http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4457772 Iverson tweet: He's going to Memphis Comment Email Print Share By Marc Stein ESPN.com Is one of the league's smallest markets big enough for O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph and Allen Iverson? The NBA is about to find out. After a drawn-out recruitment by the Memphis Grizzlies, Iverson finally confirmed Wednesday morning that he is indeed Memphis-bound, announcing via his Twitter feed: "God Chose Memphis as the place that I will continue my career." Referring to a Monday meeting with Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley, general manager Chris Wallace and head coach Lionel Hollins, Iverson added: "I feel that they are committed to developing a winner and I know that I can help them to accomplish that. I feel that I can trust them." The Grizzlies are believed to be offering Iverson a one-year deal worth $3.5 million, which is far less than the nearly $21 million he earned last season in Denver and Detroit but more than anyone else was prepared to pay the 34-year-old. At Heisley's behest, Memphis has been pursuing Iverson since July, ignoring concerns about Iverson's willingness to accept a reserve role or his ability to co-exist in the same offense with Mayo, Gay and Randolph because of his presumed ability to generate interest and sell tickets for a franchise that languished in the shadow of John Calipari's Memphis Tigers. Grizzlies officials did not immediately confirm the signing but have made it clear since last week that they have merely been waiting for Iverson to take their offer. In a radio interview Tuesday with WHBQ-AM in Memphis, Wallace sounded hopeful about Iverson ultimately joining the team, saying: "We had a very productive meeting yesterday where both sides got to know each other and what our expectations were. We got to hear Allen out, he got to hear us out and I thought it went pretty well." Asked specifically about Iverson's well-known aversion to coming off the bench, Wallace said: "He indicated to us that he just wants to come in and help a team out, to get better, to win, and he'll shine during that process. I think Allen Iverson is going to be very fine with whatever role he would end up fulfilling here in Memphis. ... He knows where we're coming from, we know where he's coming from and I think if he comes here it's going to be a very productive marriage." Monday's sitdown in Atlanta was the first face-to-face contact between Iverson and Grizzlies officials since the process began, with Memphis negotiating to this point primarily with Leon Rose, Iverson's agent. Iverson has spent much of the past two months hoping that a firm offer would materialize from the Miami Heat, New York Knicks or Charlotte Bobcats, with the latter presenting the possibility of a reunion with former coach Larry Brown. But Iverson was ultimately forced to concede that only the Grizzlies had the financial flexibility and definite interest to pay him more than a minimum salary after his nightmarish stint with the Pistons. Iverson played in only 57 games last season after being dealt by Denver to Detroit less than a week into the season and averaged a career-low 17.5 points, hampered by a back injury and his open struggles to cope with coming off the bench for the first time in his career. He would end up leaving the Pistons in April by mutual agreement before the playoffs. But Iverson has insisted in recent days that he is amenable to whatever the Grizzlies have in mind for him as well as the steep drop from last season's salary, writing via Twitter: "Memphis is a place that I would love to play. The Grizzlies have good young players with a great upside. I love the city of Memphis, too. "I would lead by example," Iverson wrote. In a July interview with ESPN.com, Heisley scoffed at suggestions that signing Iverson -- the sort of drawing card that the Grizzlies have never had in an eight-season run in Memphis marked by notoriously low attendance figures -- was dangerous given the presence of Mayo at the same position and the recent arrival of Randolph. "What appeals to me?" Heisley said, repeating the question. "He's one of the greatest players in the last 10 years in the NBA. "Obviously I think he'd be a crowd pleaser in Memphis. But like I said ... we're in there but I don't know whether or not we're going to get him." Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com.
Wasn't there a thread about Iverson signing with the Bobcats not too long ago? I thought that was official. ( Didnt have time to read the whole article)
God did not choose for Allen Iverson to continue his career in Memphis. Satan did. Have fun playing in Hel ..errr, Memphis!
Man, it's the GRIZZLIES, man. We're talkin' bout the GRIZZLIES. How can I make my teammates better by going to the GRIZZLIES?!?!? What? We're talkin' bout the Grizzlies, man.
It's sad to see some of these great, great players end their careers as journeymen wandering from non-contender to non-contender.
The Grizz was the only team that wanted him, yet they still had trouble signing a washed up has been. Glad I don't live in Memphis.
Whoopdy Freakin' Doo! AI just became even more irrelevant than he already was. At least on the Nugs and Pistons, people in general cared about those teams and they had some impact on the NBA balance of power. Now the AI sideshow goes to Memphis. Any ounce of cred he might have had disappeared with this part of his twitter: I feel that they are committed to developing a winner and I know that I can help them to accomplish that. I feel that I can trust them. Forget the team he's talking about (if you can). If this is true, why did AI sign a ONE-YEAR deal? Saying the Grizz are committed to winning in 09/10 is just about as silly as it gets. If his head was on straight, he could have signed with any number of playoff teams who would love his scoring and energy off the bench. But nobody wanted AI because now he's just a pathetic loser who's too full of himself to see straight. Allen Iverson still hasn't grown up yet.
HALLELUJAH! The suspense was KILLING me...... Pairing AI with Zach Randolph is pure gold. Memphis' new marketing scheme: COME SEE THE.......
Perfect fit. The Grizzlies can use Iverson and Randolph to show uneducated fans that they're "trying to win". And Iverson can do whatever the hell he wants on a team that doesn't give a damn. Mayo will learn the ways of the ballhog from the very best.
Lets take 4 excellent fantasy basketball players and put them all on the same team thus reducing all of their value. Way to go Memphis you made a joke out of the real NBA and now the fantasy one.
Good signing at that price. AI is a lot better than people will give him credit for now days... If Thabeet can block some shots, Memphis might be kind of good.
ow Good Signing????? This guy took a team contending for the title straight to the lottery!! Now you take a washed up ball hogg and put him on a team of youngsters that need leadership -- man what a disaster.
The problem with AI is that when a team is no longer built around him, he doesn't know how to adjust his game accordingly. He still thinks he is an alpha dog and wants the ball in his hands the majority of the time. I find this either pathetic or poetic that AI signs with a crap team for a small salary. Maybe he can find a way to fit in with the young guys on the Grizz, but I'm with the majority, I don't see this working out. I mean, I can understand the small salary, economy is bad for a lot of the players. But to a crap team? Once the losing keeps piling on, general apathy and going through the motions that comes with it, the young guys tuning out the old fart with all the "sage" advices...at around midseason AI is going to be sitting in that locker room after a bad loss, have both his hands on his head staring blankly into nothing and wonder "Why did I do this?"
