Some may ask, how can a guy who is third all time on the NBA scoring list still be searching for a job? I’ll tell you why. He’s a cancer, he’s a coach killer, he is an immature adolescent. Allen Iverson is perhaps the epitome of the newer generation of “Me first second and third” players that have populated all of the major sports today. Iverson could get away with such antics, such as not showing up to practice and not working on his defense when he was younger and leading the league in scoring.
But now, with a fast eroding skill set and much of the same attitude and ego problems, Iverson is no longer an attractive option for a team the aspires to be a contender. Not only that, but Iverson is receiving little attention from the fringe playoff teams. For a brief moment, there was a rumor circulating around that Iverson could return to Philly.
When asked about Iverson potentially returning to Philly, 76ers General Manager Ed Stefanski all but shot the rumor down.
"Allen Iverson is a very good basketball player, but we don't see him in our plans with the age of our kids. We are going to go with youth at the point guard position, and I am sure Allen will hook on with someone."
He might as well have said, we don’t want that god damn cancer anywhere near our young talent. It says a whole lot that even teams that need help in their backcourt, don’t want any part of Iverson. Of course, Iverson dug his own grave with the complete and utter fiasco last season in Detroit.
The Iverson stint in Detroit went awry almost instantaneously. After starting the year 4-0 before Iverson played his first game in the Piston red and blue, the Pistons blew a big lead in a loss at New Jersey and were blown out at home against the defending champion Boston Celtics.
After the Iverson-Hamilton backcourt failed to show any good chemistry, the Pistons opted to move Rodney Stuckey into the starting lineup – without removing either Hamilton or Iverson (who should have been moved to the bench). The small ball tactics had some initial success, with a 7 game winning streak from December 23rd to January 4th. But, that was probably the weakest 7 game winning streak in history, with several of those victories being nail biters and against bad teams (Nets, Kings, Clippers, Bucks).
That winning streak did not mask the growing feud brewing between Iverson and Hamilton. Neither may have said anything about it publicly, but it was obvious to anyone who can read between the lines.
The conflict got worse when it was widely speculated that one of either Hamilton or Iverson would be sent to the bench, so that the struggling Pistons could play the more conventional starting lineup of two guards, two forwards and a center. Simply put, there were not enough shots to go around between two ball hogging divas and enough left over to keep everyone else happy.
Hamilton flatly denied the notion of him being the one to come off the bench. “That ain’t happening”, he said.
Well it did happen on January 20th. Hamilton was benched, Iverson was not and the team continued to play poorly, going 4-12 in that stretch. But here’s where it gets interesting. On February 27th, following a season high 8 consecutive losses, the Pistons announced that Iverson would be moved to the bench. Now in that 8th loss, Iverson strained his back and was forced out of the game in the first quarter. That is certainly an injury that can keep a player out for a few games… but 32 days? You have to be kidding me. Iverson’s fragile ego was in more pain than his back – and that is what kept him out so long.
Iverson did return to the Pistons on March 31st in Cleveland. After playing only 17 minutes and being pulled for the stretch run of the 4th quarter, Iverson complained.
"I can play 18 minutes with my eyes closed and a 100-pound truck on my back," Iverson said said. "I'm wondering what the rush was to get me back. It's a bad time for me mentally. I'm just trying to get through it without starting a whole bunch of nonsense. I'm looking at the big picture, if I vent my frustrations, then it's on.”
He came off the bench for a whopping two games before it was deemed that he was unable to play and he would be shut down for the rest of the season, per Dumars.
"After talking with Allen and our medical staff, we feel that resting Allen for the remainder of the season is the best course of action at this time," Dumars said in a statement. "While he has played in our last three games, he is still feeling some discomfort and getting him physically ready to compete at the level he is accustomed to playing this late in the season does not seem possible at this point."
Dumars is the master of spin and coverups. It was clear that the team had enough of the Iverson experiment. But it was far too late. The Pistons were already 3 games under .500 (36-39) and battling just to make the playoffs. They would make the playoffs, but would be abruptly swept aside by the Cavaliers.
Some Iverson apologists may point to his line in Denver two years ago (26 & 7) for “proof” that he hasn’t slowed down. But those stats don’t tell the whole story. George Karl had this to say on Denver’s improved team play shortly after the Billups-Iverson swap.
“There are less bad plays, more solid plays,” Karl said. “I think the wasteful, cheap possessions that we used to have 10 to 15 a game, they don’t exist very much anymore. Sometimes I saw something, but I couldn’t get it done on the court because I didn’t have a playmaker out there.”
Say what you will, but he took a shot at Iverson. But hey, you can’t blame him. As the leader of the team, Iverson “lead” the Nuggets to a 1-8 playoff record in his two years there, putting George Karl on the proverbial hot seat. As has been the trend in recent years, Denver improved by leaps and bounds after getting rid of Iverson. With Billups replacing Iverson, the Nuggets won 54 games and went to their first conference finals in well over 20 years.
But it gets even worse for Iverson. Eliminating several possible suitors for him this upcoming season, Iverson recently said he would rather retire than come off the bench again.
"I will retire before I do this again. I will leave the game before I do this," Iverson said. "Because I can't be effective like I know I can playing this way. It's just something I've not ever been able or had to do."
This guy is just slamming door shut behind him. Is Iverson really delusional enough to think that he could start for most teams in this league? I do believe he could be a good player off the bench (about 20 min a game) for a playoff contender. And had he not scoffed at the notion of coming off the bench, I think his agent would be listening to a lot more offers than he is. But NBA teams are not willing to cater to a 33 year old man with the mindset of a petulant child anymore… not even the bad teams. Even the basement bound Clippers aren’t interested in Iverson.
Iverson has seen his last NBA game unless he changes his outlook… and at his age, that doesn’t seem all that likely.
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