<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">For as long as John Salmons comes to the Wachovia Center as a visiting player, he will be asked what it was like to play with Allen Iverson and whether it was finally time for the 76ers' Iverson era to end. He will be asked whether he needed to leave to ever discover what kind of NBA player he could be. And whether Iverson had to leave for some of the remaining young Sixers to find their own niche. Salmons, who grew up in Philadelphia, starred at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High and the University of Miami, spent his first four pro seasons with the Sixers. With Iverson, there was almost always breaking news, frequently controversial. It wasn't the easiest atmosphere for a laid-back role player to flourish, or even show to his best advantage. Salmons left in free agency. Iverson subsequently was traded to the Denver Nuggets. Chris Webber negotiated a buyout. Everybody else was left behind. "I'm happy for them now, just because all that stuff is over with, and they're just playing free," Salmons said. "I know [Andre Iguodala] has been playing great. I knew he was going to be the one to really flourish once everything went down. I just think they still have a lot of talent; they just have to continue to [add] some pieces." Like many, Salmons knew it time for the Sixers to change. "They weren't winning, ticket sales weren't great, and that's the business," he said. "From that aspect, I guess you have to say yes. You have to be a unique player to be able to play with A.I.; I think he'll tell you that himself. When they were winning and things were going well, they had those unique players like E. Snow [Eric Snow], Aaron McKie, George Lynch. They were unique to the way A.I. played; they all made it work. Once those players left, they tried to rebuild in the same mode, but I think the personalities weren't right." Salmons had his moments trying to mesh with Iverson; sometimes, it worked. Sometimes, he acknowledged, "they put the ball in my hands, and I didn't come through like I wanted. It wasn't all A.I.; it wasn't all the staff." He went back and forth about whether he wanted to re-sign here. He thought - hoped - coaches and front-office executives understood the degree of difficulty some players had finding their way with Iverson. "I never really talked to Billy [president/general manager Billy King] about the whole thing," Salmons said. "Everybody else realized it. When I played without A.I., I produced, and other teams around the league realized what was going on. [The Sixers] had front-row seats." </div> Link I guess Salmons never thought too highly about Iverson, did he?
Its not like Salmons ever hid his dislike of Iverson it was evident to anyone who ever watched a 76ers game that the two didn't have any good will to each other.
I know when I saw an interview with Iverson this summer I heard him say that he had a great relationship with MOST of his teammates. Maybe Salmons was one of those exceptions.
Well, Salmons is right. It's very difficult to play with a player like Allen Iverson who will attempt 25 shots per game. This is even more difficult for players who are used to having the ball in their hands most of their times in college/high school.
