grizzlies signed him to come off the bench. they're still paying him millions. it's not like other teams made a contract offer otherwise he wouldn't be there.
In the 90's i really didn't appreciate David Robinson as a player because of our rivalry with the spurs, but damn it he played the game the right way and never complained or blamed anyone else for his misfortunes. Kinda reminds me of Shane Battier.
Anything is theoretically possible, but I think history is repeating itself from last season with the Pistons. When AI was benched, he just left town and didn't come back. That time it was blamed on an "injury" that he never recovered from. http://espn.go.com/blog/TrueHoop/po...r-between-on-allen-iversons-future-in-memphis Answers few and far between on Allen Iverson's future in Memphis November 7, 2009 10:40 PM by Chad Ford Is Allen Iverson's career in Memphis over after just three games? On Saturday, Iverson was granted permission to leave the the Grizzlies to deal with a personal matter a Grizzlies spokesperson confirmed. The question is, will he be back? Head coach Lionel Hollins said Saturday night that Iverson's departure was "indefinite." Owner Michael Heisley said Iverson's absence has nothing to do with his displeasure about his role on the team. “I’m not going to get into the personal reason but it has nothing to do with the other stuff,” Heisley told the Commercial Appeal, referring to Iverson’s unhappiness over his sixth man role. “I’m the guy who said he could go. It’s a real family issue that I don’t think should be reported.” However, Heisley also said that there are still big issues to address when and if Iverson returns. “There’s no question that when he comes back we have to work some things out,” Heisley said. “He’s got a lot of work to do, but we’ve all got to get on the same page. He understands what the conditions are. And we need to be less hyper about this along with Allen.” Despite Heisley's remarks to the media, the rumor making its way through the NBA grapevine, according to a number of league sources unconnected to the Grizzlies, is that Iverson's gone for good from the Grizzlies. One rival GM, citing a conversation with someone from the Grizzlies coaching staff, told ESPN.com that the Grizzlies and Iverson had mutually agreed to part ways. According to this source, the word is that Iverson was causing too many distractions and the team didn't want to deal with Iverson's insistence that he be put in the starting lineup. But another league source cautioned that these things often have a way of working themselves out over time. "You never say it's over until it's over," the source said. "The Grizzlies still owe Iverson a lot of money. I'm sure they're going to explore trading him but it's going to be really, really hard. If they can't, they may have to swallow $3.5 million this season. That works out to $1 million per game. They have a lot of financial problems there. I'm just not sure they are going to give up just yet." Iverson, who signed with Memphis as a free agent in the offseason, can't be traded until Dec. 15. If the Grizzlies intend to trade him, they have to keep him on the roster until at least that date, and they might also have to insist that they intend to keep him for the remainder of the season to keep teams from merely waiting for him to be waived. Of course, it's unclear whether Iverson has trade value at this point, given his problems with the Grizzlies. A number of GMs I spoke with on Saturday night said they had no interested in acquiring Iverson via trade or off the waiver wire. "I can't imagine anyone wanting him at this point," one GM said. "Struggling teams now know he's going to be a distraction. Contending teams have to live with the fact that Iverson puts himself above the team. Even the Clippers backed away from him this summer and Donald Sterling will do anything to sell tickets. I'm still not sure what the Grizzlies were thinking." No one is, especially in light of recent revelations that neither GM Chris Wallace nor Hollins addressed Iverson's role as a starter or bench player before signing him. "That is, in a word, amazing," one NBA executive who explored signing Iverson this summer said. "The guy has a documented history of resisting coming off the bench. The Grizzlies had a young starting backcourt of Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo. No one thought to explore it?" Iverson started the season sidelined by a hamstring injury. In his three games with the Grizzlies, he has come off the bench. After his first game, he made it known he was unhappy. "It's something that I never did in my life, so obviously it's a big adjustment," Iverson said of coming off the bench. Iverson also indicated that he was off to a rocky start with Hollins over more than just a starting position. "I think that's probably the worst part of all this," Iverson said Friday. "That while all this is going on, we have never talked to each other. That's probably why it's at this point right now. We've just never had a conversation, so it's probably going to always be hard for me and him to see eye-to-eye, because we've never even talked to each other. Obviously that's what you do if you're trying to accomplish the same goal." Iverson ran into similar issues last season with the Pistons. After he was demoted from his starting job to a sixth-man role, he eventually left the team and didn't return for the rest of the season. While the official reason provided was that Iverson was rehabbing an injury, sources said later that the Pistons and Iverson had mutually agreed to part ways because he couldn't come to grips with being demoted to the bench. Is history repeating itself? If it is, one GM was ready to write AI's NBA eulogy: "He's finished in the NBA. He can go hang out with Stephon Marbury."
From the ESPN article: Wow, I can't believe this it true. If so, Memphis is more messed up than I'd ever imagined. Who'd trade for Iverson now? What team would agree to just give him a starting job?
Not having any communication is bad, agreed. But then Iverson is very quick to consider it tainted forever. If Iverson tried to reach out and Hollins neglected to respond, doesnt matter if Iverson is high maintenance thats on Hollins for not providing clarity to the situation. I can understand players campaigning for time. Its still just strange how he can get petulant so fast from not playing as a starter lol. If Iverson really is so good he'd easily beat out Conley anyways. Guess he'd rather feel like that "snubbed" and offended type person. Got too many people like that now
Does that mean Allen Iverson can dictate the player rotation of the Grizzlies? So why do we even need a coach for even if Allen Iverson can adjust rosters better than his own coach? He needs to bench his ass and learn a bit of humility EVEN if he is better than the whole team.
true, but he's still better than conley, c'mon, conley, he's a year or 2 away from a bench player. AI only has a few years left, but still can play a la ray allen, KG, Kobe, etc...
man, memphis really sucks. management, especially the GM, the whole organization needs a shake up. AI needs to play, if he plays more (starts) everyone's happy, except for conley who will be a career backup anyways.
First off, i wouldnt have ever signed Iverson on the grizz. I respect Hollins as a long time nba guy, but he cant coach Iverson. Hell, I'm not sure hollins can coach period. Its not that Iverson isnt a really good player and doesn't play hard, but when you're trying to establish something on a team like Memphis, having iverson there probably doesn't help. I watched them play the warriors the other night and in the 3 rd qt, gay got hot for like 12 in a row. Instead of riding the really hot hand, hollins brought in iverson and took gay and mayo out. I've also seen him put iverson out there with gay,mayo,and randoplh. Its one thing to have flip murray come in with the 2nd unti, but when a guy like iverson comes in, he's shooting all the balls.
so long AI! it took you THREE games to destroy your own situation in Memphis. who knows? maybe he would have become the starter after he put in a week or two off the bench, coming off an injury, missing training camp and preseason... you know, actually having learned some of the team's system and sets... actually earning something on an NBA team. I don't care if he averages 27 points and led a team to the Finals and/or got an MVp and improved the Nuggets from a 44 win team to a 50 win team. he can join Stephon Marbury and pretend like they have a career left. they have destroyed their own careers with their attitude and their personality.
This might be indicative of his declining skill, sure, but it might also be indicative of his team or his coach or the system or the inconsistency of all three combined. I'm no Iverson apologist. I believe he can still play. But it would be tough to teach him that he now has more than a little of The Question in him than The Answer, and he needs to involve his teammates. And blending in has never been his strong point.
Funny, Same people b*tching about him giving a d*mn and wanting to start would be the same people b*tching if he just chilled and collected a check. Come in 15 minutes a game and 'get his' and then is laughing on the sidelines collecting a check . . . .folx would be screaming bloody murder Look . .. we get it. . you don't like the guy Rocket River
For his ****ty attitude with Detriot and Memphis .. I think Iverson shouldnt be inducted to the HOF .. Nobody is too good at 34 to come off the bench ..
i dont think that is accurate. who does he give a damn about? the team? winning? himself? i think its pretty clear that its the latter. i think people are b****ing about the fact that he continually puts himself over the team. its ALL about AI. just read his quotes...he doesnt give a damn about the team - its all about ME ME ME!!! but if memphis really didnt iron out all the details wrt whether or not he would start than they are partly to blame - iverson has made it clear that he didnt want to come off the bench. the guy is on a new team, has been injured, missed training camp and preseason and he wants to instantly be the starter - i could respect him if he just went out and played when called on - if he was deserving of the spot than he would get it - but to whine like this after 3 games on a new team is just sad. jo mama
