Iverson on coming off the bench: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/30003461/ As you can tell his ego is too big to be a bench player. He hasn't succeeded since joining the Pistons anyways. Actually, he hasn't had much success in the league in a while. The Sixers were in route to the #1 pick of the draft before they traded AI and nearly made the playoffs. Then, the Nuggets, after looking like a joke in the playoffs, trade AI and are now one of the top teams in the league. That being said, Detroit gets what they wanted from him all along. His huge expiring deal. So what's next for AI? Of all the teams under the cap (very few), I see few, or none willing to spend big bucks on somebody like AI, who hasn't really found much success anywhere. Especially with 2010 a year away, and the economy the way it is. He needs the ball in his hand to succeed. Not sure how many teams out there will be willing to do that. Not to mention he's also 34 years old. The only team I see that could MAYBE be a fit for him is the Bobcats. Probably because they have Larry Brown? Even then, not sure if they'd want to bring his ego aboard. With that being said, will he be forced to accept a MLE deal, or less? And who do you guys think will sign him?
I don't know if the Clipps would take him. They've got a lot of money invested in Baron Davis and we all know Mr. Sterling is a tight wad with his cash. Plus, that team already has chemistry issues, so I can't imagine that adding him would help their cause. Honestly, I think the place he's most likely to land is Charlotte. He's familiar with Larry Brown, and he's about the only person who's ever known how to coach him. He'd also give them that go-to scorer that they've needed since day one.
Iverson on the Lakers? No chance. They have no need for an undersized and selfish SG. Beyond that, I don't know if there'd be enough touches to go around between him, Kobe and Gasol.
He's been an absolute disaster to that team and is THE reason why they're going to barely scrape in to the playoffs. All the Iverson supporters can say otherwise, but if they keep Billups, they're a 50+ win team and would be getting HCA. Instead, they're going to be 7th or 8th (assuming they even make the playoffs) and will get swept in the first round by whoever they face.
Bobcats! Larry Brown and a team that needs a guy to get them in the playoffs...make them a 5-8 seed next year.
Unless he agrees to come of the bench... no one. When he was young, he was one of the best scorers... now that he's old he's not as fast, as strong, as athletic anymore and his size (as a 2 guard) will only be detrimental to the team, whilst as the point, the flow of the team's offense that he'd run won't be as fluid (e.g. Denver w/ Billups vs. Denver w/ Iverson).
dude i know ai isnt what he used to be but hes FAR from dead.... i think he can EASILY still be a 25 pt 6 assist player in this league IF PUT IN THE RIGHT OFFENSIVE SYSTEM... obviously the pistons offense is the worst possible for iverson who clearly struggled... also the nuggets looked like a joke in the playoffs because i think both nene and kmart hadnt even been back a week.... also in that game 1 against the spurs.... nene DOMINATED tim duncan.... all down hill from there tho... that being said i think the best fit for iverson would be the knicks.... if they get rid of nate robinson (who said he wanted to be paid more but no way he will) they could easily land ai(and if the right players arent resigned could easily happen)... who would thrive under dantoni... also note that iverson and lebron have the same agent(some way to sweeten the deal perhaps?).... also larry brown could get him to play on the bobcats.... (eh...) if only larry brown was still the pistons coach maybe detroit (and iverson, but i think its curry's fault) would stop suckin my gonads...
Picking up guys like Iverson on the cheap is how championship contenders stay championship contenders. If there's a coach in the league that can get the most out of him, it's PJax. And as bad as you think he is, he's a huge upgrade over Fisher.
If you're just a casual fan, he's an upgrade over Fisher because of his name. However, if you know how the Lakers run their offense, you know he's really not necessarily an upgrade. Fisher is in there to hit open jumpers, and Iverson has never been a great jump shooter. Beyond that, the tri would be impossible to run because he would kill the flow of it. He would be worried about getting his own instead of staying in the flow of the offense. And as I mentioned earlier, is there enough basketball for him, Kobe and Gasol? I don't think so. The other issue that comes in with him is that if we bring him in, bringing back Ariza and/or Odom would be much more complicated since we'd have to at least tie the MLE in to him. And I disagree, if there's a coach in the NBA that can get the most out of him, it's Larry Brown. He knows Iverson better than any other coach in the NBA and knows how to coach him. I love PJax and all and I think he could succeed with Iverson, but I wouldn't count on it. You can think all you want that Iverson would be good for this team, but he would not be. The triangle would not get run as effectively with him in there, he'd kill the chemistry on the team, and it might make it harder to bring back our top 2 priorities this offseason in Ariza and Odom.
Oh yea, and the likelihood of him taking the MLE, I would say, is slim. His ego is too big for him to take that much of a paycut.
