I for one, hope that AI isn't done playing basketball. I don't think he is, but I think getting out of Memphis is very important for him. He needs to get to a good team where his skills can be used effectively and win a few championships before his career is finished. Cleveland would be a good choice, but I think he could go to any contender and help. He should do exactly what KG did. Go to a better team and see if you can win a championship or two.

I obviously want this for selfish reasons, I love watching him play. Iverson is one of the top 5, maybe 10 players this decade and perhaps one of the most misunderstood basketball players ever. It amazes me how many people discount his ability and say he isn't a good player. He lead one of the worst basketball teams ever to a championship, single handedly.

Whose with me?

As much as I have never really cared for him, it would be sad if he had to end his career this early. Sucks he wound up in Memphis, not gonna lie.

How about Detroit or Denver? Very good teams with talent already there...oops, nevermind.

You think that Detroit had talent? You must be kidding. Their talent left the second Billups went to Denver.

A better example would be Denver, but that wasn't a spot for him to succeed either. Iverson's strength is scoring and Denver already has one of the top three scorers in the league. Denver needed a point guard that would get the ball to Carmelo, which is why Billups was a good choice there.

That's why Cleveland would be ideal. Lebron desperately needs someone else that knows how to score a basket and also someone to spread the court. He plays one on five most nights.

MOst overhyped player this decade, I dont know if I would put him in the top 20.

The guy was more a cancer than he was a help to a team.

There was a reason he didnt win titles, and much of it was AI.

Sure he could score, but for every game he won, he lost 2.

AI was a volume shooter. His derisiveness to practice and team play is a major reason his teams didnt win.

Which championship?

You don't think that Detroit had talent? You must be kidding. Funny that you think the world of AI but still said this, "Their talent left the second Billups went to Denver." Did Detroit get nothing in return? Way to build a case for "one of the top 5, maybe 10 players this decade " and his talent level. There is a reason that the teams he is on are not succesful, and it has nothing to do with talent around him. The great players elevate those on the floor with them, AI only had one season of doing that. The rest was spent bitching and moaning about practice.

Agreed. Very talented but very selfish on the court.

*crickets*

Sickest crossover in the game.

Proves that a 5'11" guy can score big numbers in the NBA and get his own shot.

Took the Sixers... the sixers... to the finals.

A definite hall of famer.



But, he has a dog sh*t attitude. Its going to be hard to find a team that wants that around these days. The NBA was different 5-8 years ago. It was a selfish game. But thats gone now and Iverson needs to change his attitude or be finished.

I hate to see him go out in any form, especially like this. But you cant expect the NBA to change just for you...

He took the 76ers to the finals in the 2000-2001 season.

I understand his attitude wasn't the best at times but that has nothing to do with how good of a player he is. When he was in his prime on the 76ers, that team was designed around him getting a lot of shots. Also, the whole "practice" thing was blown out of proportion. He got beat around more than most players in the game at 180 lbs and barely missed any playing time. If he missed practice occasionaly, oh well.

The Detroit team only succeeded because of a very specific plan. Once Ben Wallace and Chauncy Billups left, that chemistry was gone. Even if Chauncy stayed on that team, they weren't going anywhere, they were clearly heading down. I hardly think that Iverson going to a new team on the decline without the dominating inside presence they once had and not succeeding shows that he failed. No one would have succeeded in that situation.

Iverson was one of the most honest sports stars of recent memory and that is probably the reason so many people have such a strong dislike for him. I personally think it's refreshing to have a star that is actually honest and lets you know how he feels. If you actually listen to him and what he says, he has some good things to say and also a good way of looking at things. Or maybe you like the average sports player who gives answers like "we need to play harder" or "we have to work better as a team."

I hope he goes somewhere and wins.

I agree with you, the game has changed.

I think it was terrible that he signed with Memphis. In terms of talent, he should definitely be starting on that team. They want to play Conley to see what he can do, I get that. They're not going anywhere so why not play the young guy? But someone like AI shouldn't be sitting on the bench on a terrible team.

In order for him to succeed in this league, he needs to go to a good team and recognize he's not the player he once was. He hasn't done that yet but I think the Memphis experience will show that he needs to. Cleveland would be perfect. They need another scorer, bad. He obviously isn't the most talented player on that team, he would even recognize that. That was the problem with Memphis, he probably still felt he was the best player on the team.

A couple of things are very wrong here.

First is the comparison to KG. KG went to Boston and helped to immediately change the culture. Boston didn't even change coaches. KG was and still is the heart and soul of that team along with Pierce. Iverson isn't close to being capable of doing what KG did in Boston. Hell, he already had a shot to do it in Denver and it ended very badly.

Secondly, I don't think anyone has ever discounted his abilities as a b'ball player. To the contrary, he's one of the better individual talents of the last 10-15 years. But everyone has talent in the NBA and even superstars erode. I agree he could help a contender as a bench player. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that Iverson is ready to accept that role.

I think he was as talented as anyone, not sure he is the type of player that makes teams better

Sorry I didn't make myself clear, I wasn't comparing AI to KG in terms of talent or in terms of what they did to the culture of the program. I was saying that later in your career when you're not the same player you once were, you need to go to a situation where you can win, no matter what. If Iverson can realize he isn't who he was as a player a few years ago, he could maybe do this. Maybe not.

Maybe a comparison to Rasheed Wallace would be more appropriate, although not exact.

And Iverson's unwillingness to realize this will likely keep him off the roster of a contender.

And it's a shame because if you put Iverson in the role that Marbury played in Boston late last year, you could pretty much hand Boston the title.

I agree. That's the unknown, if Iverson would be willing to accept a bench role. In interviews, he has said that he would accept that role...if his team was winning. No future hall of famer is going to accept coming off of the bench on a terrible team.

I'm not sure that a role like Marbury is what Iverson has fallen too. Marbury had been out of the game for a while and was terrible. Iverson could offer more than that.

We agree that he would have to accept a role he never has before. I would give him a shot at it.

But that is the thing, the attitude DOES matter, that is the difference between winning and losing in team sports. The very best players, and certainly the best teams almost always have the guys who give it their all every miinute on the court. They also understand how to get their teammates into the game.

The whole statement about practice was not about honesty, it was about not understanding what it really to win at the highest level. THAT is why it was so offensive.

When you put yourself so far out ahead of your teammates in terms of practice, you show a lack of leadership.

The very best players are there early, and push their teammates to become better. THAT is the essence of practice. THAT is the essence of why he wasnt a great player and why noone wants anything to do with the guy.

He didn't succeed in Denver because they already had a top scorer who just needed someone to give him the ball.....yet Cleveland, who also has another top scorer, is a perfect fit for him? GMAFB.

It's no surprise that Denver took off last year after swapping Iverson for Billups. Iverson might be a better pure scorer, buts that's all he ever was. Billups, on the other hand, is a real point guard, a guy who understands when to get his teammates involved and when to get his own, and how to control a game. Billups is a much better overall basketball player than Iverson. Iverson just gets the publicity because he is flashy/controversial/one of the better pure scorers in recent memory.

Allen Iverson is a one-dimensional, selfish player, who is a cancer to any team.

Basketball fans who think Iverson is a great player, are the same people who will tell you that "300" was a great movie.

Ehh. I personally very much disliked 300. I wanted to turn it off more than once but some of my friends said it was "awesome." Gladiator is one of my favorite movies ever and I can't stand when in an argument, people say that 300 is better than Gladiator. Do people think that Russell Crowe will make a good Robin Hood?

I'll definitely have to disagree with your assessment of Iverson. Even through all of the bad things people think about him, everyone admits that he is a future Hall of Famer. He might not have been what you expect a point guard to be, but he did some things better than most. In his prime he was unbelieveable, he took a terrible team to the finals.

Misunderstood, a little overrated, honest like no one else, the best interview in basketball, not the best guy to build a team around, but always gave you 110%.

He wasn't always worth the price of his contract, but he was always worth the price of admission.

Not me. "A few championships"? He will be lucky if a good team lets him be on them to win one. And since he would never ride the pine as a substitute, he won't get the chance.

AI is locker room poison who will not accept a role. So he will never win a championship.

[quote name='Cheese Doodles' date='Nov 9 2009, 09:07 PM' post='177733']
Sickest crossover in the game.

Proves that a 5'11" guy can score big numbers in the NBA and get his own shot.

Took the Sixers... the sixers... to the finals.

A definite hall of famer.



But, he has a dog sh*t attitude. Its going to be hard to find a team that wants that around these days. The NBA was different 5-8 years ago. It was a selfish game. But thats gone now and Iverson needs to change his attitude or be finished.

BINGO!! What team in their right mind would want the headaches. He does NOT make his teammates around him better. It has always been about him. Any team that takes him can be written off. Look what he did for Denver (on, when he left and got a team player in return, Denver takes off!) or Detroit (train wreck).

Why is this even a discussion!!

AI along with Barkley were favorites of mine because of their uniqueness. I don't know if there has been another guard his size who could dominate the way he can. Not just with speed, he seems to float around the court and through the lane amongst the big guys and can get his shot off. I don't immediately recall his shot being blocked around the basket. His body control is amazing.

From my recollection he was the best player on the 2004 Olympic Team, which may not be a great endorsement

AI's problem with accepting the role he needed to play to best help his team did not start with Memphis & coming off the bench. At his size, the only way he was going to lead his team to a championship was by being a true point guard & using his quickness & ability to penetrate to make his teammates better rather than just looking for his own offense all the time. He never accepted that, always had to be the main scorer.

In late game situations, he would often force a shot against a taller defender, usually coming over on a double team, and not be able to deliver. We saw that time & again with Ben Gordon these last couple of years - in crunch time, team's put a bigger defender on him, he forces a shot that has no chance &, for whatever reason, the offense either doesn't have a Plan B or he ignores whatever the Plan B was. That's no way to get a basket when you need it, not consistently anyway.

AI is off the charts when it comes to heart & intensity and is an amazing physical talent, but won't ever be recognized as a great team player.

That is a prime example of why I dont think very highly of AI.

We think of him as the best player because of his 'scoring' but end of the day the team didnt win, and that imo is what it is all about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exOxUAntx8I

not a game, not a game, not a game