There are a handful of movies (okay, maybe three handfuls) that I’ll watch at any given point in the day, no matter what I have going on with writing and no matter where in the movie I come in. The Negotiator is one of those movies (I’ll just assume you’re all familiar with this because it’s a great movie and you should be). There’s a particular scene in which Sabian (Kevin Spacey) and Roman (SAMUEL L. JACKSON MOTHERF*&^ER!!!) are discussing what movies they like.
Roman mentions that he likes Western movies, “like Shane.” Sabian tells him that it’s interesting he would choose a movie in which the hero dies in the end. This confuses Roman because he assumes that Shane has always ridden off into the sunset. Sabian mentions he was slumped over on his horse, which prompts the response from Roman, “So he was slumped, slumped don’t mean dead.”
And this is where we are with this latest chapter of the Allen Iverson saga. We’re trying to figure out if he is slumped over on his horse because he’s beaten down or actually dead.
This latest part of Allen Iverson’s career was highly predictable. Things looked ominous when he was dealt to the Pistons towards the start of last season. He still wasn’t a point guard and needed to dominate the ball. The problem was that he was playing for the Pistons and they were a team running best when they played tough defense and moved the ball effectively (not two of A.I.’s strengths). Also, they already had a good scoring shooting guard in Richard Hamilton. So overmatched head coach Michael Curry decided to experiment with bringing Iverson and Hamilton off the bench at different times and that’s when we got our first glimpse into the future of The Answer’s end-of-career question.
Would he ever come off the bench in a supporting role?
“I'd rather retire before I (come off the bench) again," Iverson said. "I can't be effective playing this way. I'm not used to it. It's tough for me both mentally and physically.”
So of course, he decided to give in this off-season and sign with the Memphis Grizzlies. A team that already had a stud shooting guard (Orange Juice Mayonnaise) coming off of an impressive rookie season. And they also had a nice young point guard prospect (Mike Conley’s son) who hadn’t justified the fourth pick in the draft moniker yet but also hadn’t proven to be a bust either. This clearly relegated him to the bench, where he claimed he’d retire before starting games from there again.
Naturally, he tore his hamstring in training camp and was unable to really practice or play one possession of preseason basketball with the Grizzlies. We had no idea how he would fit into this team because his body didn’t allow him the chance to test things out. He had to wait until the games actually mattered before he'd even truly know how he would be used by Lionel Hollins.
Enter November 2nd of this year and Iverson’s debut for Memphis in which he came off the bench for 11 points on nine shots in just 18 minutes of action. After the game, he claimed that coming off the bench wasn’t what he signed up for. He passively aggressively tried to strong-arm the Memphis coaching staff and front office with these semi-threats and just two games later left the team for “personal reasons.” And now? He’s been waived from the team, riding off into the sunset.
While listening to the always-enjoyable On The DL Podcast last week, Dan Levy and Nick Tarnowski were discussing this very situation. They were wondering why he would quit on his team and why he wouldn’t just go be a willing role player for a title-contending team. And there was the idea brought about that he couldn’t even start for Memphis so he probably can’t start for any team. Personally, I feel like this coupled with the idea that Iverson has lost a step brings about the thought of A.I. not being capable of being A.I. anymore.
And I think that’s incorrect.
I was at the Kings-Grizzlies on November 2nd and I can tell you first-hand Allen Iverson still is Allen Iverson. He was initially lost in the flow of the game, trying to figure out where he fit into the Grizzlies' second unit. In fact, in the first half of play he was completely useless – a decoy that never posed a real threat on the court. Then towards the end of the third quarter, you could see a switch get flipped with Iverson; he was not going to ride off into mediocrity, at least not that night.
When he caught the ball with less than 1:30 left in the third quarter, there was a different purpose to his movement. It was the purpose that crossed up Jordan as a rookie and stepped over Tyronn Lue in the Finals. It was the return of a killer. He grabbed the ball, attacked the Kings defense and scored with ease on a little pull-up jumper. Within the next 3.5 minutes he had totaled nine points. It was still there.
Actually, it IS still there.
Allen Iverson is still as deadly as a team needs him to be. The problem is that he never really fit into a team concept. In Philadelphia, he was surrounded with great defensive role players that were asked to get the ball away from the opposing team, get it to A.I. and get the hell out of the way. It was a risky style of play but it worked on a high level for several years. Now, he doesn’t fit into that style anymore because outside of Cleveland, that style doesn’t really work. It has nothing to do with Iverson “not having it” anymore and has everything to do with team ball reigning supreme in this current era of NBA basketball.
So for Iverson to ride off into the sunset alive instead of slumped over, dead on his horse he needs someone willing to give into his max abilities by allowing him to be the man. He’s still extremely capable of being the man. Maybe it doesn’t bring about any titles but that’s almost impossible to do anyway (only nine teams have won the past 30 NBA titles). What it does bring about is a compelling reason to watch a team and give them a purpose – that purpose being to further the great career of an NBA legend.
And that’s where the New York Knicks come in.
Donnie Walsh has stated he would look into signing Iverson but that it wasn’t likely for anything to get done.
That’s extremely short-sided on his part in my opinion. Allen Iverson is exactly what the Knicks and their fan base need right now. They’re reeling day by day with each great Brandon Jennings performance as Jordan Hill shows he can be the next Mikki Moore. They’re gearing up for the 2010 summer like I geared up for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with two full weeks of playing the first Modern Warfare. All of their eggs are in that basket.
It doesn’t matter if they finish with a good record or a bad record this season because almost all of their expiring contracts are going to be extracted from the team and their valuable first round pick this summer belongs to the Utah Jazz. They’re virtually unwatchable as a team right now because they’re an offensive team that isn’t even fun to watch. They’re talking their fans into Nate Robinson and Jared Jeffries while Spike Lee applies for a Brooklyn Nets fan membership.
So why wouldn’t Allen Iverson work? This team needs not just scoring but exciting scoring. Iverson would give them a show over the next 5.5 months while everyone waits with bated breath for a LeBron James delivery. Allen would still have plenty to prove because people think he’s washed up and under the right set of circumstances, he clearly isn’t. He’d be able to add to his historic career points total in a semi-honorable way. Hell, he could even win some games for them.
Despite what you think about Allen Iverson as a person or basketball player, we should all be able to agree that his heart has always been his biggest asset on and off the court. He deserves a better send off than what he almost gave himself with the Grizzlies.
Now it’s up to Donnie Walsh to decide whether slumped over means dead or not.
As a die-hard knicks fan... I think you are 100% spot-on about signing AI. Walsh & D'Antoni like to talk about building the younger guys, but they have proven that they are just not that good. The Knicks are unwatchable at this point their lack of scoring and effort are disheartening. Having a go-to guy to score would definitely help them, and at least make watching their games enjoyable and bring a little excitement to this otherwise wasted season.
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The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
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