More Folks Rise To Iverson's Defense

[duncan228]

More Folks Rise To Iverson's Defense
SportingNews

Generally, it's been held that for Allen Iverson to get back his good name, or maybe just build up his base again, something's got to change. AI will have to mentor the young and sick. He'll need to lead. Or, the Answer will take one last go-round on his own terms, going for self and reminding us, however emptily, why we all fell for him in the first place, like an aging pop star who can't quite hit the notes but will jump around like a teen no less. No, that was not written by a fifty-year-old.

What we didn't count on was Iverson getting a major tailwind from his former teammates, basically absolving him of some, if not all, wrongdoing. First, there was Rip Hamilton speaking out last week. Now, it's ex-Piston Arron Afflalo.

From The Denver Post:

"His style of play, maybe it just didn't work with what we had going on at the time. But I don't know, man. I think in some ways, Allen was something of a scapegoat for what happened last year. There were a lot of things going on — we had a new coach (Michael Curry); Chauncey had been traded, so we had a new guy at the point (then-rookie Rodney Stuckey).

"There were a lot of different relationships that would have had to jell. It wasn't all his fault, but Allen's always been who he is and so he got the blame, but he's used to that."

We also get George Karl, waxing philosophical about AI's position:

"I think there's an economic atmosphere out there that's against everybody, not only superstars like A.I.," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "That means there's changes about contracts given to 33-, 34-, 35-year-old guys. There's probably a philosophy that they won't sign those guys, just like there are some teams that are near the luxury tax that won't spend a lot of money and go over it."

It's funny, for a minute it looked like Iverson's time in Denver—not a tremendous success, but hardly a debacle—was being used against him in the trial for Detroit. And admittedly, when he left, the team got much, much better. But they also got Billups. It's not just subtracting Iverson; it's also adding the kind of true PG everyone needs (and which AI's never been). Afflalo makes a similar argument about Detroit. Put simply, Iverson was a good player in Denver, just not a savior nor even an essential one. Does that square with everything we know about him and his place in the game? Not sure, but it is a reprieve of sorts.

The moral is somewhat convoluted: Iverson is always pretty good, provided you don't expect him to be a franchise point guard, or have just unloaded one. What he is, no one knows other than Larry Brown. I wonder if they'll end up chained to each other in the afterlife, squabbling and wondering if it's for better or worse that they're stuck together for all eternity.

*********************

Iverson expected to make Grizzlies debut Monday

Allen Iverson is expected to make his season debut for the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night at Sacramento.

Iverson is recovering from a partial right hamstring tear and missed his third straight game when the Grizzlies played the Nuggets in Denver on Sunday night.

Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said that when Iverson returns, he’ll be part of a three-guard rotation with O.J. Mayo and Mike Conley.

Iverson, traded from Denver to Detroit last season, declined to speak with reporters Sunday night, saying he’ll talk when he plays in a game.

[JustBlaze]

So in short, when Memphis fails to make the playoffs like always, Iverson will get all the blame. Got' cha!

[ElNono]

Hilarious. "He's awesome, we just won't offer him a deal"...