Knicks Decide Allen Iverson Isn’t The Answer

So, it’s official now: the New York Knicks will not be pursuing Allen Iverson. Why? Knicks GM and President Donnie Walsh speaks, and Howard Beck reports:

It’s a diplomatic way to play it for sure, saying this decision wasn’t an indication of Iverson, the player, but of the direction of the current roster. To which one can only respond… “Um, what direction?”

After thinking about it for a couple days, it appears the Knicks will go in another direction and pass on signing Allen Iverson.

Alan Hahn of Newsday reports:

is reporting that Allen Iverson cleared waivers tonight, making him a bona fide free agent. The waiting game begins in earnest (er, again) with no word yet from the Knicks camp.

As Iverson’s free agency draws near, reactions are pouring in from around the web on how, exactly, he’d fit in New York. And Bethlehem Shoals at The Baseline, for one, puts forth a pretty poignant argument in favor of the move:

As some of my earlier posts indicate, I’m decidedly less enthusiastic about the thought of a Knicks-Iverson pairing. Mainly, because it’s already been painful to watch Iverson toil in Detroit and Memphis, and the prospect of seeing him fail on the grandest stage of all scares me to death.

SB Nation’s Knicks blog, Posting and Toasting, weighs in on the proposed addition:

That Iverson’s being unfavorably juxtaposed with D-League denizens like Joe Crawford tells you all you need to know about his current trajectory. Good luck, Knicks fans.

Nothing’s set in stone, but Donnie Walsh and Mike D’Antoni are certainly considering it:

So for now, at least, it seems that the Knicks realize they need to change the direction of their team, but they’re proceeding toward Iverson with caution. It’s understandable, especially considering Iverson’s track record over the past two years. Still, the Knicks are terrible right now—literally, one of the three or four worst teams in the league—and it’s not as if they even have a high draft pick to look forward to. Utah gets their lottery selection in the 2010 draft.

With the Allen Iverson’s free agency looming, it seems the Knicks’ interest in the controversial veteran has gone from casual to deadly serious, and the two sides are thinking of going steady. To abandon the lame relationship metaphors, let’s go to New York Times beat writer Howard Beck:

That’s the only possible explanation that makes sense. Clearly, the Knicks are looking for any way possible to salvage this year’s dismal outfit, and if that means turning to a serial heartbreaker like Iverson, I guess that’s what they’ll do. Remember, though: he’s used to being treated like a diva, and damnit, that’s what he deserves. Make him a starter, Mike.

One day after Allen Iverson was officially released by Memphis, it appears the Knicks aren’t the only team that could consider signing him.

NBA Fanhouse reports that, if George Karl is to be believed, the Denver Nuggets might think about Iverson if circumstances change for them.

Isola reports that the Knicks’ 1-9 start has accelerated the need for a guy like Iverson to provide buzz and sell tickets while the Knicks wait around for the 2010 offseason. The Knicks’ concern, of course, is that Iverson’s presence will stunt the development of youngsters such as Danilo Gallinari and Toney Douglas. Sounds pretty similar to Memphis’ concern, doesn’t it?

But you know what? This might actually work. The Knicks may be one of the few teams in the league that can give Iverson the starting job he so desperately craves. Right now, the Knicks start Chris Duhon, a backup on any decent team, and Larry Hughes, whose shot-happy ways convinced one fan to create a site called “Hey Larry Hughes, Please Stop Taking So Many Bad Shots.” Everyone around the Knicks knows this season doesn’t really matter anyway, so why not try to generate a little buzz? Plus, let’s be honest, watching Allen Iverson play in Mike D’Antoni’s Seven Seconds Or Less offense is going to be interesting, to say the least.

And thus ends the brief Allen Iverson experiment in Memphis. According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, the Grizzlies will waive Iverson after mutually agreeing to terminate his contract.

This means Iverson’s Memphis tenure will have ended after just three games. If this is indeed how one of the most influential players in recent NBA history goes out, it will have been a sudden fall from grace. As recently as 2008, Iverson was averaging over 26 points per game. Now, he probably won’t be able to find a place to play. Memphis was the only team willing to give Iverson a chance this summer, and now they have waived him. I suppose it’s possible someone else picks him up, but that’s probably as likely as Memphis making the playoffs this year.

Are the Memphis Grizzlies ready to end the Allen Iverson experiment? According to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, the answer (no pun intended) may finally be “yes.”

Tillery reports that owner Michael Heisley is giving Iverson until the end of the week to decide if he wants to return to the Grizzlies.

There are conflicting reports coming out of Memphis, and after a tenure in Memphis that’s already seen high levels of turmoil, there are whispers that Iverson may retire. The Memphis Commercial Appeal quotes a source close to Iverson:

By contrast, Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley refuses to concede anything is over as far as Iverson’s concerned:

For the past few days, while the Iverson controversy has simmered, I’ve tried to remain pretty apathetic, at least in writing. But with rumors surfacing that Iverson may retire, it’s impossible to keep on ignoring it. The surprise isn’t that a player like Iverson--with nothing left to prove and having banked $100 million at least--might consider retirement. But that someone who was once so iconic would be reduced to an ending like this.

I mentioned elsewhere that it’s difficult to write about this situation because it’s just so damn depressing. Like writing a profile of the city of Detroit, I joked. And while that was just me being a sarcastic dick, it’s also a little bit true.

Over at True Hoop, ESPN’s Chad Ford gathers some telling quotes from GMs around the league on the Iverson situation. Some excerpts:

And Ford shared a telling bit of info on Twitter, as well:

SB Nation’s Straight Outta Vancouver weighs in with some interesting thoughts on Iverson:

It’s a well done, interesting take, so definitely check out the full article.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports:

It’s unknown when, or if, Iverson plans on returning to the Grizzlies, but you’d have to think this is a pretty ominous development as far as his tenure in Memphis is concerned. It’s a shame, too; AI wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire for the Grizzlies, but in just 22 minutes a game, he’s shooting 57%, averaging 12 points and 3 assists for the Grizzlies.

Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley pledged support for his head coach Lionel Hollins, today, in a dispute with superstar veteran Allen Iverson over whether Iverson should start. From the Memphis Commercial Appeal:

And Hollins, for his part, echoed his earlier statements as far as Iverson’s concerned, saying “There’s no way we’re making a change right now,” but leaving open the possibility that Iverson could start in the future. It’s a significant statement from Heisley, only insofar as it affects the public perception of the situation—from the outside looking in, it may have looked as though Allen’s public comments had a chance to usurp the authority of his head coach, specifically since Iverson was directly acquired by Heisley, the owner and superior to Hollins.

From SB Nation’s Straight Outta Vancouver, Grizzlies fans are preaching patience:

All good points. Iverson should be the starter, and he will be. But until he’s in basketball shape, playing him 35 minutes-a-game makes no sense. For one, he’d probably be an injury risk playing that much, but also, a reduced role in the interim gives the younger players a little bit more opportunity to get used to playing with him in small increments. In every conceivable way, this eases Iverson’s transition into the lineup; that Iverson is so vehemently (and publicly) opposed is… well, that’s not a good sign.

Iverson made his season debut with Memphis Monday night in a 127-116 OT loss to the Kings. He scored 11 points off 5-9 shooting in just 17 minutes on the court. That last bit has A.I. less-than-satisfied. His postgame comments:

Head coach Lionel Hollins responded by reminding Iverson that he missed the entire preseason, the first three regular season games and to kindly be quiet and accept his role:

Allen Iverson tweeted that he will make his Grizzlies debut tonight when they take on the Sacramento Kings in a matchup of likely lottery-bound teams.

Let’s see: O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, Allen Iverson, and Zach Randolph…how isn’t this going to work?

According to the Memphis Commercial-Appeal, Allen Iverson has been cleared by doctors to play, and is hoping to return on Monday night against the Sacramento Kings. Ronald Tillery reports:

Despite A.I.‘s claims that the hamstring he injured about two weeks ago is no longer causing him pain, he said Friday that he considers himself a “longshot” to play in next Wednesday’s season opener. Iverson says he can run and cut fine, but he hasn’t been medically cleared to play.

SBN’s Straight Outta Vancouver weighs in on last night’s news:

For continuing analysis and more news on the Grizzlies, check out Straight Outta Vancouver.

From the Memphis Commercial Appeal, we have a few more tidbits on this injury and its implications: