Iverson signs with Grizzlies.

[Cry Havoc]

http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Baseline/entry/view/33774/allen_iverson_signing_with_the_grizzlies_

Allen Iverson has finally found a home this offseason and he will take a one-year deal with the Memphis Grizzlies.

"God Chose Memphis as the place that I will continue my career. I met with Mr. Heinsley, Chris Wallace and my next head coach Lionel Hollins," Iverson wrote on his Twitter page.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal initially reported the signing.

Iverson, 34 years old, will take what has been widely reported as an offer for $3.5 million with incentives.

Iverson was previously mentioned in connection with teams like the Bobcats, Knicks and Heat among others this offseason.

Iverson finished last season with the Pistons and although he was on Detroit's playoff roster, he was not an active participant, and was he actually with the team. He averaged 17.5 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds last season. He was sent to the Pistons in a swap last season that sent Chauncey Billups to the Nuggets.

Sporting News' Sean Deveney reported earlier this week that Iverson to Memphis looked inevitable. With Iverson in Memphis, the team has a number of scorers to choose from, but will there be enough shots to go around? In addition to Iverson, the team added forward Zach Randolph this offseason. The duo joins Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo, who are viewed as promising young building blocks in Memphis. The Grizzlies already have point guard Mike Conley in the backcourt and selected UConn center Hasheem Thabeet in this year's draft.

"I feel that they are committed to developing a winner and I know that I can help them to accomplish that. I feel that I can trust them," he wrote on Twitter.

[Culburn369]

"I feel that I can trust them," he wrote on Twitter."

Already with the projecting. Christ.

[sribb43]

Fail

[lefty]

Grizz get rid of a team player like Gasol for nothing and say it's not a collusion trade

Then they sign Iverson










Riiiiiiiiiiiight

[Muser]

Gotta feel sorry for Memphis fans.

[NRHector]

After the Grizzlies he is going to Lakers.

[Culburn369]

Grizz get rid of a team player like Gasol for nothing and say it's not a collusion trade

Stings, don't it? Tougheth lucketh.

[sribb43]

Watch him blame God when it doesnt work out in Memphis

[IronMexican]

Gonna take away minutes from OJ.

[rjv]

does he have to practice ?

[scampers]

Unless Memphis starts trading to make room for Iverson on the starting lineup, he can kiss his career goodbye.

[lefty]

Rudy Gay's value just dropped

He will average 4.5 ppg

[picc84]

This is gonna be fun

Iverson
Mayo
Rudy Gay
Randolph

Marc might as well just stay downcourt waiting to play defense.

[lefty]

This is gonna be fun

Iverson
Mayo
Rudy Gay
Randolph

Marc might as well just stay downcourt waiting to play defense.

And set up screens

[Red Hawk #21]

This would have been a good move for the Gizz IF they hadn't gotten Zach Randolph. If they can get rid or Randolph they'll be fine. If not they'll go 22-60 or something like that.

[dirk4mvp]

:vomit:

Please trade OJ Mayo.

[DPG21920]

Broseph, lol mavs/memphis

[baseline bum]

I cannot understand a fucking thing Memphis has done since Chris Wallace took over. Gasol for nothing. Lowry for nothing. Then a trade for cancer Randolph. Now signing Iverson when you already have Mayo and blew a #4 pick on Conley. Chris Wallace has to be the stupidest fuck to ever run a team in NBA history. The NBA hasn't seen ineptitude on this scale since the early 80s Cavs.

[usdane]

That's it I am not drafting any Memphis players for any of my fantasy teams.

[picc84]

:vomit:

Please trade OJ Mayo.

I saw Buss and Chris Wallace at a Macaroni Grill last night. Looked like they were toasting to something.

[lefty]

Who is missing on that pic?

http://media.commercialappeal.com/mca/content/img/photos/2008/10/04/5d13e.jpeg

[picc84]

Who is missing on that pic?

http://media.commercialappeal.com/mca/content/img/photos/2008/10/04/5d13e.jpeg

Practice? You're asking who's missing in a picture of practice? I mean really, practice? Who cares who's missing, we talking about practice here. Who plays in the game and gives their heart 100% doesnt have nothin to do with practice, man.

[Agloco]

http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Baseline/entry/view/33774/allen_iverson_signing_with_the_grizzlies_

Allen Iverson has finally found a home this offseason and he will take a one-year deal with the Memphis Grizzlies.

"God Chose Memphis as the place that I will continue my career. I met with Mr. Heinsley, Chris Wallace and my next head coach Lionel Hollins," Iverson wrote on his Twitter page.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal initially reported the signing.

Iverson, 34 years old, will take what has been widely reported as an offer for $3.5 million with incentives.

Iverson was previously mentioned in connection with teams like the Bobcats, Knicks and Heat among others this offseason.

Iverson finished last season with the Pistons and although he was on Detroit's playoff roster, he was not an active participant, and was he actually with the team. He averaged 17.5 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds last season. He was sent to the Pistons in a swap last season that sent Chauncey Billups to the Nuggets.

Sporting News' Sean Deveney reported earlier this week that Iverson to Memphis looked inevitable. With Iverson in Memphis, the team has a number of scorers to choose from, but will there be enough shots to go around? In addition to Iverson, the team added forward Zach Randolph this offseason. The duo joins Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo, who are viewed as promising young building blocks in Memphis. The Grizzlies already have point guard Mike Conley in the backcourt and selected UConn center Hasheem Thabeet in this year's draft.

"I feel that they are committed to developing a winner and I know that I can help them to accomplish that. I feel that I can trust them," he wrote on Twitter.

:rollin:rollin:rollin

Yes, they've shown their desire to be a winner now by trading their best piece to a conference rival. This is what it's come to for Iverson? Sad indeed.

[duncan228]

Allen Iverson's Grizzly Liaison (http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-44-29/Allen-Iverson-s-Grizzly-Liaison.html)
TrueHoop

A Marriage of Convenience, Minus the Marriage

The Memphis Grizzlies and Allen Iverson have found each other, in a late-offseason pairing that is guaranteed not to wow basketball analysts.

You know how a few days before the prom certain bizarro high-school pairings arise? That guy many thought would sit the dance out asks that gal who everyone knew was a lock to stay home?

But they both really want to go to the prom, apparently, so they find each other, even though there's little evidence they actually like each other.

This feels like that. Iverson has had this offer sitting on the table. He has been eight kinds of evasive when asked if he was willing to come off the bench. And he reportedly was hoping to hear from more desirable teams that never materialized.

Although he's chipper about the whole thing on Twitter (http://twitter.com/alleniverson) today ("I feel that they are committed to developing a winner") it's hard to know how seriously either party is taking the pairing. Didn't Iverson relent to the unpopular kid's overtures as a way to strut his stuff for a short period before getting himself back in the limo with the cool kids? Aren't the Grizzlies relenting to a flawed and aging egocentric hoping to fire up a lackluster fanbase?

If the marriage is meaningful, why's it just a one-year deal?

The Other Way to Rebuild

Sam Presti of the Oklahoma City Thunder, David Kahn of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kevin Pritchard of the Portland Trail Blazers and Chris Wallace of the Memphis Grizzlies ... Four NBA front office executives who are at various stages of essentially the same task: Shake a franchise down to its core, build a new winning culture, and kiss goodbye to a past of mediocrity.

With their actions and words, all have demonstrated that draft picks and cap space rule their long-term strategy. In each city, a few wins here or there may be nice in the short term, but nothing is more important than the development of key young players. If Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, James Harden, Russell Westbrook begin to really matter in the NBA, the Thunder will matter, too. In Minnesota, Jonny Flynn, Kevin Love and Al Jefferson will determine the fate of the franchise, much like Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden do in Portland.

For the Grizzlies, O.J. Mayo, Mike Conley, Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol headline the group that will or will not one day make the much-maligned Chris Wallace look like a genius.

Almost all of those players listed above, on all four teams, are still on inexpensive rookie contracts. That presents powerbrokers like Presti, Kahn, Pritchard and Wallace a profound and enduring conundrum: To use cap space on questionable veterans or not?

Sure, it's all about the long-term development of key young players -- but why not shine up the process with contributions from veterans?

There are exceptions (Pritchard just added Andre Miller, Kahn is dabbling with Ramon Sessions), but for the most part, those general managers haven't been surrounding their their youngsters with hired guns.

Chris Wallace, and his team's majority owner, Michael Heisley, once appeared to agree. But this summer they have clearly changed tactics, having signed not just the icon of me-first basketball, Zach Randolph, but also now Iverson.

Why don't young teams bring in veterans? General managers and others have shared wisdom:

* The free agents who are available to rebuilding teams are generally second-tier players (the best ones get to play for elite squads). Many have baggage on or off the court. With so much riding on the development of young, often impressionable players, there is a school of thought that it's better not to risk introducing the bad apple that spoils the whole bunch.

* They're too old! If your team is aiming to start making noise in the playoffs in, let's say, three years, what's going to happen to older veterans who ought to be in serious decline by then? Best case, the veterans will be key players right now. If they are, then down the road you'll have major holes to fill. Or perhaps they won't be key players immediately ... and what's the point?

* To developing players, minutes and touches are like oxygen. Any possession dominated by Randolph or Iverson is a play where Gay, Mayo, Conley or Gasol miss an opportunity to improve. Meanwhile, Randolph, Gay, Mayo and Iverson were all, last season, in the NBA's top 75 in using possessions (http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/statistics?qual=true&sort=usg&league=nba&page=1&seasonType=2&qualCnt=59&qualIndex=0&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba %2fhollinger%2fstatistics%3fqual%3dtrue%26sort%3du sg%26league%3dnba%26page%3d1%26seasonType%3d2%26qu alCnt%3d59%26qualIndex%3d0). To be wanting the ball more is to be human. To be wanting the ball more, while being a really bad team, is often to breed dissent -- players begin believing the team would win more if only he could shoot more, and quickly you're building the opposite of a winning culture.

Nothing to Lose?

In signing Iverson and Randolph, the Grizzlies have gambled. They have gambled that these kinds of veterans, even with mediocre-to-horrid rankings from stat geeks, will help them win more games, draw more fans and matter more in the world of basketball.

And in one sense, the analysis is hard to argue. The team hasn't even managed 25 wins in any of the last three seasons. The two players they added (neither with long salary commitments) are, today, arguably their two best players. This team had no right to expect much, so there is not much risk in messing it up.

On the other hand, look at how hard it was for Memphis to get good, young, affordable players like Conley, Gay, Gasol and Mayo. It might not be an All-Star team, but it is something to build around, which was very hard to come by. Assembling that crowd took giving up two of the NBA's more productive big men: Kevin Love and Pau Gasol. It took years of waiting and draft picks. And the payoff will take many more years of nurturing, and plenty of good luck.

If the demanding presences of Randolph and Iverson do anything at all to derail that process, their signings will have to be considered nasty mistakes.

On the other hand, if the new veterans play well -- you have to assume Iverson will be on his best behavior, eager to prove he's worth minutes and money from a winning team -- and the young Grizzlies continue developing apace, then Wallace and Heisley will look brilliant. We'll have to wonder if it's not the Grizzlies who are being too bold, but the other rebuilding teams who are being too timid in not introducing more veterans.

The experiment is on.

[jack sommerset]

Memphis is going to get slaughtered.

[Bob Lanier]

:lmao, Iverson and Randolph together at last.

[JamStone]

Re-sign Jason Williams and you got a season slogan:

"White Chocolate and the Black Plague: Get ready for sweet destruction"

[eisfeld]

I cannot understand a fucking thing Memphis has done since Chris Wallace took over. Gasol for nothing. Lowry for nothing. Then a trade for cancer Randolph. Now signing Iverson when you already have Mayo and blew a #4 pick on Conley. Chris Wallace has to be the stupidest fuck to ever run a team in NBA history. The NBA hasn't seen ineptitude on this scale since the early 80s Cavs.

Conley was projected to be a good player in the NBA and one of the best PG's in his draft. It's not that he was overhyped before declaring for the draft like the likes of Darko, Beasley or Brown. No one expected him to struggle so badly.

[angelbelow]

Damn it, now i gotta think twice about drafting gay, OJ or zach.

speaking of Zack, i wonder if the grizzles will have the worse offense in the league with AI and Zach chucking all day.

[sonic21]

55 wins book it

[23LeBronJames23]

55 wins book it

no way

[Banzai]

eGDBR2L5kzI

[baseline bum]

Conley was projected to be a good player in the NBA and one of the best PG's in his draft. It's not that he was overhyped before declaring for the draft like the likes of Darko, Beasley or Brown. No one expected him to struggle so badly.

I had Conley pegged as a bust from the beginning, so his suckage is exactly what I expected. You'd think they would have learned not to take a PG who came out of nowhere to have one good season after the Antonio Daniels pick blew up in their faces.

[carrao45]

He could have gone to a contender and played 6th man. Instead he felt he was too good to come off the bench, and went to a scrub team. Selfish Dumbass

Stupidest player on the planet, except for maybe Rubio

[scampers]

eGDBR2L5kzI

:lmao:lmao:lmao:lmao

That video makes me bust out every time I see it... man.. never gets old :lol

[Hornets1]

As much as an Iverson fan as I used to be, for a GM to taint young talent like Arthur,Gay, Mayo, Gasol, Thabeet, and Conley w/ cancers like Randolph and Iverson is beyond me.........

[JamStone]

I had Conley pegged as a bust from the beginning, so his suckage is exactly what I expected. You'd think they would have learned not to take a PG who came out of nowhere to have one good season after the Antonio Daniels pick blew up in their faces.

Pretty far fetched comparison. Conley was extremely well regarded even out of high school. Had there been no high school rule, he was projected to be a lottery pick right out of high school. Conley only had one year in college so he didn't come out of nowhere to have one good season. And, he still went to an above average program at USC.

Antonio Daniels went to Bowling Green (I believe) before most people even knew what the MAC was. And, he went (again, I believe) to college for three years. There's quite a difference.

Plus, if you look at that 2007 draft, after Oden, Durant, and Horford, it was pretty much a crap shoot who was the next best talent. It's not like the Grizz took Darko ahead of Melo, Bosh, and Wade. They took Conley ahead of Jeff Green, Yi Jianlian, Corey Brewer, and Brandan Wright. The next best point guard was Acie Law and he sucks as a pro too. So, it's not like there was much to offer from alternative draft prospects.

[duncan228]

Iverson signing sets Memphis back (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/chris_mannix/09/09/allen.iverson/index.html?eref=T1)
Chris Mannix
SI.com

If you are Allen Iverson, Wednesday is a day for celebration. After the worst season of your professional career, a season in which your presence was viewed as the cause of the demise of one franchise (Detroit) and your absence was touted as one of the reasons for the success of another (Denver), you still managed to squeeze $3.5 million and a chance for redemption out of the Memphis Grizzlies.

If you are a Grizzlies fan, well, you are looking for the nearest blunt instrument to cave your own head in.

Iverson's signing with Memphis is one of the most jaw-dropping moves in recent NBA history. Not because Iverson isn't still a viable player; even in last season's debacle in Detroit, Iverson still managed to score 17.5 points per game. But because Iverson is the last -- repeat, the last -- thing the rebuilding Grizzlies need right now.

Consider: From a distance, Memphis is a franchise that appears to be in dire straights. The Grizzlies haven't won more than 24 games in each of the last three seasons and they have rotated five coaches -- Mike Fratello, Tony Barone, Marc Iavaroni, Johnny Davis and Lionel Hollins -- in and out during that period. They haven't won a playoff game in the team's 14-year history, a drought that figures to extend well into the next decade.

But look closer and you will see that the Grizzlies are several stages into what has been a comprehensive rebuilding process. They have dynamic young talent at the wing positions in O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay. They have a highly touted prospect at point guard in Mike Conley. They have a tough, physical center in Marc Gasol and a shot-blocking menace-in-the-making in rookie Hasheem Thabeet. The foundation of a championship team? Not yet, but certainly one headed in the right direction.

Not anymore. By adding Iverson (as well as Zach Randolph, who was acquired from the Clippers last month) to the mix, the Grizzlies are risking the long-term health of the franchise for a few short-term rewards. Memphis undoubtedly will win a few more games. It might even crack the 30-win barrier. But all that really means is the Grizzlies will be out of the playoff race by January instead of December and they may jump from the team with the 29th-worst attendance (12,745 per game last season) to one with the 25th-worst.

And at what cost? Iverson is little more than a well-paid mercenary using Memphis to try to revive his stalled career. He will certainly cut into Mayo's and Conley's minutes and likely will take time away from the slimmed-down Marcus Williams, who showed in the Las Vegas summer league that he could be a capable backup point guard.

Iverson will demand shots that should be going to Gay and he will be given key fourth-quarter scoring opportunities that should be going to anyone else. The same things can be said for Randolph, who will eat into Gasol's and Thabeet's minutes and will frustrate his teammates with his unwillingness to pass the ball out of the post and his propensity to launch shots from anywhere inside the half-court line. One of the most frequently repeated lines by NBA coaches is that they hope Randolph makes his first three-pointer -- because that guarantees he will take five more.

It will be interesting to see how Hollins handles the Grizzlies' lineup. In a perfect world, Randolph would slide into the starting power forward spot (with Thabeet coming off the bench) and Iverson would become a Vinny Johnson-like sixth man. Mayo and Conley would continue to start and Gay, one of the top performers at the USA Basketball camp in July, would have the offensive freedom he needs to grow as a scorer. They would run an inside-out offense and get the kind of ball movement that leads to open shots.

But what seems more likely is that Iverson eventually forces his way into the starting lineup and Iverson, Mayo and Randolph battle each other for shot attempts (contested or otherwise) while Gay is left to scrap for leftovers.

Multiple sources say the interest in Iverson came from the owner's box. That makes sense. Because this is not a basketball move, it's a financial one. As basketball moves go, this one is the worst.

[crc21209]

Weird move for the Grizzlies..Mayo, Iverson, Randolph and Gay on one team...WOW.

[Culburn369]

[[[Iverson signing sets Memphis back (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/chris_mannix/09/09/allen.iverson/index.html?eref=T1)
Chris Mannix
SI.com]]]

Looks like the mandated ceasefire out of NY & Stern concerning Iverson is now kaput. Open season!

[760Spursfan]

eGDBR2L5kzI


"how the hell can I make my teammates better by practicing"

What a Joke!!!

[picc84]

I cannot wait to watch this team.

[scampers]

He could have gone to a contender and played 6th man. Instead he felt he was too good to come off the bench, and went to a scrub team. Selfish Dumbass

Stupidest player on the planet, except for maybe Rubio

Except that I'm pretty sure Memphis is intending to put Iverson on the bench rather than start him. It'll be the Detroit drama all over again. Except on the worst team in the league.

It's a nonsense move for both Memphis and Iverson.

[baseline bum]

Pretty far fetched comparison. Conley was extremely well regarded even out of high school. Had there been no high school rule, he was projected to be a lottery pick right out of high school. Conley only had one year in college so he didn't come out of nowhere to have one good season. And, he still went to an above average program at USC.


Are you thinking of OJ Mayo? Mayo was the huge highschool star who went to USC. I had never heard of Conley until Ohio State.

[duncan228]

Iverson Worth The Risk For Grizzlies (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=tsn-iversonworththeriskf&prov=tsn&type=lgns)
SportingNews

? Fair question, because many around the league are asking the same thing. As one East general manager told me, "You have a kid like Mike Conley. You have a kid like O.J. Mayo. You have Rudy Gay. You have Hasheem Thabeet, the No. 2 pick in the draft. How is a guy like Iverson going to help them?"

Considering the events of last season, when Iverson was traded to Detroit for Chauncey Billups and proceeded to shred the Pistons' chemistry, skepticism about Memphis' signing of Iverson to a one-year, $3.5 million deal is rampant. But it shouldn't be. Because, in the end, consider what the Grizzlies just did—they signed the 16th-leading scorer in NBA history to a contract that ends in seven months and costs them less than half what they're due to pay Marko Jaric.

There are four ways this thing can play out for the Grizzlies, and even the worst-case scenario is not all that bad.

1. Everything could be perfect. Iverson could come in, average 20 points, be a leader and model teammate, and lift the Grizzlies into the Western Conference playoffs. He could become so popular in Memphis—which is in need of some sporting heroism in the wake of the University of Memphis' hoops collapse—that he signs with the team next summer. This is, admittedly, a remote possibility.

2. Iverson could have a productive season in Memphis. Chances are, the lack of interest in Iverson this summer has been humbling. The attitude and work-ethic problems that have attached themselves to Iverson's reputation, and which were amplified by the Detroit disaster, remain his biggest problem.

But you have to think that if Iverson is serious about wanting to compete for a championship, he understands that he needs to put out a good effort on the floor and an even better effort in practice and in the locker room. If that means he comes off the bench and plays teacher's pet to coach Lionel Hollins, then he comes off the bench and plays teacher's pet. It's the only way a contender will be interested in him next summer, and he must realize that.

In the meantime, though, the Grizzlies will get one of the greatest scorers in league history for a year, and hopefully sell tickets to boot.

3. Iverson could have a productive half-season in Memphis. This is the really intriguing possibility for the Grizzlies. Memphis will be 53 games into its 2009-10 schedule when the trading deadline rolls around. Iverson is not really part of the team's future, so if he goes through the first three-plus months playing well and not causing problems, the Grizzlies might have the chance to offer him up to a contending team in need for a draft pick or a young player. It's a something-for-nothing proposal.

4. The whole thing could be a disaster. If it is a disaster, you know what? The Grizzlies can simply cut Iverson. They'll be out $3.5 million, but weighing that potential loss against the potential benefits of the deal, it's worth the risk.

[JamStone]

Are you thinking of OJ Mayo? Mayo was the huge highschool star who went to USC. I had never heard of Conley until Ohio State.

My bad. I don't know why I put Mayo's profile onto Conley.

I actually knew that. I'm just an idiot.

[TheMACHINE]

so Mayo is going to the Lakers for Sasha and Luke?

[Culburn369]

[[[Iverson Worth The Risk For Grizzlies (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=tsn-iversonworththeriskf&prov=tsn&type=lgns)
SportingNews]]]

Back to the marching orders from NY.

[eisfeld]

I had Conley pegged as a bust from the beginning, so his suckage is exactly what I expected. You'd think they would have learned not to take a PG who came out of nowhere to have one good season after the Antonio Daniels pick blew up in their faces.

You have a point there. Still, they weren't able to sign a decent PG via FA so they had to go with a PG via the draft, and Conley was the brightest prospect. Law and Crittenton were not worth taking with the 4th pick (despite they both suck). I wish they had taken Brandan Wright instead.

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

so Mayo is going to the Lakers for Sasha and Luke?

Yes, but the deal also includes draft rights to his brother A.J. Mayo.

[Hornets1]

AI advisers should be fired. If he was going to come out West, it should have been with a contender. He could have gone to the Hornets for the vet min, Dallas, the Lakers, hell, even Boston needs a backup PG. Memphis had no shot at making the playoffs, but now AI will get all the credit for that.

NO! NO! NO! I don't want Iverson anywhere near us! Paul would have had to start stealing the ball away from Iverson:lol

[mountainballer]

http://pictures.funnyjunksite.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/funny-basketball-pictures-8.jpg

will look like this. only difference: the player with the ball will wear the same uniform like the 3 others.

[duncan228]

Iverson: Goal is to win in signing with Memphis (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-grizzlies-iverson&prov=ap&type=lgns)

Allen Iverson wants to prove he’s not finished yet. The Memphis Grizzlies want to rev up the rebuilding process with a young roster.

That is why the 34-year-old Iverson signed a one-year contract Thursday with a team that hasn’t reached the playoffs since 2006 and has never won a postseason game. The Grizzlies is coming off a 24-58 season that tied for fifth-worst in the NBA.

“This year for me is so personal,” Iverson said.

“It’s basically going to be my rookie season again. It hurts, but I turn the TV on, I read the paper, I listen to some of the things people say about me having the season that I had last year and me losing a step, things like that. They’re trying to put me in a rocking chair already.”

The Grizzlies announced they had signed the former NBA MVP and 10-time All Star on Thursday morning minutes before Iverson was introduced at a news conference. The 13-year veteran was welcomed with a standing ovation in an atmosphere that felt like a pep rally with fans welcomed to the lobby of the FedExForum.

General manager Chris Wallace called Iverson one of the NBA’s all-time great guards and a great day for the team, the Grizzlies’ loyal fans and the city of Memphis. The team had been courting Iverson since July, a process that sped up with a meeting Monday night in Atlanta over dinner with the guard, Wallace, team owner Michael Heisley and coach Lionel Hollins.

“This guy has many years of basketball left in him … and he is eager. He expressed it to us to get going with the task of helping our team reach a whole other level of success,” Wallace said.

Iverson reportedly received an incentive-laden deal with a base salary of about $3.5 million. He immediately becomes the biggest name ever stretched across the back of a Grizzlies jersey. The franchise has only one All-Star in its history—Pau Gasol in 2006.

The 6-foot free agent has been rookie of the year, the 2001 league MVP and a four-time scoring champ with a career average of 27.1. Philadelphia made him the top pick in the 1996 NBA draft, and he spent the bulk of his career with the 76ers before being traded to Denver in 2006 and then to Detroit last November.

Whether Iverson’s presence translates into more wins for the Grizzlies is unknown, but the excitement at Thursday’s introduction could be an indication his impact could have the box office. The team store already had jerseys with Iverson’s No. 3 hanging on the wall ready for sale.

Iverson ranks second among active players in career scoring behind Shaquille O’Neal and is 16th all-time with 23,983 points in 886 games with Philadelphia, Denver and Detroit.

Iverson will open the season against his most recent team. The Pistons visit Memphis on Oct. 28.

The Grizzlies’ courting of Iverson lasted much of the summer. Other teams including New York, Charlotte, Miami and the Clippers inquired about Iverson, but Memphis appeared to be the only one to make a solid offer to the veteran guard.

Questions still remain about where Iverson fits in the Grizzlies’ plans.

O.J. Mayo, who finished second to Chicago’s Derrick Rose in Rookie of the Year voting last season, starts at shooting guard. Memphis seems committed to Mike Conley at the point. There’s little doubt Iverson’s scoring talents should help a team which averaged only 93.9 points a game last season, next to last in the league.

Grizzlies officials spent the summer talking of their need for scoring help off the bench.

But Iverson said in April he would rather retire than come off the bench. He missed 16 games last season with a bad back. When he returned, he was coming off the bench, an arrangement Iverson did not like. He complained about minutes and how he couldn’t be effective in that role.

[tomtom]

Haha, if he didn't have such a big ego last season, perhaps he would've been on a better team with a better contract. I'm sure the Iverson-Zbo one two punch will go great