The Allen Iverson Experiment in Memphis comes to an End

I have been tracking the Allen Iverson saga since he signed with the Memphis Grizzlies in September. Three games into their season Iverson let the team to take a “personal leave” and he never returned. They never said what the “personal matter" was, but speculation was that he didn’t like his role with the team so he was thinking about retiring. Now the Memphis Grizzlies decided to waive him and move on.

The Memphis Grizzlies signed him because they were hoping he would help with their attendance and give their fans something to be excited about. He could never accept his role as a bench player which it looks like they never really discussed with him. Iverson could be a good scoring guard for many teams, but he would need to understand his role at this stage of his career. The Bulls need scoring and he would fill that need, but it wouldn’t be worth it. The Nicks are the only team to express interest in him so far.

Allen Iverson to Retire?

Back in September Allen Iverson signed with the Memphis Grizzlies. I wrote a post about it. As I said then I didn’t think Allen Iverson could put his ego aside to come off the bench. If he did I thought he could be great off the bench scoring points in a hurry. Well we never got a chance to find out. Less than two weeks after the NBA season started Allen Iverson is already having a problem with his role because he said he is better than the starters. In my post I said “I would be surprised if Allen Iverson is there more than a year”. I should have said I would be surprised if he makes it the entire year, because now he is on personal leave and is supposedly considering retirement. I think he would have been better coming off the bench for a contender, but now it looks like he will be done.

Do you think he will retire?

Iverson to the Memphis Grizzlies

Allen Iverson is reported to be signing with the Memphis Grizzlies. I find this interesting because a character like Al on a roster with mostly young players should be interesting to see how he affects them and if he influences them for the better or worse. We don’t know what Allen Iverson’s role will be on the team. There starting backcourt seems set in Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo. Allen Iverson at the top of his game is better than Conley or Mayo at this stage of their career, but we don’t know what Allen Iverson will do and Conley and Mayo is the future of the Memphis Grizzlies where I would be surprised if Allen Iverson is there more than a year.

This is the projected depth chart of the Memphis Grizzlies without the signing of Allen Iverson.
Point Guard: Mike Conley
Shooting Guard: O.J. Mayo
Small Forward: Rudy Gay
Power Forward: Zach Randolph
Center: Marc Gasol

It is assumed that Allen Iverson will be coming off the bench. If Allen Iverson puts his ego aside and does come off the bench he could be great. Allen Iverson is a ball hog who can shoot and score points in a hurry. Iverson with the second team (that is very weak for the Memphis Grizzlies) could eat valuable minutes giving the starters a rest and possibly not making a bigger gap in the score for the Memphis Grizzlies. This is a big If because it is hard to imagine Allen Iverson coming off the bench and not causing problems about it. If Allen Iverson proves he can and is effective this year in this role, he could be great for a good team coming off the bench with the second unit. Not many former league MVP’s (2001) come off the bench, especially a player who has created controversy like him in the part. He has averaged 27.1 points through his 13 NBA seasons.