Allen Iverson Retires?

[sonic21]

according to Steven A. Smith on Fox Sports Radio's Chris Myers-Steve Hartman show.

[Donkeybong]

pity, but im getting sick of hearing about this shit.

[gaKNOW!blee]

he'll be back. its just taking a while to swallow that pride.

[Muser]

Good.

[Bob Lanier]

http://images.dailyradar.com/media/uploads/ballhype/story_large/2009/04/09/iverson2.jpg

[coyotes_geek]

"retire" is just code for "i want people to stop talking about how nobody wants me".

[koriwhat]

who cares really? AI was awesome, back in his day but now??? not so much. you've seen the debacle in denver, you've seen it in detroit and now we all saw the crybaby antics in minny. it's time to say farewell!

[xtremesteven33]

Hell be back by Febuary...

[sonic21]

Smith did mention that if the right deal comes along, Cleveland might be a possible desination for Iverson.

[Pistons < Spurs]

Allen Iverson retires



So this is how it ends. Not with a bang, but with a whimper.

It started with a bang. The brawl in Virginia. The breathless reports of this two-star athlete dominating the football fields and basketball courts in high school. This amazing scoring guard that nobody — not even John Thompson — could slow down.

A first overall selection. First "point guard" taken that high since Magic Johnson. Shortest taken first overall since John Lucas(notes). Quickest, ever. Ever, ever.

Pissed off Jordan. Crossed over Jordan. Took over for Jordan as the league's most popular player, when the NBA was in its darkest era since the drug daze of the late 1970s. Won the MVP. Took home-court advantage from a swaggering, dominant Lakers team in the 2001 Finals. Made it, nearly, to the top. On his terms.

And, because things stayed on Allen Iverson's(notes) terms, it all fell apart from there.

Marc Spears just confirmed the news that Allen Iverson is set to retire. This follows an ignominious attempt at shopping himself on the open free-agent market, with the season having already started. That followed an ignominious three-game turn with the Memphis Grizzlies, which followed an ignominious season with the Detroit Pistons, which followed a ... you see where I'm going here.

Every step of the way, Iverson stayed true to himself. And, in a game and a culture that had grown up around him, that steadfast refusal to do anything but stay true to himself resulted in this early, unnecessary retirement.

It's what made him what he was, you know. It's what made him the MVP in 2001, even if he wasn't anywhere near the best player in basketball that season. It's what brought his 76ers to the Finals in 2001, even though they were the class of the watered-down East and several other Western teams were superior. It's what won him the All-Star Game MVP in 2001, even though Dikembe Mutombo(notes) and Stephon Marbury(notes) likely had more to do with the East winning that game than Iverson.

It was that personality that won him those awards, that personality that inspired Larry Brown to build a team around a shoot-first 5-foot-11 guard, and that personality that made him so, so popular. He should have been popular. The man had the heart of a giant.

And in the end, it did him in. Iverson never adapted. His game never grew, it hardly changed, and everybody knew. He could still get his — A.I. was still averaging over 26 points and seven assists for the Nuggets two seasons ago — but at what cost?

He needed the ball, quite a bit, to get those numbers. It took others out of their games. He bitched and moaned every time he was asked to leave the game, even though he averaged over 41 minutes per game in his career. He never tried to help, he never tried to lead, he never tried to learn.

He stayed true to who he was. It's what got him a nice house, huge contracts, out of poverty, into working at the game he loved. Good for him. But at some point, you have to stop working at things as if you're a week removed from the breadline.

I can't possibly criticize that line of thinking, because I'll never (hopefully) know the pressure of that situation, least of all knowing it as a child. But others in this league have come from poverty. Others have been betrayed by people in positions of authority as children or teenagers. Others have had it rough. They stayed strong, made it out, and most of them adapted to a change in context.

A.I. never adapted. And while "me against the world" is admirable when it truly is you against the world, at some point you have to realize that you have four other guys with you, on your side, against the world. And they're not interested in fighting your fight. They're interested in winning the game.

And that hurts. Iverson accomplished quite a bit, but I'll never shake the feeling that so much was left unaccomplished. That he could have learned so much and contributed so much to this game had he not decided to essentially flatline in his early 20s.

I take no great pleasure in pointing this out, but the man quit on the 76ers (who traded him a few weeks later), his presence stifled the Nuggets, he quit on the Pistons, he quit on the Grizzlies (complaining about playing time after sitting out of practice for weeks and playing one whole game), and he just quit on this league. Way too early. With so much left to do.

And all I feel is sad. Not because I'm not used to the idea of the NBA without Allen Iverson — I haven't really enjoyed watching him play for most of his career, every sweet crossover came packaged with five ill-conceived jumpers — but because the man who got so much out of all that talent also got so little. And every half-empty assumption we made about him ended up coming true. Yes, you made it to the top while standing 5-11 and with critics at every turn, but so what? That was 1996. What comes next?

For Allen Iverson, nothing came next. Just huge strides toward irrelevance and, frankly, embarrassment.

It might not be over. For all we know, this could just be a temporary hissy fit, pitched to the point of filing retirement papers just because no team with a starting gig wants to know. He could be back next season. He could be back in February. We don't know.

What we do know is that this is a shame. For a man with his talent, his vision, his will, and his heart; to go out like this? To never, really, "get it?" It's a shame.

And, saddest of all, it's typical A.I.http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Allen-Iverson-retires;_ylt=Aos5LEK7WRSc9.4TM5CE2A85nYcB?urn=nba, 204978

[lefty]

AI is going to seek out advice from Brett Favre.

[ManuTP9]

I still have an old A.I 76ers poster in my room.

[admiralsnackbar]

"retire" is just code for "i want people to stop talking about how nobody wants me".

That deserves to be framed somewhere :lol

[Culburn369]

"They shoot horses, don't they?"

[MiamiHeat]

eh, who cares. don't like the guy

however, I was 13 when this guy came into the league in 1996....

another player from my kid days gone...

garnett still, and kobe yuck, maybe a handful of others, i think ray allen.

eh feelin old

[baseline bum]

Sad that he refused to adjust his game to go out with dignity.

[mojorizen7]

He wants to keep ballin' but no one will let him start so AI's solution is to quit?

Shocking.

[BRHornet45]

he needs his ass beat is what he needs

[mavsluva]

he'll be back. its just taking a while to swallow that pride.


This is 100% accurate.

[duncan228]

Report: Iverson set to retire (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=txiversonretirement&prov=st&type=lgns)

With no apparent interest from NBA teams, Allen Iverson is set to retire, according to an online report.

Commentator Stephen A. Smith published a statement on his Web site Wednesday attributed to Iverson. It said Iverson plans to retire but also that “I feel strongly that I can still compete at the highest level.”

The statement also said Iverson has tremendous love for the game and the desire to play, adding there is “a whole lot left in my tank.”

“His legacy would be huge,” Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star LeBron James said. “He’s one of the best when you talk about guys 6-foot and under in the game of basketball. He played injured and he played hard every single night. I don’t think it should end this way, but if it does, he’s left a lot of great things behind.”

The 10-time All-Star played three games this season with Memphis before taking a leave of absence to attend to personal matters. He was waived after the two sides agreed to part ways.

It was the second straight ugly ending for Iverson, who was unhappy last season playing for the Pistons. He was upset that Detroit coach Michael Curry and Memphis’ Lionel Hollins used the former MVP as a reserve.

The New York Knicks considered signing Iverson last week after he cleared waivers, before deciding he would take too much playing time away from younger players they are trying to develop.

The Knicks seemed to be the only team who would consider bringing in Iverson, so there was no guarantee he’d play in the NBA this season, anyway. Still, the announcement Wednesday came as a surprise to George Karl, who coached Iverson in Denver.

“I think he still has something left to give some team out there. If that’s his decision, he’ll go down in history, I think, as the greatest little guard ever to play the game of basketball,” Karl said.

“I was happy to have him for a couple years and hopefully our paths will cross. But I have a sneaky feeling that somewhere along the way an injury or a circumstance with a team will open that window back up.”

One of the NBA’s great scorers, Iverson entered this season with a career average of 27.1 points that ranked fifth all time. Yet there was almost no interest in him this summer before he went to the Grizzlies on a one-year deal.

Iverson can still score, as he averaged 17.4 points with the Pistons last season. Yet he has made it clear he doesn’t view himself as a backup, which has likely hurt his chances of signing with a contending team.

The 6-foot guard thanked former players and coaches in the statement, plus the fans in Memphis and Philadelphia, where he spent his best years. He said stepping away would allow him to spend more time with his wife and kids.

He also said he thought he could still play after 14 seasons.

“I always thought that when I left the game, it would be because I couldn’t help my team the way that I was accustomed to,” it read. “However, that is not the case.”

Messages were left for Iverson’s agent, Leon Rose, and his business manager, Gary Moore.

If this is the end for Iverson, he leaves with four scoring titles and a playoff scoring average of 29.7 points that ranks second only to Michael Jordan. He led the 76ers to the 2001 NBA finals but never won a championship.

Or he could choose to wait and see if a team in need of a scorer comes looking for him later this season.

“I don’t ever believe anyone retires until they get to the point they have to,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said. “He had a great career if it is true, but I still think he has more to offer.”

[Jeremy]

eh, who cares. don't like the guy

however, I was 13 when this guy came into the league in 1996....

another player from my kid days gone...

garnett still, and kobe yuck, maybe a handful of others, i think ray allen.

eh feelin old

I know--I was 12.

There's also Grant Hill and Jason Kidd from the 1994 draft. And Shaq from 1992 still!

[duhoh]

eh, who cares. don't like the guy

however, I was 13 when this guy came into the league in 1996....

another player from my kid days gone...

garnett still, and kobe yuck, maybe a handful of others, i think ray allen.

eh feelin old

you didn't age very well. . . jk:downspin:

[Chillen]

WTF? you want to start on a basketball team, cannot accept a role coming off the bench, play 3 games for a team you knew had no shot at getting into the playoffs this year and now you are retiring from the NBA. Again, WTF? For what it's worth AI you were a great basketball player, a fun and exciting player to watch, thanks for your contribution to the game of basketball.

[carrao45]

Relevance?

[Culburn369]

He's a jagoff loser like Marbury, Francis, just human debris. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

[wanggi]

He's a jagoff loser like Marbury, Francis, just human debris. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

But AI > Fake 15-Time NBA World Champion.:lol

[Steve Jobs]

Gobble Gobble!!!

[Culburn369]

AI < Cubby's 15-Time NBA World Champion.:toast

:lobt2: