Besiktas was hoping to get signed by the end of the week.

But the deal was expected to take as long as 10 days to be completed, Yahoo! Sports reported.

Besiktas is among the top teams in Turkey's first division, which starts play this weekend.

But Besiktas has run into problems financially, Yahoo! Sports reported, citing Eurobasket.com. The team has recently been sued by American player Lonnie Baxter and his agent to recover salary and fees, according to the report.

Iverson had been considering playing in China, where there was "legitimate interest" between him and a team to work out a deal, Moore said last month.

Moore said then, with less than two weeks before NBA training camps opened, that Iverson had not been contacted by any NBA team.

"We're very astonished, to say the least, that not one team has contacted us with any interest," Moore said. "I just don't understand it."

Iverson played three games for Memphis last season before he returned for a second stint with the 76ers. He averaged 13.9 points for the Sixers before he took a leave of absence in March because of family issues.

In his prime, Iverson boasted top-selling jerseys and sneakers and was a global superstar. His popularity never waned even as his production dipped -- Iverson was voted an Eastern Conference All-Star starter last season. Iverson would be a drawing card overseas, ranking 17th on the NBA's career scoring list with 24,368 points over a 14-year career with Philadelphia, Denver, Detroit and Memphis. He won the MVP in 2001 when he led the Sixers to the NBA Finals.

Iverson was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 draft and spent his first 10 seasons in Philadelphia. He was a four-time scoring champion, averaged 26.7 points and never won a championship.

He was hobbled by an arthritic left knee and constantly needed it drained last season. Iverson also famously clashed with his coaches, notably Larry Brown, but returned to Philadelphia humbled, reserved and more accepting of team play.

Moore said last month Iverson is healthy and works out in Atlanta prepping for a comeback.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5674389

Hahahaha Allen.  Had you learned how to be a team player, maybe you wouldn't be in this mess.