Iverson: I Am Signing With Memphis

According to Allen Iverson’s Twitter account, the biggest name left on the free agent market has chosen a team. AI had this to say on his account:

“God chose Memphis as the place that I will continue my career. I met with Mr. Heinsley, Chris Wallace, and my next head coach Lionel Hollins. I feel that they are committed to developing a winner and I know that I can help them accomplish that. I feel that I can trust them.”

The deal is said to be worth for one year for worth $3.5 million, much less than the near $21 mill he was earning last season. Here is my take: Who would have thought one of the smallest markets in the NBA and in all of professional sports would house O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, and now A.I. Although Iverson is a household name who has earned his spot in the Hall of Fame once his career is finished, I cannot come to grips with where he fits in the Grizz system. Does Lionel Hollins play Iverson at the point and take rising young guard Mike Conley off the bench or vice versa? How will there be any ball movement when you have three pair of hands that belong to Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, and Iverson? And how long will the whole “I’m going to be a good guy and lead by example” charade last by Iverson.

Let’s face the facts, there were four teams throughout this entire offseason that were linked in some sort of way to Iverson. The Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Charlotte Bobcats, and of course, the Memphis Grizzlies. The reason why Iverson took so long to sign was because he was holding out hope that one of those teams would offer Iverson somewhat of an appropriate contract. If I had to pick one team that would have been the best fit it would definitely be the Bobcats because of head coach Larry Brown and his ability to coach Iverson. I am not so sure if Lionel Hollins can last a full 82 games.

To me, Iverson is still a guy who can score the ball and put up 20+ points per game. Assuming the Grizz put out a starting five of Iverson, Mayo, Gay, Randolph, and Thabeet on opening night with Conley and Marc Gasol coming off the bench, this team is primed to win 30 games. In a tough Western Conference and too many players to share one basketball, Iverson might have wanted to just take a discount and wait for an offer from either of the Eastern Conference teams.

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