Iverson Will Not Go Gently Into The Night
Allen Iverson still has skills, but no NBA general manager will go near him now.
He's a real nowhere man.
In Boston, Rasheed Wallace has embraced the role as a sixth man late in his career. He was a starter and a star on a Pistons team that won the NBA title, now he is a sixth man. He’s good with that, and the spark he brings off the bench is a key reason the Boston Celtics are off to a fast start and look like title contenders.
Allen Iverson could be that spark for a contending team — listening to him talk right after the Lakers game last Friday you could hear the passion to win in his voice. But that passion led him to walk away from Memphis a few hours later.
Right now general managers in the NBA are treating AI like he is radioactive. Nobody wants him. This may be the end of his NBA career, or at least the end of him playing for anything meaningful.
Officially, everyone from Memphis is saying Iverson left to deal with a personal issue, but everyone else in the NBA knows that issue is Iverson could not stand the seat from the bench at the start of the game.
From where Allen Iverson sits, it’s all so clear: If the Memphis Grizzlies want to win, they should start him. He is a better player than Mike Conley, who starts. Therefore, more Iverson would mean more wins.
It’s not really true. Memphis is really trying to groom a young team, and that includes Mike Conley at point. Iverson was supposed to be that spark off the bench. A number of contenders — the Lakers with Lamar Odom, the Spurs with Manu Ginobili, to name two —bring guys who could start off the bench. If you bring in All Stars and put them against second string guys, you have an advantage.
Iverson could be that guy, he could be that spark for a contender. Except his ego wouldn’t let him do it. And after tanking with the Pistons and walking away from the Grizzlies, no general manager of a contender will go near him.
After the Lakers game, it was clear Iverson still has passion, he still wants to win. It was the underlying theme of everything he said.
But actions speak louder than words. And Iverson has walked away from his chance to win — or maybe ever play in the NBA — again.
