A.I. mulls retiring vs. bench role

[PM5K]

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Looking into the future, Detroit Pistons guard Allen Iverson would rather retire than be a full-time reserve.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4035415

[lil_penny]

Farewell.. one of the greatest losers of all time

[Spur-Addict]

Don't let the door hit you on the way out. Or maybe you should, I don't care.

[AussieFanKurt]

Yeah AI never really made his team better unless he was scoring a load and obviously thats not a winning strategy.

[timtonymanu]

this is why AI will never win a ring and I laugh when people say he deserves to win one. He ruined a Pistons franchise because he refuses to accept that he's washed up. Good riddance when he retires.

[Ghazi]

this is why AI will never win a ring and I laugh when people say he deserves to win one. He ruined a Pistons franchise because he refuses to accept that he's washed up. Good riddance when he retires.

How the did he "ruin" the Pistons franchise? They're saving cap space and will be in a position to retool next year.

Are you telling me the ONLY thing holding the Pistons back is AI's ego?

Give me a break. Their roster simply isn't that good, lacks a superstar, and their core is aging.

As for AI being ringless fact of the matter is he's never been on a great team.

I've always been vexed by AI's inefficient shooting but he is (was) a great player who really has never been on a team capable of winning a championship. And his playmaking ability is somewhat overlooked.

Nobody "deserves" to win a ring but for some players it takes being in the right place at the right time to even have a chance. Iverson's never been in that place or time, and it doesn't have to do with his playing style.

[nz_spur]

A.I.'s still an amazingly gifted player. Perhaps this season he'll realise his
'ego' needs to take a back-seat if he wants to succeed.

I can see A.I. being signed in the off-season, just not for the same money.

[JamStone]

Well, then he should retire because it's clear he's no longer a franchise player and there isn't a team in the league that can or will accommodate him and his style of play anymore, especially at this point in his career. If he can't accept that his best way to help any team would be to play as a role player, then yeah he should retire. I have been a big fan of Iverson for long time. But, his at ude and his refusal to adjust and accept the reality of his situation has definitely soured me.

[eisfeld]

His ego stands in his way. If he is willing to accept the role given by his team he might be a valuable piece for a contender. He has a knack for scoring and that's something a second unit desperately needs. He sounds like a jerk when he says that he may retire before coming off the bench but he sounds really desperate because he might have realized that he is declining rapidly.

[layupdrill]

I agree that his ego is hurting him here, but he did not ruin the Pistons. Joe Dumars made a calculated gamble, which at least for this season has not worked out. If Detroit is able to be a major player in free agency this summer and next, everyone in Pistons land will forgive him.

[eisfeld]

I agree that his ego is hurting him here, but he did not ruin the Pistons. Joe Dumars made a calculated gamble, which at least for this season has not worked out. If Detroit is able to be a major player in free agency this summer and next, everyone in Pistons land will forgive him.

Of course, he didn't ruin the pistons. I don't even think it was a gamble. The Pistons realized that their dominating days are over and made a smart move. They may have beaten a team in the first round of the Playoffs but they would not have had a chance to advance to the finals. So they can start over next year by signing key players and make another le run in 2010 or 2011.

[ambchang]

I have never understood the hostility towards AI. Sure he was hardly someone you want your kid to model yourself after, but at least you can say the man is honest. He wasn't afraid to face the public with his controversial views, and speaks his mind. He is in many ways similar to players like Barkley or Rasheed. You may not agree with him, but at least you have to respect his honesty.

Compare this to players who are hypocrites and act like saints in public, but are very questionable people outside of public views. A guy like Karl Malone who would lecture Barkley about being a role model, but turned out he impregnated a 14 year old; or even a my favourite player of all time, Magic, who would look like this standup guy, only later to be found engaging in sex parties and contacting HIV; or Michael Jordan, who has a gambling issue and cheats on his wife.

There are only so many David Robinsons and Joe Dumars out there, and if a guy is a badass, I'd rather him tell the world that he is a badass, than compounding the problem by lying in public.

On the court, AI gave his all, and there is no question about it. He never saw the importance of practice, and took a self-centred view towards it, but on the court, he did what gave him the most chances to win. He took an untalented 6ers team to the finals, and was the only team that could actually beat the Lakers in the playoffs that year. People don't even remember how awful those 6ers teams were in the early to late 90s. They missed the playoffs 5 straight years before Iverson came, and then after 3 years, after Larry Brown joined the team, they made the playoffs 5 straight years, making the 2nd round 3 times and the finals once.

Iverson's time may have passed, but lets not judge him solely by his comments than what he actually did. He took responsibility to struggling off the bench, and that he is struggling mightily with it. He is no longer having fun and contributing, and thinks it's better for him to quit. ESPN made it sound like all he said was that he would rather quit than come off the bench.

[bdictjames]

I'd love for the Spurs to get Iverson, as a back-up of Tony.

[resistanze]

I have never understood the hostility towards AI. Sure he was hardly someone you want your kid to model yourself after, but at least you can say the man is honest. He wasn't afraid to face the public with his controversial views, and speaks his mind. He is in many ways similar to players like Barkley or Rasheed. You may not agree with him, but at least you have to respect his honesty.

Compare this to players who are hypocrites and act like saints in public, but are very questionable people outside of public views. A guy like Karl Malone who would lecture Barkley about being a role model, but turned out he impregnated a 14 year old; or even a my favourite player of all time, Magic, who would look like this standup guy, only later to be found engaging in sex parties and contacting HIV; or Michael Jordan, who has a gambling issue and cheats on his wife.

There are only so many David Robinsons and Joe Dumars out there, and if a guy is a badass, I'd rather him tell the world that he is a badass, than compounding the problem by lying in public.

On the court, AI gave his all, and there is no question about it. He never saw the importance of practice, and took a self-centred view towards it, but on the court, he did what gave him the most chances to win. He took an untalented 6ers team to the finals, and was the only team that could actually beat the Lakers in the playoffs that year. People don't even remember how awful those 6ers teams were in the early to late 90s. They missed the playoffs 5 straight years before Iverson came, and then after 3 years, after Larry Brown joined the team, they made the playoffs 5 straight years, making the 2nd round 3 times and the finals once.

Iverson's time may have passed, but lets not judge him solely by his comments than what he actually did. He took responsibility to struggling off the bench, and that he is struggling mightily with it. He is no longer having fun and contributing, and thinks it's better for him to quit. ESPN made it sound like all he said was that he would rather quit than come off the bench.

[balli]

I wouldn't begrudge AI for walking away. He knows who he is and who he is, isn't a reserve. And that's fine. If he'd rather quit, God bless him. Anyways, I feel to see why forgoing millions of dollars and the NBA lifestyle is a selfish act.

If it isn't making him happy, he has a human right to walk away from the game. But what he shouldn't have to do is take criticism for refusing to re-make himself into something he's never been and probably never could be.

[anonoftheinternets]

I have never understood the hostility towards AI. Sure he was hardly someone you want your kid to model yourself after, but at least you can say the man is honest. He wasn't afraid to face the public with his controversial views, and speaks his mind. He is in many ways similar to players like Barkley or Rasheed. You may not agree with him, but at least you have to respect his honesty.

Compare this to players who are hypocrites and act like saints in public, but are very questionable people outside of public views. A guy like Karl Malone who would lecture Barkley about being a role model, but turned out he impregnated a 14 year old; or even a my favourite player of all time, Magic, who would look like this standup guy, only later to be found engaging in sex parties and contacting HIV; or Michael Jordan, who has a gambling issue and cheats on his wife.

There are only so many David Robinsons and Joe Dumars out there, and if a guy is a badass, I'd rather him tell the world that he is a badass, than compounding the problem by lying in public.

On the court, AI gave his all, and there is no question about it. He never saw the importance of practice, and took a self-centred view towards it, but on the court, he did what gave him the most chances to win. He took an untalented 6ers team to the finals, and was the only team that could actually beat the Lakers in the playoffs that year. People don't even remember how awful those 6ers teams were in the early to late 90s. They missed the playoffs 5 straight years before Iverson came, and then after 3 years, after Larry Brown joined the team, they made the playoffs 5 straight years, making the 2nd round 3 times and the finals once.

Iverson's time may have passed, but lets not judge him solely by his comments than what he actually did. He took responsibility to struggling off the bench, and that he is struggling mightily with it. He is no longer having fun and contributing, and thinks it's better for him to quit. ESPN made it sound like all he said was that he would rather quit than come off the bench.

[kcplayboi_26]

i use to think AI was the best, but man

[sonic21]

It's only 2 games and the playoffs are in 2 weeks. Complaining accomplishes nothing at this point. They were winning without him in the lineup so what should they do - go back to what they were doing before when they were losing to accomodate him?

He's being ridiculously selfish. He's allowed to feel this way. He's not allowed to use the media to ***** about playing time 2 weeks before the playoffs. He's being a terrible teammate.

[BUMP]

I wouldn't begrudge AI for walking away. He knows who he is and who he is, isn't a reserve. And that's fine. If he'd rather quit, God bless him. Anyways, I feel to see why forgoing millions of dollars and the NBA lifestyle is a selfish act.

If it isn't making him happy, he has a human right to walk away from the game. But what he shouldn't have to do is take criticism for refusing to re-make himself into something he's never been and probably never could be.

thats actually a good point, although i think he shouldve waited til after the season to say this. but then again, its not like the pistons are getting past the 1st roud or anything

the one team i could see him playing a lot of minutes for is GS

[Allanon]

I like AI but he's acting like a primadonna. Take the bench role and help your team.

Walk away next year if you're unhappy and want a starting job on some lottery team. Just don't bring up this crap in the midst of a Playoff run.

[balli]

I can agree he probably should have played this season out and held his tongue, but like BUMP said, Detroit's not doing anyways.

[mavsluva]

Practice? You talkin' about practice?

[pauls931]

He'll end up on the mavericks.

[BUMP]

He'll end up on the mavericks.

[mavs>spurs2]

how would that happen?