If you know anything about the NBA and its players, it should have been fairly obvious right from the start of their love affair that Allen Iverson and the Memphis Grizzlies relationship would end poorly.
When rumours and stories started to circulate in the off-season about the future hall of famer potentially signing with the pathetic franchise, the resounding question was “Why?â€
The only talent that the Grizzlies have really assembled were in the two possible positions that The Answer plays and, since they are younger and full of potential, the Grizz would naturally do better to have the like of Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo or Rudy Gay playing extended minutes to increase their upside.
And sure, the role of mentor sounds like a great fit for Iverson on paper, but this is the same guy that openly complained about coming off the bench last season in Detroit. That’s where the rift occurred again with Iverson and his employers. This is a guy who is far too proud to take any sort of demotion. He’s been on ten all-star teams and has won an MVP; does sound like the type of guy you would readily demote because he twisted an ankle in the pre-season?
But really, in the first place, Iverson should have known his minutes would be reduced and there was a strong chance he would have to come off the bench. But Memphis should have known that Iverson would never fit properly with the core of the team, he wouldn’t want to be a real team player and he certainly wouldn’t want to be a bench player on a team that is destined to have a choice lottery pick, again.
So, yesterday, to put an official end to their saga, the two sides agreed to split. And, again, I’m really surprised it took that long for this to happen.