Allen Iverson retires, unretires, then signs with Sixers

Worth noting the "for now" in this article. It would hardly be unprecedented if he changed his mind and probably not unrealistic if there was serious interest from a team that could offer him either the role he's after or a shot at a championship.

Doesn't his retirement mean he's pretty much after the role, not championship. I think he'd be already with a contender as a second unit player if he was after a championship.

It would suggest that it remains his preference at this time, yes. Should a contender have a key role player go down with an injury late in the season however, they might be moved to make an overture to AI and I'd say it will at least pique his interest, as with Stephon Marbury last year.

Larry Brown: Allen Iverson shouldn’t retire

Larry Brown has a message for Allen Iverson: don’t give up.

Iverson’s former coach said Friday he thinks the 10-time All-Star “still has a passion to play” and shouldn’t retire. An online report this week indicated Iverson had decided to end his career after receiving little interest from NBA teams.

“Think about it: You’re an MVP in the All-Star game and an MVP in the league, scored over 20,000 points,” Brown said. “You still know you can play, and to not have everybody jump up, it’s a pretty humbling thing. But he can play.”

Brown says Iverson could get opportunities later in the season. He pointed to Jan. 10, the date contracts are no longer guaranteed for the season, and the trade deadline a month later when several teams may reshape their rosters.

One can't help but note, however, that he's not exactly in a rush to campaign for Iverson to be brought to Charlotte.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=t ... &type=lgns

also

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=A ... &type=lgns

i predicted this.


my post....


Re: Allen Iverson To The Lakers?

Postby kingjames23 on Wed Nov 18, 2009 11:17 am
wouldnt that be a great story.... the prodigal son returns....?

who am i kidding. he'll probably go to a non-factor team, sit the bench and quit again. NY isn't a contender, if he goes there he will be frustrated because he doesn't want to play for a team that isn't winning. i actually think Philly is logical because, who would start over him? he could play point start over Williams, or he could play the 2, shift Iggy back to SF and have Young come off the bench. far fetched, i know. but hey... what do '6ers fans think of it? would you want AI back?

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/j ... ef:nbahpt1

Iverson might be heading home ladies and gents.

in case you didnt understand what i was talking about in my copy paste of my post. lol

Williams' injury would seem to have opened the door for it. At this point I'd imagine he'd start over Holiday and continue to start even when Williams returns. It just remains to be seen whether it would be a farewell tour, should it happen.

the fact that his old team wants him back, and that he could start immediately might be all the motivation he needs... now if only they were contenders....

I'm guessing he'd trade in the chance to contend for the chance to start and fit into a role to which he's more accustomed.

76ERS INTERESTED IN A.I.

http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/ ... n_iverson/

Yep.... Just seen it on NBA Fastbreak. 76ers interested....

Do you think if the 76ers offered Iverson a contract, he would stick by his retirement and turn it down?

I don't think so, I think he will accept the contract and retired as a 76ers but that's just me.

i think he will accept the offer...

I think he'd more than likely accept. The remarks that accompanied the announcement of his retirement were not those of someone who sounded content with their NBA career or felt that it was time to step away due to a lack of interest in playing in the NBA (or the ability to do so). I think he'd take the opportunity, especially as he could probably get 30 minutes a game and the starting spot in the absence of Louis Williams.

I wish he would just suck it up and join a contender and win a ring. As Charles Barkley said, "The only place Iverson will get is a spot on the list of great players who never won." Oh well, would be cool to see Iverson return to Philly if the opportunity persists.

That's kind of funny, coming from Charles Barkley. I wonder if he would evaluate his own career in such glib terms?

If the opportunity is there for AI to have a bigger role, I don't see why he should suck it up as it were, and settle for less. Let's face it, he's damned if he does, damned if he doesn't at this point. If he finishes his career a fairly significant player for wherever he ends up but doesn't win a championship, he'll be the guy who was too proud to admit his better days were behind him and missed out on an opportunity to win a championship in the twilight of his career. However, if he was to latch on with a contender and win a championship, he'd be the former star who couldn't win a ring by himself, so he latched on with a contender after bouncing around the league and rode someone else's coattails to glory. Whichever way he goes, he's going to cop flak for it.

Besides, it's not like a lot of contenders have shown interest in him, it's not like he can just decide to sign with a team in contention. If he wants to keep playing, it seems the Sixers might provide him with an opportunity. What happens after that and just how much he's got left in the tank is yet to be seen, if he doesn't win a championship then he's still in good company.

That's kind of funny, coming from Charles Barkley. I wonder if he would evaluate his own career in such glib terms?

Yeah, he compared himself to AI. He said Iverson would not want to be on the same list as him.

Really? Well, fair enough then. Still, not every star player is going to be a champion, even if they take a lesser role later in their careers and there's no guarantee AI would win a championship even if he went to a contender.

Really? Well, fair enough then. Still, not every star player is going to be a champion, even if they take a lesser role later in their careers and there's no guarantee AI would win a championship even if he went to a contender.

That's right but I guess Sir Charles is like a lot of us and think it's a shame that AI won't give himself the chance to become a winner at the end of his career.

I wish he would just suck it up and join a contender and win a ring. As Charles Barkley said, "The only place Iverson will get is a spot on the list of great players who never won." Oh well, would be cool to see Iverson return to Philly if the opportunity persists.

My thought as well. 6th man for the contenders sounds like a sweet deal for him. Especially if that was teams like, SAS, LAL, BOS, ORL, and etc. I am not sure why there is so much left to prove for him, when he has to accept the trend and a reality.

Why does he have to accept anything? Who says he can't still play the game at a very high level? Who are we to say he must do this or that? He wants to prove he can still be a significant player in the league rather than be a cheerleader; I say good for him, if he gets an opportunity to do that. And like I said before, if he was to sign on with a contender I'm sure he'd get criticised for riding someone else's coattails to a championship (assuming they went on to win, of course). Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't.

But more to the point, none of the contenders have shown any interest in him whatsoever, so far as it's been reported. It's one thing to say he should accept a lesser role on a contending team but ultimately it's up to someone to give him that opportunity.

You are right, Andrew, but my point was what Iverson has done led to the point where no team wants his service, at least not in the way Iverson wants to contribute. Given that he's not the same AI who led Phillies to the finals, he should learn to accept what he is given at the moment, and not cry over playing time or at lessor role he's given. It seems to me, the best possible choice for him was to accept being 6th man at Detroit and prepare for off-season to get more attention from quality teams. But what he did was typical me-first attitude once again, and wanted a team built around him.

http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/johnso ... t-aint-so/

A ring is probably important to AI, but if it was the be all and end all... why would he sign with Memphis?

I think after a forgettable stint with Detroit, he wanted to redeem himself and be remembered as he should; one of the greatest guards to ever play the game (point guard or shooting guard is debatable). For this reason, I don't think he'll accept a lesser role just because the team has a chance at a ring.

http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/johnson/2009/11/26/say-it-aint-so/

Charles Barkley threw me (Eddie Johnson) a cross court pass and my brain said, “Move forward and jump.” The problem was that when the message got to my legs, a Maverick had jumped in front of me and was headed the other way. We called a timeout and as I was walking to the bench, Charles was laughing and I said my legs would not move.

Allen Iverson, you are not done. You have so much more to show us. Stop listening to the people who probably have you in this frame of mind today.

You know, the ones who sat around all day waiting for you to come home while you were at practice working your rear off.

loooool

You are right, Andrew, but my point was what Iverson has done led to the point where no team wants his service, at least not in the way Iverson wants to contribute. Given that he's not the same AI who led Phillies to the finals, he should learn to accept what he is given at the moment, and not cry over playing time or at lessor role he's given. It seems to me, the best possible choice for him was to accept being 6th man at Detroit and prepare for off-season to get more attention from quality teams. But what he did was typical me-first attitude once again, and wanted a team built around him.

But that's assuming that he's not capable of being a starter in the NBA. Look at his numbers in his last full season with Denver, the last time he was playing in a system where he fit in and was able to play the game his way. I would say he's still capable of playing at that level given the opportunity, whether or not that team will be successful is another matter entirely but if he's still that good, why should he resign himself to a more limited role off the bench? To win a championship - possibly, there's more than one contender and no guarantees - but I'm sure the experience would be tainted by his professional dissatisfaction. If he wants to prove that he can still play at a high level and has the opportunity, why not? Why settle for less, especially when there's no guarantee that it'll pay off in terms of being a part of a championship team?

And again, it comes down to the contenders wanting (or indeed, needing) him. Looking at the teams you mentioned - the Spurs, the Lakers, the Celtics, the Magic - they don't need Iverson and he doesn't fit their system. He's a player who does damage with the ball in his hands and none of those teams really need another player like that. Even putting attitude aside, even assuming he'd be willing to come off the bench for them and play less minutes, even with all his talent they just don't need him. If he can't latch on with a contender, better to look for somewhere where he can try to prove he's still got it rather than warm the bench for a team like the Grizzlies.

I think his main issue may be, as everyone pointed out, what's the point of winning a ring without being the man anymore. Having to come off the bench to win a ring would cut pretty deep. I guess some guys want to win so bad, they wouldn't mind but Iverson probably does mind a lot. Not saying it's bad or anything, it's just who he is (or what I think he is).

So yes, winning a ring may mean a lot to Iverson but winning a ring without having a major role in it probably does not mean a lot. I guess I can see a difference there.